Taylor was sentenced to two years in prison after being convicted of deadly conduct, after originally being charged with murder in the shooting death of 46-year-old Mauris DeSilva in 2019.
DeSilva was in the midst of a mental health episode, walking around an apartment complex, threatening to harm himself and holding a knife to his throat, when he failed to drop the knife after being instructed by officers to do so.
Taylor and another officer opened fire during the incident, while another officer shot a taser, according to the background section included in the appeals court decision.
"In 2019, Appellant, then an Austin Police Department officer, and three fellow officers responded to a 911 call at a downtown Austin condo building. A resident, Mauris DeSilva, had been seen roaming the halls with a knife to his throat and threatening suicide," the document explains.
"Bodycam footage showed that when the elevator doors opened, DeSilva was facing a hallway mirror with the knife at his throat. He turned and approached the officers. They had not designated a single officer to issue commands, and all four shouted orders, including ‘show me your hands’ and ‘drop the knife'," the document says.
"DeSilva lowered the knife to his side but continued forward. Almost simultaneously, the taser officer fired, and the two officers with drawn weapons fired as well. Appellant fired five shots, and the other officer fired twice. DeSilva died at the scene," the document notes.
"Appellant was indicted for deadly conduct with a firearm and pleaded not guilty, asserting self-defense and defense of others," the document noted, adding that a jury found Taylor guilty and a court sentenced him to "two years' imprisonment."
Fox News Digital previously spoke to members of the law enforcement community in Austin who said that Taylor’s prosecution represented a malicious targeting of police officers by Travis County's progressive district attorney, José Garza.
In response to Taylor's conviction being overturned this week, Austin Police Association President Michael Bullock said the appeals court decision "once again shows that District Attorney Jose Garza manipulated the criminal justice system by repeatedly trying cases against Detective Taylor, until the jury pool was so tainted that an impartial decision could not be made."
Garza has long faced criticism from law enforcement for an alleged "war on cops" after the Soros-backed district attorney campaigned on indicting police officers and "reimagining" policing in Austin. Soros contributed $652,000 to the Texas Justice & Public Safety PAC in the months leading up to the 2020 Travis County DA election, according to campaign finance records. That same PAC spent almost $1 million on digital and mail advertisements to help Garza’s campaign.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Travis County District Attorney's Office for comment on Taylor's conviction being overturned but did not immediately hear back.