SAN ANTONIO – Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales on Tuesday announced that veteran prosecutor Daryl Harris will lead a newly established civil rights division within the DA’s office.
The division was founded following the civil unrest in the wake of the death of George Floyd in Minnesota police custody.
The Bexar County Commissioners Court approved the division and allocated funding for it.
“The big motivation, as far as I’m concerned, in the establishment of this division and the reason I sought funding for it, is because of after George Floyd,” Gonzales said Tuesday.
Harris, 61, a first chair prosecutor who has been with the DA’s office since 2002, has prosecuted dozens of high-profile cases.
The division will focus exclusively on officer-involved shootings, custodial deaths and allegations of excessive use of force by law enforcement.
“I hope to bring a commitment to vigorously and consistently pursue the truth,” Harris said. “To look beneath the rocks, to look beyond what is actually presented.”
”It will be a demotion for him, but he’s more concerned about this office doing the right thing than his personal gain,” Gonzales said, adding that he hopes to have the division fully staffed and operational in about 30 days.
Though law enforcement will continue to conduct investigations into officer-involved shootings and file reports with the DA’s office, a prosecutor and an investigator with the Civil Rights Division will also respond to the crime scene.