Austin Police Department to Be Placed Under State Control

By Mary Anne R. First Posted: Sep 04, 2020 07:06 AM EDT

Texas Governor Greg Abbott said he is reviewing a measure that would remove control of the Austin Police Department from the capital city, and place them under state authority.

Austin became the first Texas city to vote in favor of realigning financial resources, in honor of the Black Lives Matter Protests. The protests have erupted across the nation in response to police brutality against Black Americans.

Abbott said the proposal for the state to takeover the Austin Police Department is one strategy he is looking at.

"We can't let Austin's defunding & disrespect for law enforcement to endanger the public & invite chaos like in Portland and Seattle," Abbott tweeted on Thursday.

The said legislation aims to guide the governor on how to assert state authority in a particular locality that in some manner affects the entire state. It was handed to Abbott last week by former state representative Terry Keel and Ron Wilson.

The legislation dictates that a police force in a city that has a population of over one million, with less than two police officers per 1,000 residents, would be able to be part of the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Keel said that the letter is basically a roadmap to how the legislature can address the problem in Austin.

"Because Austin opened the door to the legislature doing that, by defunding the police and by creating a public safety crisis," Keel was quoted.

Austin Mayor Steve Adler pushed back on the governor's announcement. Adler said Austin is the safest big city in Texas and one of the safest countries. Public safety is their priority and support their place.

The Austin mayor noted that they are always looking for ways to for everyone to be even more safe.

"Not surprising the President's rhetoric is finding its way to Texas as we get closer to November," the mayor said.

Protest against police brutality and racial injustices have occurred across the nation after the death of George Floyd.

Austin residents have had their own experiences, believing that there is an excessive police force on Black and Hispanic residents.

In April, Austin police officers shot killed an unarmed Black and Hispanic man named Mike Ramos.

The Austin City on Aug. 14 joined Seattle, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and other cities defunding their police departments.

The city council unanimously approved a $150 million cut to its police department budget, which is 34 percent of its current total.

Councilmember Greg Casar made the three-tiered plan to reduce the police department budget. Casar said that when Austin community demands change, he wants to make sure that the council can respond.

He said this has born out of a lot of hurt in the community. He added that they know they have a long way to go.

The council's proposal also includes removing 50 vacant officer positions. In this way, the police department will start the fiscal year 2021 without any unfilled sworn positions.