Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo joins Austin Monitor publisher Mike Kanin to talk about policing in Austin against the backdrop of current national concerns. [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/281324250″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]
Police
Posted inBudget
Austin police short-staffed and underprotected, advocates say
In the aftermath of two shootings in Austin last weekend, City Council should increase police numbers as well as invest in better body armor, advocates say. Those shootings, along with a fierce national debate over the role police should be playing in communities, gave added gravity to a discussion over Austin’s shortage of police officers and […]
Posted inPolice
The investigations that begin when APD officers discharge their weapons
While investigations into the police shootings of black men in Louisiana and Minnesota have begun, a writer for feminist publication Ravishly wonders how each local jurisdiction investigates cases like these. Writer Ijeoma Oluo poses these questions: “Who reviews civilian complaints? Is there any civilian oversight? How are people appointed to review panels? Is there regular […]
Posted inPolice
The day after Dallas police shootings, APD graduates 37 new officers
It’s been one week since Baton Rouge police officers shot and killed Alton Sterling, a black man selling CDs outside a convenience store. Just a day later, Philando Castile was shot and killed by police outside St. Paul, Minn. Then, on Thursday, a lone gunman killed five Dallas police officers as protestors objecting to the […]
Posted inPolice
Commission wants ongoing scrutiny of police body camera policies
Activists and city leaders who pushed for the Austin Police Department to equip its officers with body cameras continue to voice concerns about the implementation of the program, including whether it will bring the intended transparency and protect the privacy of crime victims and witnesses. On Tuesday, the city Public Safety Commission approved a resolution […]
Posted inPolice
APD response times continue to increase
According to the city of Austin’s latest annual performance review released on June 22, the time it takes Austin police officers to respond to high-priority calls has been steadily increasing over the past five years. During Fiscal Year 2014-2015, the department missed its goal of responding to emergency and urgent calls within seven minutes and […]
Posted inPolice
Council delays purchase of police body cameras
Expressing concern that they were moving too fast, City Council members voted 7-1 to delay the purchase of body cameras for the Austin Police Department for two weeks. At their meeting on June 9, Council members cited concerns with transparency when it came to who would be able to view footage from the cameras, as […]
Posted inPolice
Committee wants more specifics from police on body cameras
Activists and members of the City Council Public Safety Committee made clear Monday that they want greater assurances from the Austin Police Department that the body cameras the department plans to implement will bring about transparency and accountability. In particular, the four committee members emphasized their hope that the department would develop a clear set […]
Posted inPolice
Council to take up APD gender identity proposal
The Public Safety Commission unanimously recommended a resolution Monday that it hopes will prompt the police department to reform its policies on how gender is reported in criminal complaints and other official reports. The resolution directs the city manager to develop a policy on how the Austin Police Department refers to transgender and gender nonconforming […]
Posted inPolice
Commission debates racial disparities in policing
The Austin Police Department “deserves at least a B+,” according to Austin Police Monitor Margo Frasier. The good news is that not only did the total number of complaints about APD decline in 2014, but the most common complaint was for officer rudeness, Frasier told the Public Safety Commission on Monday. During her presentation, she […]
Posted inPolice
One way to protect pedestrians? APD says more ticketing power
More power over more highways. That’s part of what the Austin Police Department hopes to attain in its effort to reverse last year’s record number of fatal car accidents, which resulted in 102 deaths, and limit the number of pedestrian deaths, which totaled 30 last year. “There was a city ordinance … that had not […]
Posted inPolice
Officials reflect on safety at SXSW 2016
This year’s South by Southwest festival was one of the safest yet, say SXSW and public safety officials, thanks to overtime funding that allowed Austin Police Department officers to fill festival staffing spots internally. Overall, the number of festival-related arrests was lower than in recent years. “It went really, really well,” Brad Spies, SXSW’s special […]