A man is not guilty of attempting to kill an Austin police officer in 2014 following a high-speed pursuit.
A Travis County jury cleared Andrew Jones of the charge, along with aggravated assault of a public servant, after deliberating for more than five hours Thursday. Officer Matthew Murphy said Jones tried to shoot him following a brief foot chase, but that he was not harmed when the gun did not fire.
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During the incident, then Rookie Officer Matthew Murphy chased the stolen vehicle that Jones was in and it soon turned into a foot pursuit. Murphy chased the fleeing suspect and as he approached he took his Taser out and started to deploy it when he heard a “distinct click.”
That “click” was the sound of a 9mm Sig Sauer as Jones pulled the trigger. There was not a bullet in the chamber although the magazine was loaded. The Austin Chronicle described what happened next:
“Faced with the likelihood that Jones was about to shoot at him again, Murphy was forced to make a split-second decision between using the Taser in his hand, or taking the time to unholster and aim his gun, which might give Jones a chance to chamber a round and shoot his weapon successfully. Murphy fired his Taser, causing Jones to drop his gun. Jones still wasn’t prepared to go down without a fight, but after Tasering him multiple times and wrestling him to the ground, the officer was finally able to subdue him.”
At the time of his arrest, Jones’ bail was set at over 1 million dollars.
