Image: The incident happened inside Zilker Park. (CBS Austin)
In 2020, the city council removed $150 million from the Austin Police budget. While this author has given special attention in the past to the obscenity of losing our sex crimes unit, there is another element that was eliminated causing all too tragic consequences.
APD was forced to cut patrols specifically designated for our once-pristine parks.
We have had two reported murders in Austin’s parks in two days. This can hardly come as a surprise. Where the police go, criminals flee; where they don’t, criminals gather. Adding police officers to a city has a measurable impact on the murder rate.
No doubt the leaders of our city will splutter and attempt to explain away these actions as part of a national trend—ignoring the fact that Austin followed the national trend of tearing police budgets to ribbons.
But those of us who understand how criminals operate, whether through research or purely common sense, know that the city is witnessing what could be normal in murder rates because the Council chose to ignore all warnings. There was history to be made. There were ideologies that needed backing. There were activists to be appeased.
And now there are bodies to be buried. There are losses to mourn.
Sources say that APD is sending patrols back into the parks, but with fewer and fewer officers, this means crime will simply move to another underserved area of the city.
“This morning, Austin Energy had around 3 dozen homes without power, but around by 5:25 a.m. that number jumped to 7,772.” FOX7 “People were seen fighting over food in the dumpster at an H-E-B store in South Austin on William Cannon and I-35 yesterday.” FOX7 “A residential development containing 375 units and rising up to seven floors at the…
The family of a man shot and killed by police is suing APD.
Alex Gonzales Jr. was shot by APD officers after pointing a gun at an off-duty officer and then driving away when the officer fired on him. After a brief chase, Gonzales stopped his car, at which point his girlfriend, who had been shot by the off-duty officer, exited the passenger side and began yelling for her baby—who officers later found in the back seat. Gonzales also exited the vehicle and, ignoring police commands to put his hands up and get down, went to the back door of his car, and reached in. At that point, several APD officers fired, killing Gonzales. The child in the back seat was unharmed.
The family’s lawsuit states that Gonzales’ wounds “compromised his physical and mental functions and his comprehension.” It says that APD, in particular the officer who first fired on Gonzales, Gabriel Gutierrez, should have known that Gonzales was no longer a threat.
However, a gun was found in the car after Gonzales was shot.
While I cannot imagine the pain of the loss Gonzales’ family is experiencing, Austin must stand firm against this lawsuit.
I fully support the rights of Texans to carry firearms and use them to defend themselves, however, what we know of the initial incident would mean that Gonzales had unlawfully brandished his weapon. Gutierrez, the off-duty officer, says that he was turning into an intersection when Gonzales sped around his vehicle and cut him off while pointing a gun at him.
In no way would this be a legal, justifiable brandishing of a firearm.
Even if Guitierrez had not seen Gonzales’ car, and had cut into Gonzales’ lane, Gonzales would not have the right to aim his firearm at another motorist.
Again, Gonzales acted in an unjustified manner.
Furthermore, when Gonzales had stopped his car, there was no way that the police could reasonably confirm Gonzales’ intent. They knew he had driven recklessly and pulled a gun. And that’s not even counting his evading pursuit—which could be theoretically dismissed since Gutierrez was off-duty in his personal vehicle, Gonzales may not have known he was being pursued by police until Gutierrez’s backup arrived. What the officers knew at the moment they fired on Gonzales was that he was unpredictable and armed. He had committed a felony by pointing his weapon at another driver.
Police are not hired to be mind readers. They are not expected to understand every nuance of a perpetrator’s behavior. They cannot assume the best intent on the part of every person they encounter. They are heavily trained and the longer they are officers the more experiential knowledge they can apply to the actions they need to take in the moment. While in hindsight, it may sound as though Gonzales had been, in a state of shock, unaware of the police’s commands and was seeking to comfort the child, police knew he had a gun—which again was recovered in the car—and reasonably believed that he was seeking his weapon to fire at police.
It is always a tragedy when a young person dies. This man was the same age as I a.. He, like all of us, was a wellspring of potential. But he committed a crime. He persisted in his crime. He had threatened lives.
In doing so, he put his own life at risk.
Should the City of Austin settle with this family, it will be yet again sending the message, that APD is not to be trusted; that it should receive no benefit of the doubt; that every police shooting should be treated as a murder in which the defendant—the officer who pulled the trigger—is presumed guilty and must prove his or her innocence.
That is an unsustainable process. We will lose more officers. Our remaining officers will hesitate in protecting themselves and others; this will cost lives. Police will continue to pull back, leaving Austin a more dangerous city.
The City of Austin must stand its ground and fight this suit.
Image: FOX7 As Texas deaths caused by opioid use have risen, Austin has installed its first Narcan vending machine. This machine was deployed by the N.I.C.E. Project (More Narcan In Case of Emergency) in conjunction with Sunrise Homeless Navigation. What is Narcan? It is a nasal spray drug that prevents death from overdosing on opioids…
“Roughly a dozen families living at a mobile home park in South Austin who received 60-day notices to leave will be able to stay for the time being after a Travis County judge issued a temporary restraining order Monday.” KUT 5 Fun Things in South Austin – DO512 “A 25-year-old man has been arrested for…
Austin City Council voted to increase their pay by 40% last week by an overwhelming margin. Out of the eleven members, only three opposed this egregious hike in pay; Paige Ellis (D8), Vanessa Fuentes (D2), and the redoubtable Mackenzie Kelly (D6).
Congratulations to Austin’s new Chief of Police, Chief Joseph Chacon. He has been Austin’s Interim Chief during difficult times of rising crime and a police staffing crisis.
We do wish that the City Manager had considered a potential Chief from outside the department, aligning with the wishes of the police officers.
But, we hope the council will show its full support, not just for the new Chief, but for all officers going forward. We wish Chief Chacon the best of luck, and ask all Austinites to pray for him as our city faces unprecedented challenging times.
In 2020, the city council removed $150 million from the Austin Police budget. While this author has given special attention in the past to the obscenity of losing our sex crimes unit, there is another element that was eliminated causing all too tragic consequences.
Today, we will specifically look at mass shootings, trying to understand what exactly they are. By striving to understand the horrors that rock our headlines all too often, we may gain insight into how to prevent them.
Austin city council has voted to defund the Austin Police Department and move funds to “social programs.” Does that make you feel safe? Does this make you want to move to Austin with your family? Check out the details in this article to come to your own conclusion. But, we are confident that you won’t be optimistic about the leadership in Austin by the end…
Gov. Greg Abbott and top Texas leaders announced Tuesday that they will push for legislation next year that would freeze property tax revenues for cities that cut police budgets, just days after the Austin City Council approved a budget that will cut police funding by up to one-third by moving areas like forensics outside of the management of the police department to become separate municipal offices and by reinvesting money in social services.
These are some of the police department units that were cut or reduced during the budget approval:
911 Call Center – $17.7 million
Forensic Sciences – $12.7 million
Support Services – $14.1 million
Community Partnerships – $2.5 million
Victims Services – $3.1 million
Internal Affairs – $4.5 million
Special Investigations – $1.8 million
Special Events – $4.4 million
Mounted Patrol – $2.1 million
Traffic Enforcement – $18.4 million
Austin Regional Intelligence Center – $2 million
Park Police – $5.8 million
Lake Patrol – $1.4 million
Organized Crime/K-9 – $1.2 million
Nuisance Abatement – $312,000
Canceling 3 Cadet Classes – $2.2 million this year
Officer Overtime – $2.8 million
License Plate Readers – $133,000
Would you consider this to be “transformative?” No. Let’s explore some scenarios where these defundings directly impact you.
Scenario 1: You are in a wreck on I-35. Which will impact you? #’s 1, 3, 10, 16 and 17.
Scenario 2: You are driving with your families or friends and a drunk driver speeds through a stop sign. Which will impact you? #’s 1, 3, 10, 15, 16, 18 and 17.
Scenario 3: An intruder is trying to, or has, entered your home. Which will impact you? #’s 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 10, 14, 15, 16, and 17.
Is this okay? Is this the standard we hold for the great city of Austin?…
“Any city in the state of Texas that defunds law enforcement will have their property tax revenue frozen as of that time,” Abbott said in Fort Worth, where the press conference was held. “This will be an effective tool that effectively will prevent cities from being able to reduce funding support for law enforcement agencies.Some cities are more focused on political agendas than public safety,” said Gov. Abbott. “Austin’s decision puts the brave men and women of the Austin Police Department and their families at greater risk, and paves the way for lawlessness. Public safety is job one, and Austin has abandoned that duty. The legislature will take this issue up next session, but in the meantime, the Texas Department of Public Safety will stand in the gap to protect our capital city.”
A poll commissioned by the Greater Austin Crime Commission helps confirm that there is growing dissatisfaction with the direction the Austin City Council and the Travis County Commissioners Court has taken the city. Some takeaways from the poll:
53% responded they oppose slashing funding for the Austin Police Department
40% responded they support reducing funding for APD
47% responded city is on “wrong track”
34% responded city is going in “right direction”
84% responded they are dissatisfied with the city’s homelessness policy
74% responded they are dissatisfied with how traffic is being addressed
92% responded they feel safe at home and in their neighborhoods
56% responded they feel safe downtown
80+% responded they are satisfied with Austin Fire and county EMS
“Most Austin voters oppose reducing police positions,” said Corby Jastrow, president of the Greater Austin Crime Commission, in a press release. “There is strong community support for police reform but not cutting cops when violent crime is increasing and response times are slower.” The survey was conducted from July 14 to 17 of likely Austin voters. “The Austin City Council should invest in public safety reform and reject budget cuts that put the community at risk,” said retired Adm. Bobby R. Inman, former president of the Greater Austin Crime Commission, in the release. “Austin voters strongly back Chief Brian Manley and the Austin Police Department.” Resistance is beginning to grow.
The Travis County Republican Party was among a handful of entities that opposed de-funding the Austin Police Department, though public support is strong for keeping funding.
In the media…
The Austin City Council unanimously voted to cut its police department budget by $150 million, after officers and the city’s top cop faced months of criticism over the killing of an unarmed Black and Hispanic man, the use of force against anti-police brutality protesters and the investigation of a demonstrator’s fatal shooting by another citizen.
Of the cuts, $21.5 million is shifted in the form of “reinvestments” to programs such as $100,000 for abortion access and $6.5 million a year for the homeless under the “Housing First” policy of sheltering and feeding the homeless, with no expectation for them to seek treatment—essentially allowing them to live off taxpayer support until they die.
Beginning in October, about $21 million will fund social services, community resources including response to the coronavirus, mental health aid programs, violence prevention, victim services and food, housing and abortion access. Another $80 million will be redistributed to similar city services throughout the year, and $49 million will be spent on city’s Reimagine Safety Fund, which aims to provide alternative forms of public safety and community support besides policing.
“Some cities are more focused on political agendas than public safety,” said Governor Abbott. “Austin’s decision puts the brave men and women of the Austin Police Department and their families at greater risk, and paves the way for lawlessness. Public safety is job one, and Austin has abandoned that duty. The legislature will take this issue up next session, but in the meantime, the Texas Department of Public Safety will stand in the gap to protect our capital city.”
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