Now I would be impressed if Adler and the treasonous city council were lead out of Austin in chains. I would love Abbot then.

I truly appreciate your support. I frequently eat out on duty. I always have numerous interactions with folks who voice their support for us and disdain for what this council is doing.

Local elections in Austin historically have low voter turnout. The majority of Austinites didn't vote for the socialist garbage that the city council has been churning out in direct conflict with their own political campaigns. The APD officer's association endorsed Greg Casar. He's worked out well on the council leading the pack with their anti-police rhetoric.

I've said it several times on this forum. This city council deserves the police department they desperately crave and the citizens deserve the council they voted for.

November will make or break this city. I don't care who folks vote for; just get out and vote. If there's a high voter turnout in November and these clowns retain their seats, I'll likely be done working for the city.

If those clowns retain power, it will be a signal to them that Austin residents approve of their nonsense. I know "Downtown Jimmy" is extremely nervous about his seat being up for re-election. We'll see how much his political pandering to out of district and out of state "constituents" turns out for him in November.

You are correct. I believe the voter turnout in the last election was 11% of all eligible voters.

For those that use Twitter, please consider following this account:

https://twitter.com/APACrimeNet

Newly created account that is going to provide up to date crime info for the city. Historically, the department's social media presence has lacked in the area of relevant, real time information.

I know I get annoyed reading about adopting dogs and seeing stupid reminders to lock my doors at 9pm each night that typically come from the department accounts.

The city council recently pulled the department's public information office so the department is no longer in control of their own messaging. All content is filtered/approved through another city department.

My bro in law is APD. He likes the job but I am pretty sure he's not happy with all the nutty changes. I live well outside the city but work in it and my areas include everything north of the river, including downtown. It has gotten downright nasty along the interstate and in the downtown area the last 2 years or so. They are systematically driving away their own tourism, because the criminal element and radical homelessness they tolerate and encourage follows the cash heavy tourists.

op_06 said:

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It is time for the legislature to move The Capital. If Austin is not going to be able to provide adequate protection for state employees then move the state's business somewhere that will.

Would it be expensive? Yes. Would it be worthwhile? I do not know, but the only reason Austin has any status is its claim as the capital.

taxpreparer said:

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op_06 said:

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It is time for the legislature to move The Capital. If Austin is not going to be able to provide adequate protection for state employees then move the state's business somewhere that will.

Would it be expensive? Yes. Would it be worthwhile? I do not know, but the only reason Austin has any status is its claim as the capital.

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I completely agree and it could be to near anywhere. Every courthouse in Texas I've even been to is wheelchair accessible

Texans, we need to stand up

Don't let it become California

BlueLineAg said:

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The "rest of the tax payers" wouldn't be paying for it. Legislators glad looking at diverting Austin sales tax and property tax straight to APD before being given to the COA. Same exact people who pay for APD now, would pay for us in the future. No one outside of Austin would carry the bill.

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Blue Line,

First of all, thank you for your service. I hope that is the case. You leave it to the idiot city council and they won't make the right decision. Bunch of petulant children.

Daddy said:

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Texans, we need to stand up

Don't let it become California

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Yep

JaxDad said:

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Didn't Abbott say he wouldn't allow this bs

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He needs to stay out of it. This is not a state issue and none of my tax money should fund it.

Abbott is gone if he runs again. One of the worst governors ever. A complete numbskull.

Our district guy apparently "knows more than us" so we shouldn't be upset. I know who I'm not voting for in November when his seat is up for election

administrative errors said:

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I almost worked for the APD in their IT dept but it didn't happen by my granny was on the city council and they blocked it because alleged nepotism.

Probably would have sent me down a completely different path of life. Oh well.

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Is your granny for defunding the police?

I posted this same thread on a different board for more exposure. I spent some time answering questions that I'm sure more than a few folks have. I figured it would be beneficial to post my response here as well.

op_06 said:

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Keeper of The Spirits said:

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I don't see any issue with moving the 95 officers. DWI enforcement and parks can be covered by regular beats and boogeyman of gangs isn't nearly as bad as you'd think. I sat on a grand jury for 6 months and after that realized our crime in Austin doesn't justify a huge force.

I don't think we need to completely dissolve the police but you need to ask yourself a few questions?

Does Austin need 2200 police, 800 support staff and a half a billion dollar budget? Our violent crime rate is approximately half that of the other major Texas cities and even less when you include the metros. Many cities with Austin's population, demographics and crime rates get by with less officers per capital. We also have a lot of other police adjacent agencies FBI, Rangers, and troopers all operating more in Austin because of the capital.

Does our police force need military like weaponry?

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I am a current Austin police officer. When I logged off this morning to leave work, officers working in the southeast area of the city just finished actively fighting a known, documented gang member over possession of a pistol. They successfully took him into custody without serious injury and he's currently under arrest for being a felon in possession of a firearm among other things. I was not on scene and don't know any more of the details.

Around midnight last night in the area of Manor and Ed Bluestein, officers were able to arrive on scene shortly after a drive-by shooting that left one victim with multiple gunshot wounds. Officer's were able to apply multiple tourniquets prior to EMS arrival. I'm not sure the victim's status.

I can personally assure you that "the boogeyman of gangs" is much worse than you'd think. I was the first on scene when my co-worker was nearly shot in the head by your supposed "boogeyman". Our crime scene personnel (forensics folks that don't belong under APD per your statement) were able to swab gunshot residue from my co-workers face due to how close the gun was when it was discharged.

Thank you for your service on a grand jury. Don't kid yourself that your work as a juror had any correlation with the level of crime that occurs on a daily basis in this city.

You were exposed to cases that the district attorney either decided to pursue, or was required to present before a grand jury. It is disgusting the sheer volume of felony charges that are reduced to misdemeanors or outright dismissed by that political office.

The parks unit is comprised of 31 officers who have access to ATVs, fat-tired mountain bicycles, motorcycles designed for trail use, and other specialized equipment.

Their sole focus is to respond to and patrol the hundreds of miles of city jogging trails, green belt, and parks. When the camping ban was lifted, the parks unit was one of the few units who was mandated to have 100% staffing, due to the violent attacks and sexual assaults that occurred deep within the city's trail systems. To remove an officer that has intimate knowledge of the city green belt and replace him with a regular patrol officer is foolish. But this city council has tasked the Chief with squeezing blood from a turnip.

The DWI unit is comprised of 20 specially trained officers who are all required to attain a DRE (drug recognition expert) certification to remain active on the unit. DRE cert involves identifying any substances, other than alcohol, that a driver may be impaired on through a series of evaluations that occur at the jail once a subject has been placed under arrest.

The Austin Police DWI unit conducted over 300 DRE exams last year. DPS (statewide numbers) had the 2nd most DRE exams. To say Austin has a drinking and driving and a drugged driving problem is an understatement.

The DWI unit additionally made ~40% of the department's total DWI arrests last year. They proactively seek out impaired drivers while also responding to patrol requests for assist. If a patrol officer responds to a crash, or makes a traffic stop, and believes the driver is impaired, a DWI Officer will take responsibility for that investigation and allow for that patrol officer to resume taking 911 calls.

DWI officers additionally investigate all high-profile DWI cases (ie Cedric Benson/Former DA Rosemary Lehmburg) as well as investigate all intoxication manslaughter cases. I'm not sure about you, but I would appreciate an experienced officer doing the investigation if a loved one was ever killed by an impaired driver.

The department has never had an authorized strength of 2,200 officers. FBI recommendations are 2 officers/1,000 residents and Austin currently sits well below that number.

This current council has spent tax dollars on two separate staffing studies to determine whether the department needs additional officers. Both external studies came back and determined that the city needed to increase police staffing.

The most recent authorized strength was 1,959 sworn FTEs. The city council took away 150 vacant positions which reduced the staffing to 1,809 authorized strength. 1,809 is authorized strength, not actual boots on the ground. We still have vacancies and I believe we have around 1,600-1,700 sworn officers. The city councils decision to delay police academies will have a detrimental impact on filling vacancies. Initial application to being a productive officer can be ~2 yrs.

Your last concern about "military like weaponry" is simply ignorant. I'm not going to waste any more time unpacking that.

I'm exhausted from my shift and have stayed up way too late to respond to your post. I hope my reply provided some helpful feedback.

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Saltwater Assassin said:

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op_06 said:

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You're absolutely correct. The almighty dollar is becoming less appealing everyday. Surrounding agencies are poaching officers left and right. A mass exodus of officers doesn't solve the problem for the citizens that this council is hell bent on creating.

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First of all: thank you for what you do. Folks like you truly have a servants heart & i appreciate you & your kind more than you know.

That being said I strongly disagree with the bold part for several reasons.

1. This isnt some deep state plot cooked up by the city council, this is what those citizens voted for. They can enjoy bums taking a growler on their yards in the morning because they enabled it at the ballot box. This ties in to point 2...

2. We have to let these cities burn (not literally). There has to be consequences to their actions, otherwise they will never learn. Sometimes loving your brother isnt soft & cuddly, sometimes its letting him learn a hard lesson. This is one of those times. These limousine liberals & bleeding hearts need to stew in the filth they create for a while. We cant continually give them a soft landing, it only empowers them due to lack of consequences.

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Good people need to leave and get together with other like minded good people. The destructive, lazy, violent and duplicitous are enjoying the support of industrious people getting up and doing honest work. Compare Troy, Michigan to Detroit.

This is banana republic bullsh_t. Rule of law and protection of property rights have the clearest correlation to societal standards of living, bar none.

txrancher69 said:

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I keep waiting for cops to grow a pair. They need to call a press conference and dox the city council giving their home addresses. Then announce they are not going to respond to any calls from those residences in less than a few hours and invite the public, good guys and bad, to have at it. Let the ******* council feel the effects of no police protection first hand.

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I can support this.

1997Aggie said:

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titan said:

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op_06 said:

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Excellent. Do it. Don't be Oregon, Washington, etc.

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No. Don't do it. Why the f*** should the rest of us tax payers have to fund law enforcement in Austin? If they want to burn, get raped, robbed, looted...then have at it you idiots. Another reason Gov Grabbit is losing his base. You hit them where it hurts...in the wallet.

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Deduct the costs from the money they get from the state.

law-apt-3g said:

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Build a wall around Austin

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Yeah, a Kurt Russell Escape from New York type wall. I'll gladly divert on 35.

InfantryAg said:

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Most Texas agencies arent going to require another academy, if you're willing to take the paycut. Even plano and arlington have an abreviated academy, last I heard.

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No - they are back to full academies for now.

https://www.kvue.com/mobile/article/news/local/austin-police-budget-cuts-apd-mayor-adler-update/269-ab204834-6218-4600-81f2-77bce9d6aa7a

Adler is great at speaking out of both sides of his mouth. I find it interesting that this is now a "draft" proposal. It seems the council is feeling backlash from their moronic decisions that are in direct conflict with increasing public safety.

95 officers have been officially notified that they are being removed from their specialized unit and being sent to patrol. Id bet that doesn't feel like a draft proposal to those who are affected by it and won't feel like a draft proposal to the citizens that will suffer from it.

Keep contacting the council and ensure your voice is heard.

If you're on twitter, follow this account for highlights of up to date crime stats within the city.

https://twitter.com/APACrimeNet?s=01