Police
Austin police investigate series of street racing incidents over the weekend
Lee esta historia en español. The Austin Police Department is investigating a series of incidents over the weekend in which cars were racing and blocking traffic. One officer was injured and multiple law enforcement vehicles were damaged, APD said. Between Saturday night…
Police • By Haya Panjwani, KUT • Feb 21, 2023
Council directs negotiators to bring back one-year police contract
City Council voted 9-2 on Wednesday to instruct staff and outside counsel to negotiate a one-year extension of the current contract between the city and the Austin Police Association without taking an explicit position on a four-year deal announced last…
Police • By Jo Clifton • Feb 16, 2023
Council delays vote on one-year police contract extension, citing confusion
After nearly a year of negotiations, with just seven weeks to go until the current police labor contract expires, with city staff and the police union working to finalize a tentative four-year agreement and in the run-up to a local…
Police • By Emma Freer • Feb 10, 2023
CM Vela proposes one-year police labor contract extension
As the city of Austin and the Austin Police Association continue to negotiate a new, four-year labor contract, several Council members have endorsed a short-term extension of the current agreement that would allow voters a chance to weigh in. District…
Police • By Emma Freer • Feb 6, 2023
Public Safety Commission calls out APD’s resistance to training academy reform
The city’s Public Safety Commission criticized the Austin Police Department for stonewalling a committee formed by City Council in 2021 to review the police training academy curriculum as part of a broader push to “reimagine” public safety. “Just to summarize,…
Police • By Emma Freer • Jan 26, 2023
City, police union move toward removing OPO from labor contract
With less than three months until the current police labor contract expires, the city of Austin and the Austin Police Association recently returned to the bargaining table and moved closer toward consensus regarding civilian oversight of the Austin Police Department. …
Police • By Emma Freer • Jan 23, 2023
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Judge denies motions to dismiss in Mike Ramos civil suit
In a Sunday ruling denying qualified immunity to the Austin police officer who fatally shot Mike Ramos, U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman sharply criticized the city’s handling of excessive force incidents. The ruling stems from the civil suit filed against…
Police • By Nina Hernandez • Dec 20, 2022
City, police union resume labor contract negotiations
The city of Austin and the Austin Police Association returned to the bargaining table Wednesday after a brief hiatus stemming from an impasse on oversight provisions. The city initiated the pause early this month after the police union said it…
Police • By Emma Freer • Dec 16, 2022
Community advocates urge city, police union to return to negotiating table
Community advocates on both sides of the police contract negotiations say the city of Austin and the police union should return to the bargaining table. But their motivations and their priorities for a new contract are diametrically opposed. Last week,…
Police • By Emma Freer • Dec 9, 2022
Deadlocked on oversight, city and police union pause contract negotiations
After nearly nine months of negotiation sessions, the city of Austin halted bargaining with the Austin Police Association Thursday, citing disagreement about civilian oversight of police and raising questions about whether the two sides will agree to a new labor…
Police • By Emma Freer • Dec 5, 2022
APD has improved response to sexual assault cases but there's more work to do, report finds
While the Austin Police Department has improved its handling of sexual assault cases in some areas – like sending sexual assault kits for DNA analysis faster and correctly classifying more cases – there’s still room for improvement, a new report finds. Researchers…
Police • By Sangita Menon, KUT • Nov 15, 2022
Police union revisits city’s proposal to expand civilian oversight as clock ticks down
The Austin Police Association will respond later this month to the city’s repeated demands to remove civilian oversight of the police department from the labor contract. In exchange, the union has asked the city to reconsider some of its earlier…
