Editor’s note: This story was updated on Aug. 26 at 1:56 p.m., ET.
The Army has moved to discharge a sergeant that was convicted of murder on April 7 for killing an Air Force veteran during a Black Lives Matter protest in 2020.
A jury in Texas found Sgt. Daniel Perry, 36, guilty of murdering 28-year-old Air Force veteran Garrett Foster on July 25, 2020. Foster was carrying an assault rifle in downtown Austin, Texas during a protest for racial justice, when Perry turned his car into a group of protesters while working as a rideshare driver. During the trial, Perry said he shot Foster with his handgun when the veteran raised his rifle toward Perry’s car.
At the time of the protest, Perry was based out of Fort Hood, Texas and was later reassigned to the 11th Airborne Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team at Fort Wainwright, Alaska. The 11th Airborne Division declined to provide a comment on the move to discharge Perry, which Stars and Stripes previously reported.
Doug O’Connell, who serves as Perry’s attorney, however, called the move to discharge his client “wildly premature.” He said that since a motion for a new trial is still pending, there is no formal paperwork labeling Perry as guilty. The initial police report showed that the responding officer labeled Foster’s death as a “justified homicide.”
The police report goes on state that “based on the totality of the circumstances, the available evidence supports the assessment that [Perry]…did not provoke an armed encounter with [Foster] or engage in criminal activity other than a traffic violation…and reasonably acted in self-defense under Texas Penal Code.”
O’Connell pointed to the court of public opinion as the only impetus for his client’s discharge, since the conviction has yet to be finalized and the initial police report found no wrongdoing on Perry’s part.
“There is no record of conviction available since Sgt. Perry has not been sentenced,” O’Connell said. “Given the fact that credible evidence of jury misconduct exists, it’s very possible that Sgt. Perry will receive a new trial...Separating Sgt. Perry based on media reports is not only an injustice but it also sets a dangerous precedent.”
An affidavit filed by O’Connell said that one juror in a sworn statement said another member of the jury brought in research from the Texas Penal Code they conducted during an overnight break. Jurors are not permitted to consider evidence not submitted during the trial process.
Perry’s conviction has also garnered the attention of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who could in part control Perry’s fate if the judge denies his motion for a new trialing. The day after his conviction, Abbott tweeted that he would ask the state Board of Pardons and Paroles to expedite his request to pardon Perry.
Zamone “Z” Perez is a reporter at Military Times. He previously worked at Foreign Policy and Ufahamu Africa. He is a graduate of Northwestern University, where he researched international ethics and atrocity prevention in his thesis. He can be found on Twitter @zamoneperez.
