Interview with Pamela Watts

On June 10th, 2020, Pamela Watts and her partner Jennifer Miller were t-boned in Lockhart, Texas by off-duty San Marcos Police Sergeant Ryan Hartman. Watts was airlifted off the scene with multiple injuries, and Miller died while still trapped in the vehicle. Hartman had an open can of Dos Equis beer in his car but refused a blood alcohol test. A blood test administered several hours later after a warrant was issued came back negative for alcohol. Lockhart Police Department investigated the crash and recommended charges of negligent homicide. The Caldwell County District Attorney recused himself due personal connections to Hartman, and the Bastrop County District Attorney Bryan Goertz, who took over the case, presented charges of distracted driving to a Grand Jury. The case did not go to trial. Since the accident, Watts has called for Hartman to step down from his position as an officer with SMPD, and vocally opposed the decisions of the Bastrop County District Attorney. In this interview, Watts discusses the night of the wreck and her activism to find justice for Jennifer Miller’s death. She outlines the actions and responses of various individuals involved in the case, and once again calls for Ryan Hartman to leave the police force. Pamela Watts was interviewed by Amy Kamp for Texas After Violence Project on July 19th, 2021, in the offices of Mano Amiga in San Marcos, Hays County, Texas.