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Tag Archives: Austin Justice Coalition

Council weighs financial impact of proposed police contract

As City Council weighs approval of a proposed police contract expected to cost $218 million over five years, city budget staff on Tuesday presented a brighter financial outlook compared to the dire projections given earlier this year. At Tuesday’s work…

TxDOT argues in court that I-35 never caused racial discrimination – contradicting TxDOT

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is arguing in federal court that Interstate 35 didn’t unfairly disadvantage Black or Latino Austinites, contradicting the state agency’s own historical assessments of the highway that opened in 1962. “Defendant specifically denies the allegations…

Austin Justice Coalition slams city in State of Black Austin Address

Nearly 16 years ago, the city released its African American Quality of Life Final Report, which detailed 56 initiatives underway to improve the quality of life for Black residents. On Wednesday, the Austin Justice Coalition hosted a State of Black…

APD announces partial release of mandated data dashboard

The Austin Police Department will transition the chief’s monthly report from a PDF format to an online dashboard complete with explanations and definitions available through the city’s open data portal. The planned dashboard release date is Jan. 18, according to…

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Council members question Garza’s promotion of police oversight director

Interim City Manager Jesús Garza’s recent promotion of Gail McCant to director of the Office of Police Oversight has rankled City Council members, who say he backtracked on a prior commitment to conduct a national search and skirted transparency considerations. …

Austin Justice Coalition launches economic justice campaign

This week, the Austin Justice Coalition announced the launch of the Justice Now: Economic Justice Campaign. The nonprofit said the initiative aims to address systemic economic inequalities in the Austin area. The Justice Now campaign will leverage public awareness campaigns,…

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Community groups call for an end to APD, DPS partnership

Multiple community representatives and activists called for an end to the partnership between the Austin Police Department and the Texas Department of Public Safety during public comment at City Council’s regular meeting May 4. The concerns echo questions raised by…

New APD-DPS partnership sparks pushback, arrests

Austin Mayor Kirk Watson cited long-standing police staffing shortages, which have led to a “decentralized” approach to traffic enforcement among other things, when he announced last week that the Texas Department of Public Safety would soon begin playing a supportive…

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Council approves ordinances to strengthen renters’ rights

City Council approved two ordinances Thursday enshrining the right of tenants to organize and to remedy lease violations prior to eviction.  As rents in Austin continue to rise, tenant advocates say the ordinances are increasingly necessary to help prevent eviction…

Equity Action submits police oversight petition ahead of November election

Austin voters may get the chance to decide whether to expand police oversight in the November election. Equity Action, a local political action committee dedicated to public safety reform, submitted 33,000 petition signatures to the city clerk on Monday in support…

City pushes to open police personnel files to the public

The city of Austin proposed making portions of police officers’ personnel files public, including disciplinary histories, and raising salaries 6 percent over four years during its Thursday negotiation session.  As the current contract’s Sept. 30 expiration date nears, the two…

City, police union tussle over increased oversight, officers’ rights

The city of Austin has proposed changes to its labor contract with the Austin Police Association that its bargaining team said would improve the transparency of administrative investigations and other disciplinary decisions involving police officers. The police union’s bargaining team…

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