Officer gave ride to runaway later charged in UT slaying
AUSTIN, Texas --An off-duty Central Texas police officer gave a teenage runaway a ride to Austin about 10 days before a college student was slain and the youth was later charged in the killing.
Georgetown police said Thursday that the officer broke no policies by helping 17-year-old Meechaiel Criner.
Criner remained in custody Friday facing a murder charge in the death of University of Texas student Haruka Weiser, who was from Oregon. Her body was found April 5 in a creek.
Police say the officer, whose name wasn't released, stopped at a Georgetown-area store on March 23 where Criner - with blisters on his feet - had been hanging around for several hours.
The officer, when off-duty, returned with his personal vehicle and drove Criner to a hospital near campus.