Thank you to the Councilmembers who have shown incredible leadership on this; I hope this consensus on the dais continues into September so we can achieve TRUE public safety in Austin.
The police did this to themselves---in APA’s zealousness to increase their power, their numbers, their influence on elections and the budget…police have managed to turn themselves into more than police officers, more than they want to be, or SHOULD be.
As Councilmember Flannigan wrote: “It’s a system that’s crumbled under its own weight.” You can’t reform broken.
We must decide, not how police do their jobs, but what their jobs should be.
Research shows: police officers are two or three times more likely to abuse drugs & are 3-4 times more likely to have perpetrated domestic violence than the general population.
And we KNOW their history of excessive force and racial profiling.
Austin has the highest per capita rate of fatal mental health-related police shootings.
These are not the folks we need dealing with our communities’ mental health issues, domestic disputes, the challenges associated with homelessness, much less being in our schools or monitoring peaceful protests. … Please note attacking medics and using tear gas are violations of the Geneva Convention.
We’ve spent the last 20-30 years jacking up APD’s budget BY starving out other essential services: EMS and Fire budgets have stayed stagnant or merely increased a tiny fraction.
From 2000 to 2008, APD’s budget increased well over 40%. During Marc Ott’s 8 year reign, he increased it another 60%...which FAR OUTPACES POPULATION GROWTH at 23% -but with a stagnate crime rate.
NYC’s police budget is 8 ½ % of their entire city budget (not just a “general fund”)
LAPD is 7% …
San Antonio PD is 5 ½% …
AUSTIN’s is 11% of the city budget!
More then 50 countries have a military budget SMALLER than APD’s budget.
We must seriously reverse course and reallocate at LEAST $100 million to the appropriate services that are pennies on the dollar; which allows APD to focus on intervening in - and SOLVING actual crime.
Asst. Chief Troy Gay and Assistant City Manager Ray Arellano must be fired. And for a multitude of reasons, not the least of which is he hasn’t fired Christopher Taylor or the fact that what we saw 2 weekends ago was TERRORISM, not policing (and no one’s fired from that yet?)…WE MUST GET RID OF MANLEY NOW. … NOW!
Despite his words, he’s has made it clear through his actions - NO reform is welcome. AT ALL. He is an OBSTACLE. Not a change agent.
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