APD Under Federal Investigation

Austin city leaders announced late Friday afternoon that the U.S. Department of Justice is starting an investigation into the Austin Police Department and its use of force, specifically when dealing with minorities.

"We are obliged to determine whether APD is systemically violating the Constitution of the United States," read the letter sent to the city from the Justice Department. In 2004, the Austin American-Statesman analyzed police data from 1998 to 2003, revealing that Austin police had a track record of using more force against blacks and Hispanics than whites, in some cases by a ratio of two to one. The NAACP and Texas Civil Rights Project later submitted a formal complaint to the Justice Department, which, true to federal form, took nearly three years to respond.

Austin officials publicly pledged their full cooperation with the investigation, which may take anywhere from one to three years. "Bring it on. We have nothing to hide. We are an open department, and we are one of the best police departments in this country," said Acting Police Chief Cathy Ellison, who currently helms the APD while the City Council works to select a new police chief.

As KEYE-TV and The Daily Texan point out, APD has been at the center of several controversial incidents in recent past, from the 2002 shooting death of Sophia King to the 2005 Midtown nightclub burning, during which officers texted each other with messages like "Burn, baby, burn." Just yesterday, an armed man was shot and killed in East Austin after attempting to flee from police.

Photo by danzo08 on stock.xchng

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By Allen Y Chen in News on June 4, 2007 11:34 AM 0 Comments

Comments [rss]

richard

good! good! and good!

i have little to no respect for the officers in my hood.

the truth.

i hope the heat gets pinched. they should also test officers for steroid use. ha!

anon

ol' pappy, dont take it so hard, baby. we love you. austin loves you.

ol'pappy

I like vagrants. They're about the only people left I can stand.

Sumguy

Seems to me that more people need to be filming the police as they go about their duties.

steve

This sounds like good information for the investigators to know. Is there an anonymous tipline?

Young Pappy

More sage advice from Ol'Pappy...the official Austinist vagrant.

ol'pappy

I've heard of that - people getting arrested based on the words of a taxi driver or bouncer or bartender - but haven't had it happen to anyone I know or witnessed that when I've been out. I do not go to 6th Street though and that seems to be where most of the cops like to be at night.

I recently heard that happening to a guy I know who wasn't even drunk but the cops took him in on public intoxication charges because he was angry. They didn't breath test him or anything. Of course, he couldn't get a lawyer because he's poor and you can't get a lawyer in Travis County unless you're on welfare despite what the Constitution has to say on the matter. Anyway - the judge would only let him go if he pleaded no contest so he did. Lesson learned: if you're poor and pissed off, don't talk to cabbies. They're fucking cuckoo.

Uncle Jimbo

Did the cop say "He's coming right at me!!!"? If so, he walks.

adamr

Just this weekend I had a friend tackled, pepper-sprayed (2x), cuffed (ankles and wrists), paddy-wagoned and then pepper-sprayed again (while restrained) all because bar bouncers told Austin's finest "...this guy's unruly." In reality he was refusing to tip his bartender because the bartender was being a jerk. Nice.