Four Austin police officers have been cleared by a Travis County grand jury in connection to a shooting in November of 2024. Officers Javier Rodriguez, Joseph Kephart, Katherine Alzola, and Andy Yu were involved in the shooting at an apartment complex in northwest Austin.
According to police, the incident began hours earlier in Bee Cave when police say Zachary Labrie sped away from a traffic stop, and then later broke into his girlfriend’s apartment with a shotgun. Police say he also carjacked two people at two different locations.
Austin police later tracked down Labrie and confronted him, and that’s when they said he pointed a gun at the officers, forcing them to open fire and kill him.
Labrie also had an ankle monitor at the time, but he’d cut it off.
Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza said the grand jury heard the evidence and determined the officers acted lawfully.
In a statement, the Austin Police Association said: “These officers were dealing with a violent individual who forced the deadly encounter, which placed our officers and the public in harm’s way. Fortunately when seconds counted our officers responded swiftly, appropriately, and within their training.”
