Budget recommendations from boards and commissions are due to city departments at the end of May. However, the Public Safety Commission did not feel there was ample review time since its April meeting was canceled, so commissioners postponed their recommendation on May 4 in favor of calling a special meeting within the next two weeks. […]
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Public Safety Commission requests updates on APD’s response to Tatum investigation
At its May 4 meeting, the Public Safety Commission discussed the findings of a report by outside investigator Lisa Tatum that examined accusations of racism and homophobia leveled against APD’s top brass in recent months. While the report was unable to corroborate all of the claims, the commission determined it was necessary to receive periodic […]
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Following racism investigation and a fatal shooting, advocates ask Austin to fire police chief
The Austin Justice Coalition, Grassroots Leadership and other advocacy groups are asking city leaders to fire Austin Police Chief Brian Manley, Chief of Staff Troy Gay and Assistant City Manager Rey Arellano. The call to fire the city’s highest-ranking police officer comes after Michael Ramos, 42, was killed when police shot at his vehicle as he […]
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Officer-involved shooting in Southeast Austin spurs investigation and protests
The Travis County District Attorney’s Office and Austin’s Office of Police Oversight are investigating an officer-involved shooting that took place Friday night in Southeast Austin. Local organizations have deemed the shooting, which resulted in the death of a 42-year-old man, unjustified, and members of the community protested the incident on Saturday. After receiving a 911 […]
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Investigator largely unable to corroborate claims of bigotry against high-ranking Austin police
An outside investigator hired by the city of Austin to look into allegations of racism and homophobia against two assistant police chiefs has largely been unable to corroborate the accusations. “At this investigation’s conclusion, we can say we have a gathered a great deal of information and have a significantly increased knowledge about the culture […]
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APD’s curtailed operations could impact equity
Last week, the Austin Police Department announced changes to its daily operations in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. While there will be no change to the department’s response to critical calls where life and safety are jeopardized, smaller offenses and administrative tasks have taken a back seat. APD will no longer respond to low-priority calls […]
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Austin Police Department sees increase in violent crime
While the Austin Police Department is still finalizing crime numbers for 2019, the end of the last decade and the beginning of this one saw an uptick in violent crime, according to APD Chief of Staff Troy Gay. Gay told the Public Safety Commission at its March 2 meeting, “At the end of the year […]
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Public Safety Commission previews APD’s critical incident video policy
Following Council’s request in February for a policy governing the automatic public release of videos in critical cases, Farah Muscadin, director of the Office of Police Oversight, presented a draft policy to the Public Safety Commission on March 2. Muscadin, who has been working on a policy to release footage associated with critical incidents to […]
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Seeking increased safety, Downtown Commission asks city to fully staff APD
The Downtown Commission has asked City Council to increase staffing levels for the Austin Police Department in the next budget year, while adding more public video cameras and lighting to busy pedestrian areas. The unanimously approved resolution came at last week’s commission meeting amidst debate over the state of public safety in downtown Austin. Much […]
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Cronk promises new body cam video policy soon
What started out as a routine approval of an amendment for a large contract for police body cameras and Tasers turned into a discussion about the city’s new policy on releasing body cam footage at Thursday’s Council meeting. With the exception of Mayor Pro Tem Delia Garza, Council members voted unanimously to approve the contract […]
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Community reacts to APD racial profiling study at Public Safety Commission
Last week, a report from the city’s Office of Police Oversight, Office of Innovation, and Equity Office showed that black and Hispanic drivers are more likely to be stopped in their vehicles by Austin police than white and Asian drivers. Following the release of the report, the Public Safety Commission heard from the community and […]
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Black and Hispanic drivers are increasingly more likely to be stopped by Austin police
While the black population in Austin hovers around 8 percent, black people made up roughly 15 percent of drivers pulled over by police and 25 percent of people subsequently arrested in 2018 – a disparity that has worsened since 2015. At the same time, white and Asian people were underrepresented in motor vehicle stops and […]