Tag Archives: Austin Police Department
APD, Public Safety Commission clash over decorum, responsiveness
Austin Police Chief Joseph Chacon threatened to withhold his department’s participation in future meetings of the city’s Public Safety Commission, citing a lack of decorum and exposing deep-seated tensions between the two entities. Commissioners, in turn, spoke of APD leadership’s…
Police • By Emma Freer • May 3, 2023
Parks board recommends park safety task force
The Parks and Recreation Board is calling for City Council to establish a parks safety task force to evaluate park safety, consider whether to reinstate a parks police unit and recommend ways of supporting the growing number of homeless residents…
Parks • By Nina Hernandez • May 2, 2023
A month into Austin patrols, state police are disproportionately arresting people of color
New data from the Travis County Attorney’s Office shows Black and Latino people have been disproportionately arrested by state police in the last few weeks. The data provides a look into the first few weeks of the Austin Police Department’s…
Police • By Andrew Weber, KUT • May 1, 2023
Council OKs license-plate reader contract negotiations, amid community concerns
City Council is taking steps that will allow the Austin Police Department to reintroduce – on a much grander scale – its license-plate reader program, which was shelved as a result of major departmental budget cuts in 2020. Council authorized…
Police • By Emma Freer • Apr 25, 2023
City Council recognizes Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month
City Council issued a proclamation this week recognizing April as Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month and the work that Austin, Travis County and a network of advocacy groups and nonprofits are doing to reform the region’s sexual assault response…
Public Safety • By Nina Hernandez • Apr 21, 2023
City Council interrogates APD, city staff about DPS partnership
More than three weeks after Austin Mayor Kirk Watson announced a new partnership between the Austin Police Department and the Texas Department of Public Safety, City Council members had a chance to ask APD leadership and city staff about the…
Police • By Emma Freer • Apr 19, 2023
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Police chief says Austin has seen a big drop in violent crime since state troopers started helping out
Austin’s police chief says the department has seen a 25 percent drop in violent crime since a partnership with Department of Public Safety troopers began late last month. At a news conference Friday, APD Chief Joseph Chacon said the partnership…
Police • By Andrew Weber, KUT • Apr 17, 2023
Austin airport passenger wrongful arrest lawsuit on hold
Attorneys representing an Austin-Bergstrom International Airport passenger, who contends that failure on the part of airline staff and Austin police officers to accommodate her hearing impairment resulted in a wrongful arrest and injury at the Travis County Jail, are in…
Transportation • By Nina Hernandez • Apr 13, 2023
City stepping up safety measures to address Rainey Street concerns
City leaders are moving ahead with lighting and other safety measures in the Rainey Street district in response to a pair of recent late-night drownings and growing speculation that nightlife patrons are unsafe in the entertainment district. The Austin Police…
Public Safety • By Chad Swiatecki • Apr 10, 2023
Public Safety Commission chair joins family's calls for more information on Austin Police shooting death
The chair of the Public Safety Commission on Monday joined the family of a man fatally shot by Austin police in calling for more information from Chief Joseph Chacon. The comments from Chair Rebecca Bernhardt came during Monday’s meeting, after…
Police • By Nina Hernandez • Apr 7, 2023
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…
Police • By Emma Freer • Apr 6, 2023
Austin Police revert to decentralized traffic enforcement approach
The Austin Police Department’s staffing shortages are leading it to take a decentralized approach to traffic enforcement, the city’s Public Safety Commission learned during a traffic enforcement and management update on April 3. Most of the crashes that happen on…
