City of Austin
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASERelease Date:
Contact: APD Public Information Office 512-974-5017 Email
The Austin Police Department (APD) continues to investigate the officer-involved shooting that occurred on Monday, August 8, 2022.
APD continues to work diligently to build trust within our community. As per our policy, we share information about a critical incident within 10 business days of its occurrence. Transparency and accountability are key to our ability to serve the Austin community, so we will provide an account of this critical incident to help you understand the chain of events. APD is working with the Office of Police Oversight and the Travis County District Attorney’s Office to release this information today. The press release includes links to the relevant audio and video from the ongoing investigation. The details provided today are preliminary, as we are very early in the investigation.
The APD officer involved in this incident is Officer Michael Bradburn.
At approximately 11:12 p.m., Officer Bradburn was driving in a black and white marked Austin Police Department vehicle, when he initiated a traffic stop on a motorcyclist at approximately the 9300 block of East US Highway 290 westbound service road for the traffic violation of operation of a vehicle without a license plate. As the motorcycle stopped, the operator of the motorcycle, Mr. Brandon Munoz, stopped and ran from the officer, running southbound on Cameron Rd. Officer Bradburn got out of his vehicle and pursued Mr. Munoz on foot. During this pursuit, Officer Bradburn said over the police radio he observed that Mr. Munoz was carrying a firearm. Officer Bradburn repeatedly gave commands for Mr. Munoz to drop the gun.
A Texas DPS trooper who was in the area monitoring APD radio responded to assist Officer Bradburn in the foot pursuit. Mr. Munoz ran towards a shopping center in the 6300 block of Cameron Road. Mr. Munoz attempted to carjack an unrelated vehicle that was parked. Mr. Munoz entered the front passenger side of the vehicle, pointed his gun at the person in the driver’s seat, and told the person to put the car in reverse and leave.
At that time, Officer Bradburn and the DPS Trooper discharged their firearms, striking Mr. Munoz while he was sitting in the vehicle. The person driving the vehicle was not injured and was given commands to exit the vehicle by responding officers. APD officers were able to remove Mr. Munoz from the vehicle. Once the officers were able to ensure Mr. Munoz no longer had a firearm on his person and was no longer a threat, they began life-saving measures. Austin-Travis County EMS transported Mr. Munoz to a local hospital with critical injuries. Mr. Munoz remains in the hospital in critical but stable condition. Mr. Munoz has been charged with aggravated kidnapping, a first-degree felony. No other civilians or officers on the scene sustained physical injuries. A firearm was recovered on the ground next to the vehicle near where Mr. Munoz was sitting.
Officer Bradburn was wearing the standard Austin Police Department-issued uniform with protective vest and patch, marked as “Police.”
This incident was captured on both body-worn camera and dash camera video. Body-worn and dash camera videos do not always capture everything the officer or witnesses saw or experienced during the incident; however, the footage helps us understand what occurred.
In compliance with state law that prohibits the release of certain information, and to maintain the integrity of the investigation, the materials have been redacted. The materials include comprehensive footage of the officers’ actions and contain graphic content and language. Viewer discretion is advised.
MATERIALS BEING RELEASED:
- Body-worn camera of Officer Michael Bradburn
- Dash camera video- Police vehicle of Officer Michael Bradburn
- Surveillance video
- Audio of police radio traffic
All of the released materials are available on the Departments YouTube and other social media platforms. The link to the materials is below.
Please click the link here:
Critical Incident Officer-Involved Shooting - August 8, 2022
Per APD protocol, Officer Michael Bradburn who fired the APD-issued firearm has been placed on Administrative Leave. Officer Bradburn has less than one year of service with the Department, graduating from the APD Training Academy in January 2022.
APD will conduct two concurrent investigations into this incident: a criminal investigation by the APD Special Investigations Unit along with the Texas DPS Rangers in conjunction with the Travis County District Attorney's Office, and an administrative investigation conducted by the APD Internal Affairs Unit, with oversight from the Office of Police Oversight.
Anyone with information about this incident should call Crime Stoppers at 512-472-TIPS, or use the new Crime Stoppers App.