AUSTIN (KXAN) — Former prosecutor Gary Cobb is coming out of retirement to help with a murder trial related to the death of Michael Ramos, who was shot and killed by an Austin Police Department officer in 2020.

Travis County District Attorney José Garza made a special request for Cobb to help with the case, according to a source who asked to remain anonymous because of their proximity to the case.

Christopher Taylor shot and killed Ramos on April 24, 2020 in the parking lot of a south Austin apartment complex during a confrontation Ramos had with police, APD said at the time.

The case was supposed to be referred to a grand jury in August 2020, but then-DA Margaret Moore, who lost a primary runoff, decided to pass the case off to the winner of the November DA election. In March 2021, a Travis County grand jury returned an indictment against Taylor and Garza announced the case would go to trial.

The case sparked controversy after body and dash camera videos of the incident were released, and protesters marched in Ramos’ name.

The Travis County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement to KXAN that over the last two years, it has “added experienced prosecutors to hold people accountable who commit acts of violence.”

In that time, the Travis County Commissioner’s Court has approved the addition of four temporary attorney positions to prosecute the “increased number of cases of violence” in the office, the statement said.

“The District Attorney’s Office is grateful to add Mr. Cobb as a Special Prosecutor to the growing list of experienced prosecutors handling cases of violence in our office,” the statement continued. “His skills and experience will be a great value to our community.”

Taylor’s attorneys declined to provide a comment to KXAN.