Officials in Hays County gave the green light to officers involved in a Buda shootout, determining the actions taken last September were warranted, local sources report. KXAN indicated that the Hays County grand jury concluded the officers — two from the Buda Police Department and three Hays County Sheriff’s deputies — were justified under Texas law in the violent traffic stop altercation.
The incident unfolded rapidly during the early morning hours of Sept. 5, when a Buda officer pulled over a car on I-35's frontage road. The situation escalated after 46-year-old Lee Elsbury exited his vehicle, brandishing a weapon, and was promptly shot at by the officer. Found firing a weapon and then being shot multiple times after a pursuit, Elsbury survived and was subsequently charged with several felonies, as indicated by a release from the Hays County Criminal District Attorney’s Office obtained by CBS Austin.
Despite being a fledgling department of just 13 years, the Buda Police Department faced its first officer-involved shooting with this incident. "Buda as a police department is only 13 years old," Chief Bo Kidd told CBS Austin. “And in that time, we've never had an officer-involved shooting. This will be our first." The Texas Rangers were called to assist in the investigation that led to the grand jury's decision.
Officers at the scene started life-saving measures immediately after the suspect was shot and downed, ensuring EMS was called to tend to his injuries. Elsbury was taken into custody before being transported to a local hospital. The case against him, involving multiple felonies, is pending according to statements by the DA’s office released to KXAN.
