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Tag Archives: Austin Police Department

New collective continues the fight to dismantle systemic racism

Mayor Steve Adler and a coalition of community activists launched a new nonprofit organization earlier this month, creating an entity to succeed the Mayor’s Task Force on Institutional Racism and Systemic Inequities and bring many of its 278 recommendations to…

Austin protester sues officer for shooting him in the face with 'less-lethal' round

An Austinite who was shot by a police officer with a so-called less-lethal shotgun round during a protest this summer is suing the officer and the Austin Police Department in federal court. A federal civil rights lawsuit filed Tuesday on…

Mike Ramos' mother asks Austin police chief whether he'll fire officer who killed her son

The mother of Mike Ramos, a Black and Latino man who was shot and killed by an Austin police officer in April, is calling on the department to act on investigations into the officer. At a press conference Wednesday, Brenda…

Austin's DNA lab has had issues for years. A new report outlines how it could be run in the future.

Poor supervision and untrained staff have long plagued the Austin Police Department’s DNA crime lab, forcing it to close briefly in 2016 and then be overseen by the state. So, what will a future lab look like? Consultants hired by…

Assistant chief talks APD headquarters

The movement for racial justice combined with the Covid-19 pandemic may be reshaping the future of the Austin Police Department and the use of the department’s headquarters at 715 E. Eighth St. While the conversation about reimagining the headquarters grew…

Public Safety Committee examines the use of police time, asks for more data

As the city of Austin looks into redefining the duties of its police department, staffers are reaching out to community members to hear feedback about what the next iteration of the Austin Police Department could look like. Simultaneously, city staff are…

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Public Safety Commission considers a new vision for APD headquarters

A conversation on the future of the Austin Police Department headquarters is following on the heels of City Council’s reformulation of Austin’s police budget last month. On Sept. 9, the Public Safety Commission articulated a new vision for the current…

Austin could 'decouple' victim services from APD. Here's what that would look like.

Twenty years ago, trombones were echoing in Courtney Santana’s ears – trombones like the ones in Charlie Brown cartoons. There she was, crumpled on parking lot asphalt. Austin police officers were holding her two kids, including her 8-month-old son, who…

Human Rights Commission calls for democratically elected police chief

On Monday, the Human Rights Commission agreed that City Council should change city ordinance to allow Austin to democratically elect its police chief. Under the proposal, which was put together by commissioners Nathan White, Kristian Caballero and Alicia Weigel, Austin…

Council to consider approving grants for APD safety projects

Thursday’s City Council meeting agenda has 10 items requesting approval of grant awards to the Austin Police Department for a variety of ongoing projects. While the grants support important community programs like mental health first response, sexual assault evidence testing…

Integral Care set to address most mental health emergency calls without involving APD

Last week, City Council approved an additional $1.3 million for the Integral Care-EMCOT program next fiscal year, increasing the budget for the Expanded Mobile Crisis Outreach Team by about 75 percent. With those extra dollars, Integral Care, the mental health…

Austin City Council proposes cutting police funding by a third. It could vote Wednesday.

City Council members are proposing cuts to the Austin Police Department budget totaling roughly $149 million, or 34 percent of the department’s current budget. Council members are scheduled to vote on the city’s budget for the upcoming fiscal year as…

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