'What gall': Soros-backed, 'anti-police' DA leaves fallen officer's funeral early following cold reception

A George Soros-funded, "anti-police" district attorney in Austin, Texas, left a fallen officer's funeral early after receiving a cold reception from guests, sources told Fox News Digital on Monday.

Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza recently attended the funeral of Jorge Pastore, an Austin police officer and SWAT team member who was killed in the line of duty on November 11 while responding to a hostage situation.

Dennis Farris, a funeral attendee, told Fox News Digital, "When he came walking in, I thought what gall this man has to show up at a funeral for an officer killed in the line of duty when all he's done since he's been in office is go after cops."

"From my perspective, he wasn't welcome, and the fact that either he was asked to leave or he chose to leave on his own," Farris continued, "whatever the case may be, I'm glad he left because he shouldn't have shown up in the first place."

During his attendance at the funeral service, Garza was asked to leave a room set aside for first responders, a law enforcement source told the news outlet. Garza was reportedly told that his presence was "making people uncomfortable." The DA was asked to leave another area that was set aside for the mayor and city council because he was "not supposed to be" there, the source said.

Another source told Fox News Digital that Garza was told he was not welcome at the funeral and that he would have to watch the service in a room on a television. At that point, Garza reportedly left, though it is unclear if he was asked to or chose to leave early.

An Austin police officer who asked to remain anonymous told Fox News Digital that Garza's presence at the funeral was "a slap in the face to every officer."

"Everyone I spoke to expressed anger, confusion, or both, given his relationship, or lack thereof, with the law enforcement community," the officer stated. "What's worse, it seemed as though Garza was genuinely confused as to why he was being asked to leave areas he didn't belong, as though he didn't understand all the problems he's caused by unjustly indicting so many of our brothers and sisters. He should have just stayed home."

Garza has sparked criticism for his radical left-leaning policies and for having an "anti-police bias." The district attorney previously indicted 19 police officers who responded to the Black Lives Matter riots.

Garza was elected as DA in January 2021 and, according to the Washington Post, has received hundreds of thousands of dollars from leftist billionaire George Soros. He has no previous experience as a prosecutor but ran on the promise to end police misconduct and reform the county's cash bail system. Garza also stated that he would refuse to prosecute low-level drug crimes.

Earlier this year, Garza's soft-on-crime policies allowed a bus driver who fatally struck a bicyclist while under the influence of prescription drugs to dodge jail time. In April, a man who admitted to assaulting a woman and exposing himself to a child was also offered a plea deal from Garza that allowed him to avoid serving time in jail.

Garza's office did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

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