The Travis County District Attorney's Office Thursday told KVUE News it has legal limitations when it comes to investigating officer-involved shootings.
District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg says internal affairs memos and records are not something her office seeks.
The DA's office has come under scrutiny for its investigation into the officer-involved shooting death of Nathaniel Sanders, 18.
Earlier week, the Austin chapter of the NAACP criticized the office for missing a controversial e-mail written by former internal affairs Detective Chris Dunn. It read: "We can make [them] a causation of the entire event. I am so smart, I scare myself."
“The most important mechanism in this whole process is the DA's office. If they give the police this shell or cover, it's going to continue,” said Nelson Linder, president of the Austin NAACP chapter.
An outside agency, uncovered the e-mail during its investigation of the officer-involved shooting.
Lehmberg says the law keeps her office from looking for such records.
"We didn't fail to uncover the internal affairs memo. We do not review internal affairs papers and statements for a legal reason," said Lehmberg.
She cites Garrity v. New Jersey. The case, from the 1960s, concluded that a police officer who is coerced to give a statement under threat of discipline is immunized against the use of the statement in any subsequent criminal prosecution.
According to police policy, officers involved in a deadly shooting are encouraged to give a statement to internal affairs detectives or risk the potential consequences of insubordination. Therefore, Lehmberg says, the potential for coercion is high. She say the District Attorney's Office cannot review the records of internal affairs in order to protect to integrity of any future prosecution.
Lehmberg said she is willing to set up a one-on-one meeting with the NAACP to discuss their concerns.
