Steve Foster remembers how nervous he felt as he flew to Austin from Denver late on April 5 — it was the first time in the state capital since 2020, the year his son was gunned down while attending a Black Lives Matter protest in the city with his fiancée.
Foster said he left Texas because of the painful memories related to the fatal shooting, which occurred July 25, 2020 near the corner of Fourth Street and Congress Avenue in downtown Austin. He also avoided going to the murder trial of Daniel Perry, an U.S. Army sergeant from North Texas, who claimed that he shot Garrett Foster, who was 28 years old at the time, out of self-defense.
“I didn’t go to the entire trial was because I didn’t want to rehash it all and go through it all in my head,” Foster said.
Foster found courage to sit through the closing arguments of the trial last week, and saw Perry being put in handcuffs after a 12-person jury on Friday found him guilty of murder. Perry’s sentencing has not been scheduled.
“I thought we had closure, this is the end,” Foster recalled.
But Foster said the closure his family finally got was disrupted by Gov. Greg Abbott, who tweeted a day after Perry’s guilty verdict that he was “working as swiftly as Texas law allows” to pardon the convicted Army sergeant. Some conservatives, including Fox News host Tucker Carlson, have criticized Perry’s conviction.
Foster said he is angry his son’s death has been politicized.
“The governor saying that he’s going to pardon without even looking at the evidence? That’s 100% political; that’s not him saying I think this guy is innocent, that’s just him saying I need my voters to support me so I’m gonna pardon this guy,” Foster said.
Garrett Foster grew up in Plano and met his fiancée Whitney Mitchell, who is Black, in North Texas. The couple attended multiple rallies in downtown Austin following the police slayings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.
Witnesses had said that a car, which was being driven by Perry, turned down Congress Avenue toward a group of protesters and started honking. Foster, who had been pushing his fiancée’s wheelchair and was carrying an AK-47-style rifle, approached the vehicle and the driver opened fire, witnesses have said. Authorities had said that a second person — not Foster — returned fire as the car drove off.
Perry’s attorney F. Clinton Broden, claimed that his client shot Foster in self-defense, saying that Foster had raised his weapon toward him, and that Perry, who was working as an Uber driver, did not know that a demonstration was taking place near Fourth Street and Congress Avenue, where the shooting occurred.
In a written statement, Broden said he was disappointed in the guilty verdict.
“Right now we are completely focused on preparing for Sgt. Perry’s sentencing hearing,” Broden wrote. “Daniel was most crushed that his conviction will end his Army service. He loved being a soldier for our country.”
In a written statement Sunday, Travis County District Attorney José Garza described Abbott’s message as “deeply troubling,” and thanked jurors for their work on the case.
“After hearing from civilian eyewitnesses and expert witnesses, and deliberating for over fifteen hours, they reached the unanimous decision that Daniel Perry did not kill Garrett Foster in self-defense and was guilty of murder beyond a reasonable doubt,” Garza wrote. “In our legal system, a jury gets to decide whether a defendant is guilty or innocent — not the Governor.”
Garza’s office has also reached out to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to request an appointment to present evidence from the criminal case.
“Before making any decision, I implore you to review the trial transcript, evidence from trial officials that may have an impact on public safety, and request input from the victim’s family as to how a pardon may impact them,” Garza said in a letter to the state board of pardons and paroles.
Perry’s lawyer on Thursday shared a letter, addressed to the state parole board, stating that the defense is “prepared to explain to the Board the tortured nature of this case and the political machinations that resulted in the case even being brought to trial.” He wrote that the letter was in direct response to Garza’s letter to the board, which was shared through social media.
“We understand that Governor Abbott’s request has stirred a debate about the pardon process in general and that questions have been raised about the appropriateness of a pardon following a guilty verdict,” Broden wrote.
Foster said the family will await sentencing and is paying close attention to how the case will be handled by the state board of pardons and paroles. He said he hopes that the justice system does not make a mistake with his son’s case.
“I love my government, I love my country, I love police officers and I do trust our justice system,” Foster said. “I know they get it wrong sometimes.”
