[CALL TO ORDER ]
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IN THE MORNING, AND I'LL CALL TO ORDER THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE OF THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL.
WE ARE MEETING AT 3 0 1 WEST SECOND STREET IN AUSTIN, TEXAS.
UM, AND WE HAVE ALL OF THE MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE PRESENT AND SOME MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL.
I WANNA WELCOME THOSE MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL THAT ARE NOT PART OF THE COMMITTEE.
AND THANK YOU FOR, UH, BEING HERE WITH US.
MEMBERS OF THE ORDER THAT WILL GO IN THIS MORNING WILL BE TO TAKE UP THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES.
THEN WE WILL HAVE THE DISCUSSION RELATED TO THE, UH, COLLABORATION BETWEEN AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT AND THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY.
AND THEN WE WILL GO TO PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS AND ANY COMMUNICATIONS ON THE ITEMS, UH, THAT WE HAVE POSTED.
UH, WITH THAT BEING SAID, Y'ALL HAVE HAD THE MINUTES OF
[1. Approve the minutes for the Public Safety Committee meeting held April 24, 2023. ]
THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING THAT WAS HELD ON APRIL 24TH, 2023.IS THERE ANYBODY THAT WANTS TO OFFER A CHANGE OR AMENDMENT OR SPEAK WITH REGARD TO THOSE AMENDMENTS? UH, WITHOUT OBJECTION, THE AMENDMENTS OF THE MEETING HELD APRIL 24TH, 2023 IS, UH, THAT THEY'RE APPROVED.
[2. Briefing and discussion on the Austin Police Department collaboration with the Texas Depa1t ment of Public Safety.]
NUMBER TWO, THE BRIEFING AND DISCUSSION ON THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT, COLLABORATION WITH THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY.I WILL RECOGNIZE CHIEF CHACON AND, UH, ALLOW HIM TO TELL US, UH, WHO ELSE HE WANTS US TO HEAR FROM.
UH, COMING UP WITH ME THIS MORNING IS, UH, DR.
JONATHAN KREGAN, AS WELL AS, UM, DEPUTY DIRECTOR VINCENT LUCIANO WITH THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY, UH, TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE A, UH, SHORT PRESENTATION TO YOU REGARDING, UH, JUST A LITTLE BIT OF AN UPDATE AND MAYBE SOME INFORMATION THAT, UH, THE COMMITTEE HAS NOT HAD PREVIOUSLY RELATED TO THE A P D DPS PARTNERSHIP.
UH, AND THEN OBVIOUSLY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS THAT Y'ALL, THAT Y'ALL MAY HAVE.
UM, VERY QUICKLY, JUST AN OVERVIEW OF WHAT, UH, TODAY'S PRESENTATION WILL BE.
UH, I WILL PROVIDE A VERY QUICK REVIEW OF THE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE PARTNERSHIP, AND THEN I'LL TURN IT OVER TO DR.
KREGAN, WHO WILL BE, UH, TALKING ABOUT THE DEPLOYMENT STRATEGY WITH REGARD TO CRASHES, AS WELL AS EMERGENCY CALLS FOR SERVICES, UH, THAT ARE RELATED TO GUN CRIME, AND THEN WHAT WE EXPECT FUTURE REPORTING TO SHOW.
AND THEN, AS I SAID, WE'LL BE, UH, TAKING SOME QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS.
UH, I WILL START BY SAYING THAT WE'RE KEEPING IT PRETTY HIGH LEVEL AS, UM, REALLY WE'RE LOOKING AT ABOUT FOUR MAYBE, UH, GETTING CLOSE TO FIVE WEEKS OF DATA.
UH, WE HAVE CHALLENGES GETTING SOME OF THAT DATA.
WE'VE MADE REQUESTS, UM, TO ALL THE, ALL OF THE PARTNERS THAT ARE INVOLVED, UH, WHETHER THAT IS DPS, OUR COUNTY AND DISTRICT ATTORNEYS.
UH, JUST SO THE PIECE, UM, NUMBER FIVE, WHICH IS JUDGE CHU, UH, TRYING TO GET INFORMATION RELATED THAT I KNOW IS IMPORTANT TO THIS COMMITTEE AND IS IMPORTANT TO OUR COMMUNITY ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT IS THE DATA, WHAT KIND OF, UH, STOPS ARE BEING MADE, WHAT, UH, ARRESTS ARE BEING MADE, WHAT THE DEMOGRAPHICS ARE AND SO FORTH.
UH, AND SO TODAY, UM, IS, IS BUILDING ON THAT.
UH, BUT WE STILL ARE CHALLENGED BY TRYING TO GET SOME OF THIS DATA.
SO WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING VERY HARD TO BE RESPONSIVE, UH, AND TO PRO PROVIDE AS MANY ANSWERS AS WE CAN, AND, UH, APPRECIATE, UH, THE COMMITTEE'S PATIENCE AS WE GO THROUGH THAT.
AGAIN, THE, UH, JUST A, A RESTATEMENT OF WHAT OUR GOALS AND OBJECTIVES ARE WITH THE PARTNERSHIP, UH, REALLY CENTERED AROUND TWO MAIN THINGS.
UH, THE FIRST BEING REDUCING SERIOUS TRAFFIC INJURIES AND FATALITIES.
UH, WE'RE GONNA SPEND A GOOD PART OF TODAY'S PRESENTATION TALKING ABOUT THAT, BECAUSE THAT IS WHERE, UH, SOME OF THE DATA HAS BEEN LACKING IN THE PAST, AS WELL AS TRYING TO REDUCE THE INCIDENTS OF VIOLENT CRIME.
AND, AND THE CRIME THAT IS, UH, INVOLVING FIREARMS DRIVING THAT INFORMATION REALLY, OR DRIVING THE OPERATION, UH, IS, UM, WHERE THOSE CALLS FOR SERVICES ARE COMING IN.
AND, UH, THAT IS WHAT YOU WILL SEE TODAY.
UM, A THIRD THING THAT WE REALLY WANTED TO DO, WHICH IS A BIT MORE ANCILLARY, IS REDUCING, UH, RESPONSE TIMES TO 9 1 1 CALLS FOR ASSISTANCE.
BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT WHEN WE DO THAT, WE HAVE BETTER OUTCOMES.
THERE'S A BETTER CHANCE THAT, UH, PEOPLE ARE NOT SERIOUSLY INJURED.
WE MAKE AN ARREST, WE RECOVER A FIREARM WHEN WE GET THERE FASTER.
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AND TURN IT OVER AT THIS POINT TO, UH, DR.AND, UM, I THANK THE COMMITTEE FOR HAVING US HERE TODAY.
UH, WE'RE GONNA START JUST BY LOOKING AT THE INITIAL INFORMATION THAT WE SHARED WITH DPS THAT DROVE THE DEPLOYMENT STRATEGY.
UM, AS CHIEF CHICO SAID, THERE WERE TWO PRIMARY, UH, SETS OF INFORMATION THAT WERE USED.
ONE'S OUR CRASH DATA, UH, THAT HELPS US UNDERSTAND WHERE CRASHES AND PARTICULARLY CRASHES RESULTING IN INJURIES AND FATALITIES OCCUR, UH, AS WELL AS THE, UH, CALL FOR SERVICE DATA FOR EMERGENCY CALLS FOR SERVICE INVOLVING FIREARMS. SO THIS IS A MAP OF THE INJURY CRASHES IN AUSTIN, UH, A YEAR PRECEDING THE, UH, D P S DEPLOYMENT.
AND WHAT YOU SEE IN THE DARK BLUE MEANS, YOU KNOW, NOT REALLY ANYTHING HAPPENING, ANYTHING, IT'S NOT DARK BLUE IS RUNNING UP A COLOR RAMP FROM BLUE TO YELLOW TO ORANGE TO RED, WITH RED BEING THE AREAS OF HIGHEST DENSITY, RIGHT? SO WE CAN SEE IN THIS MAP WHERE INJURY CRASHES ARE PREDOMINANTLY HAPPENING IN AUSTIN.
AND IF WE LOOK AT IT BY COUNCIL DISTRICT, WE SEE IT'S IN D FOUR.
WE SEE IT'S IN D ONE, WE SEE IT'S IN D THREE, WE SEE IT'S IN D TWO.
NOW, A LOT OF THAT INFORMATION IS ACTUALLY, UH, COMING FROM THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING ON I 35, SINCE I 35, IS, UH, THE MAJOR CRASH INJURY CORRIDOR IN THE CITY.
UM, AUSTIN TRAFFIC PLACES IT ABOVE ALL OTHER AREAS IN THE CITY, UM, AS FAR AS THE ACTUAL COSTS OF COLLISIONS THAT OCCUR, IF WE MOVE OUTSIDE OF LOOKING AT I 35, WE SEE SOME OTHER AREAS, UH, WHERE WE HAVE, UH, A NUMBER, UH, SUBSTANTIAL NUMBER OF INJURY CRASHES.
THOSE ARE GONNA HAPPEN OVER HERE IN D SEVEN, UH, OVER HERE IN D SIX, D THREE, THIS IS, AND, UH, D FIVE.
SO IF WE LOOK AT FATAL CRASHES, NOW JUST LOOKING AT THE MOST, UH, IMPACTFUL, UH, CRASHES THAT ARE HAPPENING, IT BECOMES A LITTLE MORE CLUSTERED.
UH, BUT AGAIN, WE SEE THIS, UH, A LOT OF THAT ACTIVITY HAPPENING IN D FOUR.
SO WHETHER IT'S INJURIES OR FATAL COLLISIONS, UH, WE'RE BEGINNING TO SEE WHICH DISTRICTS ARE CARRYING A DISPROPORTIONATE BURDEN, UH, FOR THOSE OUTCOMES.
THE ONES THAT WE WANT TO, UH, PROVIDE ASSISTANCE TO LESSER, ONCE WE GET OFF TAKING 35 OUT OF IT, WE BEGIN TO SEE THIS AREA OUT IN D TWO WHERE WE HAVE ISSUES.
AND WE'RE GONNA LOOK AGAIN AT EMERGENCY CALLS FOR SERVICE INVOLVING FIREARMS. SO THESE ARE CALLS WHERE SOMEONE CALLS 9 1 1 AND SAYS HE OR SHE HAS A GUN.
UM, SO THESE, WE TREAT AS THE, THE HIGHEST PRIORITY IN THE DEPARTMENT.
UH, AND WE SEE THE CLUSTERING HAPPENING IN D FOUR, UH, AND IN D THREE, RIGHT? AND SO THOSE ARE THE INITIAL DATA THAT SORT OF DROVE THE DEPLOYMENT EFFORT, RIGHT? LITTLE BIT LESSER EXTENT.
WE SEE SOME ACTIVITY AREAS IN D ONE THAT ARE IMPORTANT AND DOWN IN D TWO, RIGHT? AND SO GENERALLY, IN THE INFORMATION THAT WE'VE SHOWN YOU HERE, THE, THE FIRST THINGS THAT I SHOWED IN RED WERE THE PRIMARY DRIVERS OF DEPLOYMENT.
AND AS WE LOOK AT THE THINGS IN GREEN, AS WE STARTED TRYING TO DISTRIBUTE RESOURCES FURTHER OUT, THESE ARE THE AREAS THAT WE BEGAN TO ASK DPS TO TAKE A LOOK AT.
SO WE HAVEN'T LOOKED AT ANY CRASH DATA YET.
I HAD MADE EVERYONE AWARE THAT OUR CRASH DATA COMES TO US ON A LAG.
WE HAVE BEEN TRYING, UH, VERY DILIGENTLY TO, UH, TRY TO MOVE THAT ALONG AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
UM, AND WE DO HAVE SOME CRASH DATA.
AND SO FOR VISUALIZATION PURPOSES ONLY, I'VE PUT UP SOME CRASH DATA HERE, PLOTTED, UH, FOR A SEVERAL YEAR PERIOD PRECEDING THE DPS INTERVENTION.
AND THEN THE RED LINE SHOWS US, UH, THE DATE THAT DPS BEGAN, UH, IN LATE APRIL, WORKING IN THE CITY.
AND THEN WE SEE THE WEEKS OF DATA IN BLACK THEREAFTER.
AND IF YOU CAN SEE IN THIS, WHAT YOU SEE IS ON THE HOLE IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN, UH, AND THESE ARE INJURY CRASHES.
WE SEE THIS REDUCTION THAT'S HAPPENING.
YOU NOTICE THE POINTS ON THE BLACK ARE GENERALLY LOWER THAN WHAT WE SEE IN ORANGE ON THE LEFT.
NOW, WORKING WITH COUNCIL MEMBERS TO TRY TO UNDERSTAND THEIR INDIVIDUAL DISTRICTS, WE'LL TAKE A LOOK AT SOME OF THE INDIVIDUAL DISTRICTS, RIGHT? SO, D ONE, UH, WHAT WE SEE HERE IS THAT WE SEE, UH, IT'S SOMEWHAT INCONCLUSIVE.
A LOT OF THE CRASH ACTIVITY IN D ONE IS REALLY GONNA BE COMING ON 35 AND 35 FEETER ROAD.
AND WE HAD A LOT OF FOCUS THERE, BUT THIS IS WHAT WE SEE.
UH, D TWO, WE ACTUALLY SEE SOMETHING THAT'S AROUND AVERAGE AS WELL.
UH, ROLLING OUT TO D THREE, WHICH IS AN AREA WHERE WE INCLUDED RECOMMENDATIONS FOR BOTH TRAFFIC AND VIOLENT CRIME ENFORCEMENT.
HERE'S ACTUALLY THE FIRST PLACE WHERE WE START TO SEE REASONABLE REDUCTIONS.
YOU NOTICE THAT THE BLACK POINTS TEND TO BE UNDER THE AVERAGE FOR THE, THE ORANGE POINTS ON THE OTHER SIDE.
THAT SHOWS US A REDUCTION, UM, HELPS US VISUALIZE IT.
D FOUR, WHICH IS AN AREA WHERE WE FOCUSED BOTH, UH, VIOLENT CRIME RESOURCES AS WELL AS TRAFFIC.
WE SEE SOMETHING VERY SIMILAR.
WE SEE THIS WHAT APPEARS TO BE REDUCTION,
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UH, AFTER DPS.IS THERE, UH, D FIVE, IT'S A LITTLE BIT HARDER TO SEE HERE.
THAT AVERAGE IS A LITTLE BIT LOWER.
IMPORTANTLY, REMEMBER THAT D FIVE WAS A REDEPLOYMENT AREA.
SO TECHNICALLY IT'S ONLY THE TWO DATA POINTS FURTHEST TO THE RIGHT THAT WOULD'VE OCCURRED AFTER WE ASKED DPS TO START MOVING IN THE D FIVE.
THOSE ARE THE TWO LOWEST THAT WE SEE AFTER THE DPSS DEPLOYMENT.
SO THERE WAS SOME ACTIVITY IN ALL AREAS OF THE CITY IN THE EARLIER DATA POINTS.
BUT THE LAST TWO, SHOW US WHEN WE SPECIFICALLY BEGAN PROVIDING LOCATIONS IN D FIVE.
SO, RIGHT, D SIX CRASHES, D SEVEN CRASHES, D SEVEN WAS AN AREA OF REDEPLOYMENT, RIGHT? WE HAD SOME RESOURCES GOING THROUGH D SEVEN.
WE FOCUSED A LITTLE BIT IN THE LAST TWO.
WE DO SEE THAT'S A LITTLE BIT LOWER THAN AVERAGE, RIGHT? D EIGHT CRASHES, D NINE CRASHES, AND LAST D 10 CRASHES.
NOW, D 10 HAS RE RECEIVED, UH, THEY RECEIVED, UH, TRAFFIC FOCUS, UM, IN THE LAST TWO WEEKS.
AND SO THIS IS SOMETHING WE WANT TO FOLLOW UP ON.
NOW, THIS TAKES US TO ONE WEEK PRIOR TO DPS LEAVING, RIGHT? THE LAG AND THE TRAFFIC DATA TAKE US THERE.
SO WE WILL SOON HAVE THE NEXT WEEK, WHICH WILL HELP US UNDERSTAND ALL OF THAT.
SO, WHAT WAS THE IMPACT OF ALL OF THIS? AND I'VE, UH, ANSWERED A COUPLE QUESTIONS LAST WEEK ABOUT WHY WE SAY THESE THINGS.
THIS IS WHAT WE SAW RELATED TO CALLS FOR SERVICE RESPONSE TIMES AND REDUCED VIOLENT CRIME IN THE AREAS THAT DPS WAS ASKED TO DEPLOY.
WE SAW REDUCTIONS IN CALLS FOR SERVICE.
WE SAW REDUCED RESPONSE TIMES.
SO A P D OFFICERS WERE ARRIVING AT EMERGENCY CALLS FOR SERVICE MORE QUICKLY.
UM, AND WE SAW REDUCTIONS IN VIOLENT CRIME RIGHT NOW, IMPORTANTLY IN AREAS WHERE DPS REDEPLOYED FROM.
THIS MEANS THE AREAS WHERE THEY INITIALLY DEPLOYED.
AND WE SAW THOSE REDUCTIONS, AND THEN WE MOVED THEM IN WEEKS FIVE AND SIX.
WE ASKED THEM TO REFOCUS TO SOME OTHER AREAS BECAUSE CRIME HAD FALLEN WHERE WE HAD INITIALLY DEPLOYED THEM.
SO WE MOVED THEM TO OTHER AREAS ONCE WE MOVED THEM OUT.
WHAT WE SAW IS AN INCREASE IN CALLS FOR SERVICE, INCREASE RESPONSE TIMES, AND INCREASES IN VIOLENT CRIME.
SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE CITY AS A WHOLE, RIGHT? MOVING THE RESOURCES TO OTHER AREAS, CREATED REDUCTIONS IN OTHER AREAS, BUT INCREASES IN THE AREAS WHERE THEY HAD PREVIOUSLY BEEN DEPLOYED.
RIGHT? AND SO THIS IS AT AN AGGREGATE WHAT HAS SORT OF HAPPENED WITH THE, WITH THE, UH, OPERATION AS A WHOLE.
UM, WE SEE REDUCTIONS IN INJURY COLLISIONS.
WE SEE REDUCTIONS IN CALLS FOR SERVICE RESPONSE TIMES AND VIOLENT CRIME IN THE AREAS WHERE WE DID PLACE DPS.
UM, AND THE LAST QUESTION I'LL ANSWER, SOMEONE SPECIFICALLY ASKED FOR ME TO INCLUDE THIS, IS THAT WE'VE TALKED A GREAT DEAL ABOUT WHETHER THESE REDUCTIONS ARE A RESULT OF THE DPS INTERVENTION.
UM, AND WE CAN SAY CONCLUSIVELY THAT IT IS, WE'VE BEEN ASKED A GREAT DEAL OF QUESTIONS.
WE SAID THAT AT WEEK FOUR, UM, ABOUT HOW WE WOULD DO THAT WITH FOUR WEEKS OF DATA.
UM, SO PEOPLE CAN UNDERSTAND HOW WE DO THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE.
THERE ARE SEVEN DAYS PER WEEK, WHICH IS 28 DAYS IN THE FOUR WEEKS.
DPS IS DEPLOYED 12 HOURS PER DAY.
THERE'S TWO 12 HOUR PERIODS PER DAY.
AND WE ACTUALLY ANALYZE THE DATA AT A CITY BLOCK LEVEL.
THERE'S ABOUT 40,000 CITY BLOCKS IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
SO THAT'S ABOUT 2 MILLION OBSERVATIONS SINCE THE POINT IN TIME IN WHICH DPS CAME INTO THE CITY.
AND SO WE'RE ANALYZING THE DATA THAT WAY.
THAT'S JUST TO ILLUSTRATE, UH, THE VISUALIZATIONS THAT WE HAVE HERE TO HELP US UNDERSTAND THAT.
UM, BUT WE ARE, UH, CONFIDENT IN SAYING, SCIENTIFICALLY CONFIDENT IN SAYING THAT THE DPS REDUCTION DID RESULT IN THESE THINGS.
UM, THIS WEEK IS THE END OF THE FIRST WEEK SINCE DPS HAS ACTUALLY REDEPLOYED TO, UH, TO OTHER BUSINESS IN THE STATE.
AND SO WE'LL BE ANALYZING WHAT HAPPENS THIS WEEK AND NEXT WEEK, UM, MOVING FORWARD.
AND SO WE'LL BE ABLE TO REPORT ON THAT LATER TO GIVE US A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT HAPPENS WHEN DPS, UH, MOVES OUT IN ITS ENTIRETY.
RIGHT? WE ARE FOCUSING AT THIS POINT FOR THE DISCUSSION IN THE CITY ON COUNCIL LEVEL REPORTING, RIGHT? AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO REPORT ON VIOLENT CRIME AND VICTIMIZATION, UM, ON A TWO WEEK INTERVAL, RIGHT? SO WE'LL BE PRODUCING EVERY TWO WEEKS THAT WE HAVE INFORMATION AT THE END OF NEXT WEEK WHEN WE HAVE THE FULL TWO WEEKS OF INFORMATION FROM DPS HAVING DEPARTED THE CITY.
WE'LL BEGIN PRODUCTION OF THOSE MATERIALS FOR THE NEXT REPORT.
AND, UH, WE'VE SHARED WITH COUNSEL, UM, SOME OF THE WAYS IN WHICH WE'RE GOING TO BE SHARING THAT INFORMATION WILL INCLUDE VIOLENT CRIME AND VICTIMIZATION, THE EMERGENCY CALLS FOR ASSISTANCE, INCLUDING THE GUN FOCUS, UH, RESPONSE TIMES, TRAFFIC CRASHES, INJURIES AND FATALITIES.
BEYOND THAT, UH, AS CHIEF CHACON MENTIONED, THERE'S A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF DATA THAT IS IMPORTANT TO THE DISCUSSION, THE ACTIVITY DATA, THE
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WHAT IS HAPPENING DATA.UM, WE CONTINUE TO WORK TO TRY TO MAKE THOSE DATA AVAILABLE FOR ANALYSIS.
UM, AND WE BELIEVE THAT THE PERIOD OF DOWNTIME WILL PROVIDE US A LITTLE BIT MORE OPPORTUNITY TO FOCUS ON THAT.
WE HAVE ASKED FOR DATA FROM A VARIETY OF LOCATIONS, SO WE CAN SPEAK IN MORE GRANULAR DETAIL ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENING AS A RESULT OF IT.
UM, AND AS THOSE THINGS BECOME AVAILABLE, WE'LL WORK TO MAKE THOSE, UH, TO INTEGRATE THOSE INTO THIS PART OF THE REPORTING.
AND SO THAT'S, UH, A BASIC SUMMARY, UH, TO DATE, AND I'LL TURN IT BACK OVER THERE.
AND, UM, THAT CONCLUDES THIS FORMAL PART OF THE, UH, PRESENTATION.
UM, DIRECTOR LUCIANO DID NOT BRING A PRESENTATION PER SE, BUT IS HERE, UH, WE CAN'T HAVE A DISCUSSION WITHOUT DPS BEING AT THE TABLE.
AND SO HE IS HERE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS OR GIVE ANY FEEDBACK THAT, UH, THE COMMITTEE MIGHT WANT.
BUT, UH, THANK YOU FOR, UH, GIVING US AN OPPORTUNITY TO PRESENT THAT, AND WE'RE GLAD TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE.
UH, I'LL START BY, UH, RECOGNIZING COUNCIL MEMBER CADRE.
UM, DO YOU GUYS MIND GOING BACK TO THE, THE IMPACT SLIDE? UM, AND, AND, AND, AND IF YOU'RE UNABLE TO DO THAT, I GUESS MY, MY MAIN QUESTION, YEAH, YOU'RE ABLE TO DO THAT SECOND TO THE LAST SLIDE? YEAH, I THINK THAT WAS TOWARDS THE BOTTOM.
OH, START THE LAST ONE MORE UP.
SO THIS IS IN AREAS OF DPS DEPLOYMENT, REDUCED C UH, CFS REDUCED RESPONSE TIME, AND REDUCED VIOLENT CRIME.
DO Y'ALL HAVE OF DATA OF LIKE, THIS IS WHAT THE RESPONSE TIME WAS, THEN THIS IS WHAT IT GOT TO, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, ON THE OTHER END WHEN DPS REDEPLOYED, DO YOU HAVE THE, THIS IS WHAT THE TIME WAS AND ONCE THEY LEFT, THIS IS HOW, HOW BAD IT GOT? YEAH, SO WE DO, AND WE'VE REPORTED THAT IN, UH, WE'VE REPORTED IT IN SOME OF THE PREVIOUS MEMOS ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENED ON A TWO WEEK BASIS.
UM, WHAT WE'LL BE REPORTING MOVING FORWARD AT THE END OF THE NEXT TWO WEEKS IS BEGINNING TO LOOK AT THE DIFFERENT AREAS EFFECTIVELY, UH, THE AREAS WHERE THEY HAVE BEEN DEPLOYED AND THEN TAKEN OUT.
UM, WE DO HAVE INITIAL INFORMATION ON THAT.
THE INCREASE IN CALLS FOR SERVICE RESPONSE TIME FOR EMERGENCY CALLS FOR SERVICE IS ABOUT TWO MINUTES.
AND SO WE DO, UM, WE, AND AGAIN, THIS IS SPECIFIC, IT'S LOOKING AT AREAS WHERE DPS HAD A FOCUS FOR A NUMBER OF WEEKS, AND THEN WE'RE REDEPLOYED TO OTHER AREAS OF THE CITY.
SO WE'RE ASKING THE QUESTION IN THE SECOND POINT, THE POINT ON THE BOTTOM WHAT HAPPENED WHEN THEY ACTUALLY MOVED OUT.
NOW WHAT WE HAVE TO WORK ON IN THIS IS THAT WE, UH, WHICH I'VE DISCUSSED, UH, WITH COUNCIL MEMBERS, UH, WE WILL BE WORKING TO AGGREGATE THIS IN A WAY THAT CAN BE, THAT CAN BE PROVIDED.
WE'RE WORKING ON PROVIDING IT PRIMARILY AT A COUNCIL DISTRICT LEVEL.
UM, THAT IS NOT THE IDEAL LEVEL FOR CONDUCTING THIS STATISTICAL ANALYSIS, BUT IT SHOULD GIVE YOU SOME SENSE, UH, OF WHAT'S HAPPENING.
AND WE'RE HAPPY TO PRODUCE ANYTHING ELSE THAT WE'RE REQUESTING.
UM, AND THEN I GUESS THIS IS A QUESTION FOR, UM, EITHER ONE OF YOU, BUT, UM, WHAT, WHAT WAS THE PROTOCOL TO REDUCE SPEEDING AND RECKLESS DRIVING DURING THIS, THIS PARTNERSHIP? OH, ACTUALLY, I'M GONNA GO AHEAD AND LET, UH, DIRECTOR LUCIANO ANSWER THAT BECAUSE HIS, HIS FOLKS WERE THE ONES THAT WERE ACTUALLY CONDUCTING THAT.
SO WHEN THE TROOPERS GO OUT AND PATROL, THEY LOOK FOR EVERY TRAFFIC VIOLATION THEY SEE.
SO IF THEY SAW THAT VIOLATION, THEN THAT'S WHAT THEY HAD STOPPED FOR.
SO YOU CAN ONLY STOP PEOPLE FOR THE, UH, VIOLATIONS THAT YOU OBSERVE.
OH, THEY STOPPED PEOPLE FOR THE VIOLATIONS THEY OBSERVED.
UM, AND THEN MY, MY NEXT QUESTION WAS, UH, DOES THE CHIEF'S MONTHLY REPORT INCLUDE ARRESTS MADE BY DPS? AND THE REASON I ASK THIS IS BECAUSE IN MARCH BEFORE THE PARTNERSHIP CRIMES AGAINST PERSONS DECREASED BY 11% IN COMPARISON TO THE YEAR BEFORE, AND IN APRIL OF THIS YEAR, THEY DECREASED BY 10%.
UM, AND THEN MY, MY LAST TWO QUESTIONS, UM, AND, AND, AND I'VE ASKED A SIMILAR QUESTION BEFORE, I KNOW OTHER MEMBERS HAVE.
UM, SO I'M, I'M GONNA, I'M GONNA ASK YOU, BUT ALSO KIND OF REPHRASE IT FOR AS LONG AS THE PARTNERSHIP EXISTED, DID, DO YOU GUYS CONSIDER IT A SUCCESS? AND THEN MY, MY FOLLOW UP QUESTION TO THAT WOULD BE WHAT DOES SUCCESS LOOK LIKE AT, AT THE, AT THE END OF THE DAY? YEAH.
UM, I DID CONSIDER IT A SUCCESS.
AND WHAT SUCCESS TO ME LOOKS LIKE IS THAT WE ARE, UM, HAVING A DECREASE IN THE NUMBER OF CALLS FOR SERVICE.
THOSE P ZERO AND P ONE EMERGENT CALLS THAT
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WERE ON THE RISE AND WERE ACTUALLY, UH, DECLINED DURING, IN THE, IN THE DEPLOYMENT AREAS AS WELL AS, YOU KNOW, SUBSEQUENT TO THAT THE, THE VIOLENT CRIME.AND WE SAW REDUCTIONS IN THOSE, UM, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE BEING SERIOUSLY INJURED, WHETHER IN A TRAFFIC CRASH, UH, WHICH, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY IS NOT, UH, NOT CRIMINAL PER SE, BUT IS, IS NO LESS INJUROUS, UM, AS WELL AS PEOPLE USING, UH, GUNS TO COMMIT VIOLENT CRIME.
UH, WE SAW DROPS IN BOTH OF THOSE, IN THOSE AREAS.
AND I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO, UH, TO TALK ABOUT THAT.
DO YOU, WAS THERE SOMETHING YOU WANTED TO ADD ON THAT? YEAH, AND SO IMPORTANTLY, I, I WANT TO BRING ATTENTION TO THIS BECAUSE YOU BROUGHT UP THE INFORMATION IN CHIEF'S MONTHLY REPORT MM-HMM.
SO THE CHALLENGE IN THE CHIEF'S MONTHLY REPORT IS THE WAY IN WHICH THE DATA ARE PROVIDED, THOSE DATA ARE PROVIDED BASED UPON A BASIC IBUS COUNTING STANDARD, RIGHT? SO THESE ARE THE OFFICIAL DATA THAT WE PROVIDE.
UM, SO I NOTICED, FOR EXAMPLE, IN THE MARCH REPORT, UH, YOU'LL NOTICE THERE'S A 7% NET CHANGE IN CRIMES EVENTS PERSONS, WHICH IS MOSTLY EQUIVALENT TO WHAT WE THINK OF AS VIOLENT CRIME.
UM, I WOULD SAY IMPORTANTLY, IF YOU LOOK AT THAT, THOSE WERE REDUCTIONS PRIMARILY IN SEX CRIMES, RIGHT? UM, AND SO BECAUSE OF THE NATURE OF SEX CRIMES, BECAUSE OF THE LOCATIONS OF SEX CRIMES AND WHATNOT, THOSE ARE NOT PART OF THE INDEX THAT WE'RE COUNTING FOR DETERRENCE.
UM, THERE'S GENERALLY ONLY A FEW CATEGORIES, UM, AGGRAVATED, RIGHT? WHICH WOULD MEAN WITH A WEAPON THAT WOULD, WE WOULD THINK OF AS SOMETHING THAT WOULD HAPPEN GENERALLY, UM, OUT ON THE STREET.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, YOU'LL NOTICE THAT THE LARGEST REDUCTIONS IN MARCH WERE ACTUALLY SEX CRIMES.
UM, IF YOU GO DOWN TO CRIMES AGAINST PROPERTY, UH, AND WE SEE THE ROBBERY CATEGORY, ROBBERY IS UP 13% FROM MARCH, 2022 TO MARCH, 2023.
ROBBERY, ALTHOUGH CLASSIFIED UNDER THE NIBU STANDARD AS A CRIME AGAINST PROPERTY, IS FUNDAMENTALLY A VIOLENT CRIME BY NATURE.
NOW, THERE'S ACTUALLY TWO CATEGORIES OF ROBBERY.
THERE'S ROBBERY BY ASSAULT, AND THERE'S ROBBERY, UH, ROBBERY BY ASSAULT AND ROBBERY.
AGGRAVATED ROBBERY, AGGRAVATED IS PRIMARILY WHAT WE'RE INTERESTED IN.
THAT IS ROBBERY THAT INVOLVES A WEAPON, IF THAT MAKES SENSE.
SO GENERALLY, WHEN WE READ THE CHIEF'S MONTHLY REPORT, COMPARING THEM TO THE VIOLENT CRIME INDEX FOR THE PURPOSE OF, UH, FOR THE PURPOSE OF DPS DEPLOYMENT, THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF CONFUSION OVER THAT.
UH, YOU CAN FOLLOW THE SAME INFORMATION IN THE, UH, APRIL REPORT, WHERE YOU'LL NOTICE THAT ALTHOUGH IT'S SHOWING A REDUCTION OF ABOUT 7%, AGAIN, ON CRIMES AGAINST PERSONS OVERALL, THE MAJORITY OF THOSE ARE OCCURRING, UH, WITHIN THE, OF SEXUAL ASSAULT.
RIGHT? SO THAT'S WHERE WE'RE REALLY, THAT'S WHERE WE'RE REALLY SEEING THE MAJORITY OF THE REDUCTION.
UH, AGAIN, YOU'LL NOTICE THERE'S 11% INCREASE IN ROBBERIES THAT MONTH AS WELL.
SO WHEN YOU AVERAGE ROBBERY IN WITH IT, UM, AND RECOGNIZE THE NATURE OF THE TOTAL REPORTING, UH, YOU CAN JUST KIND OF SEE A DIFFERENCE.
AND AGAIN, THAT'S HOPEFULLY IT HELPS UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE IN REPORTING.
I, I'M SORRY, I DO HAVE ONE LAST QUESTION.
UM, AND THIS MIGHT BE ASKED, UH, BY, BY ANOTHER MEMBER TOO, BUT IS, IS THERE ANY TIMELINE OF WHEN THE PARTNERSHIP WOULD RESUME? I'M GONNA LET, UH, UH, DIRECTOR LUCIANO GO AHEAD AND ANSWER THAT ONE.
THERE'S NO SPECIFIC TIMELINE, HOWEVER, UH, WE PLAN ON RESUMING, UH, CURRENTLY WE'RE TIED UP WITH A LOT OF BORDER OPERATIONS.
THERE'S, UH, YOU KNOW, AS YOU'RE FOLLOWING THE NATIONAL NEWS, THE ENDING OF TITLE 42 AND ALL THAT OTHER STUFF.
SO WE, UH, WE ARE, ARE, ARE STILL TRYING TO BE THE BEST PARTNERS WE CAN BE TO THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
THIS WEEKEND THERE WAS A PLANNED STREET TAKEOVER AND WE SENT A LARGE CONTENTION OF TROOPERS TO, UH, ASSIST AUSTIN PD.
WE'RE STILL GONNA BE THE BEST PARTNERS WE CAN BE TO ALL OF OUR LOCAL AGENCIES, SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENTS, AND ALL OF OUR PARTNERS IN LAW ENFORCEMENT, CUZ WE TAKE THE CARE OF THE CITIZENS IN THE ENTIRE STATE OF TEXAS, NO MATTER WHERE THEY RESIDE.
SO, UH, EVEN THOUGH WE'RE COMMITTED OTHER PLACES, SHOULD THE NEED ARISE, WILL WE'LL BE RESPONSIVE TO ANYWHERE IN THE STATE.
CUSTOMER VELA, DID I SEE YOU PUNCH YOUR BUTTON? COULD WE GO TO, UH, SLIDE THREE? IT'S A HEAT MAP FOR INJURIES.
THE ONE WITHOUT THE COUNCIL DISTRICTS, ALTHOUGH THE ONE WITH THE COUNCIL DISTRICT IS FINE TOO.
I'M NOT SURE IF IT'S ACTUALLY SEQUENTIALLY THREE, BUT THAT FIRST HEAT MAP, THERE YOU GO.
UM, THAT SURE LOOKS LIKE A MAP OF I 35 AND IT'S MAJOR INTERSECTIONS.
UH, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE, THAT KIND OF LINE RUNNING THROUGH THE CENTER OF
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AUSTIN, UM, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU SEE DISTRICT FOUR AND THAT KIND OF RED GOING TO, UH, TO THE, THE EAST AND THEN UP THAT YELLOW AND RED GOING UP TO THE NORTHWEST, I MEAN, THAT'S THE INTERSECTION OF 2 91, 83 AND I 35 RIGHT THERE.UH, IS, IS THAT Y'ALL, AGAIN, THINKING OF PRIORITIZATION AND MAXIMIZING PUBLIC BENEFITS, THAT JUST JUMPS OUT AT ME AGAIN AS, AS YOU KNOW, WHERE ARE PEOPLE GETTING HURT? WHERE ARE PEOPLE GETTING INJURED? UH, AND IT'S, AGAIN, I THINK ABOUT IN MY DISTRICT, I MEAN, THEY'RE GETTING INJURED, UH, ON THOSE, UH, THOSE MAJOR HIGHWAYS, MAJOR ROADWAYS, YOU KNOW, THAT'S WHERE THE, THE IS, IS THAT Y'ALL SENSE? HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE PATROLLING, THE, THE HIGHWAYS IN, UH, YOU KNOW, THE, THE MAJOR HIGHWAYS IN AUSTIN? WHAT'S YOUR, YOUR, YOUR SENSE OF IT? THAT, UH, WAS OUR, OUR EXACT SENSE OF IT AS WELL, COUNCIL MEMBER.
AND THAT, IF YOU'LL REMEMBER BACK TO MY BRIEFS THAT I PREVIOUSLY GAVE, WE WERE CONCENTRATED ON THE, ON THE MAIN, YOU KNOW, HIGH SPEED ROADWAYS, LIKE I 35, 71, 2 90 MM-HMM.
UM, AS THOSE, UM, AS THOSE MAPS WOULD KIND OF DRIVE, THIS IS WHERE WE'RE SEEING SERIOUS INJURY CRASHES AND FATALITIES.
UM, AND WE SAW PART OF THE DEPLOYMENT WAS REALLY CONCENTRATED ON THESE AREAS.
WELL, UH, AND, AND THAT WAS JUST, THAT JUST JUMPED OUT TO ME, UH, UH, AS SEEING THE MAP.
I, I JUST WANNA SAY THAT I DO, UH, APPRECIATE THE, THE REDEPLOYMENT IN RESPONSE TO, UM, THE COUNCIL, UH, COMMUNICATIONS AND, AND, AND CONCERNS.
UH, I KNOW THAT FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, YOU KNOW, FOLKS IN THE, THE LAMAR RUNDBERG AREA WHO WERE FEELING, YOU KNOW, OVER POLICE, UH, HAVE, HAVE NOT BEEN CONTACTING ME AS MUCH ABOUT THOSE SAME CONCERNS.
SO MY SENSE IS THAT THERE WAS KIND OF A CERTAIN, UH, UH, RELIEF TO SEE THE, THE PATROL SPREAD OUT.
AND AGAIN, JUST ANECDOTAL FEEDBACK FROM OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS AND OTHER FOLKS KIND OF, NOT JUST IN D FOUR, BUT AROUND TOWN, YOU KNOW, SOME FOLKS ARE HAPPY TO SEE A DPS PATROLLING IN, YOU KNOW, 22, 22 OR, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER, WHEREVER THAT, THAT MAY BE.
SO, YOU KNOW, I, I UNDERSTAND THE KIND OF THE DATA, UH, CONCERNS THAT ARE, THAT ARE DRIVING THE PROGRAM, BUT I DO APPRECIATE, UH, YOUR, THE RESPONSIVENESS TO THE COUNCIL CONCERNS AND THE, AND THE PUBLIC CONCERNS.
UM, AND THANK YOU CHIEF CHACON AND D PS FOR BEING HERE.
I REALLY APPRECIATE YOU ALL COLLABORATING TOGETHER AND BEING RESPONSIVE TO COUNCIL'S QUESTIONS AND NEEDS.
UM, I DO HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS.
UH, CHIEF CHACON, WHAT DOES A P D SEE AS THE IMPACT WITH, TO THE CITY? WITH D P S NO LONGER ABLE TO HELP US, WELL, WITH THEM NO LONGER BEING ABLE TO HELP US.
WE HAVE FEWER OFFICERS ONCE AGAIN, THAT ARE RESPONDING TO EMERGENT CALLS.
AND, UM, THAT TO ME IS PROBLEMATIC.
UM, AND THAT IS NOT, YOU KNOW, CERTAINLY NOT A KNOCK ON ON ANYONE.
IT, IT IS WHERE A P D FINDS ITSELF, UM, WITH REGARD TO STAFFING.
AND SO IN EACH ONE OF THESE AREAS, I HAVE A FINITE NUMBER OF OFFICERS THAT I'M ABLE TO DEPLOY.
UH, WE HAVE BACKFILL PERSONNEL THAT ARE COMING IN FROM OTHER, UM, UNITS AND OTHER RANKS TO, UH, ANSWER EMERGENCY CALLS.
UH, I NEED TO, UH, YOU KNOW, I'M GRATEFUL THAT THIS PAST WEEKEND WE WERE ABLE TO, UH, GRADUATE A CLASS, UM, AND, AND ADD THOSE PEOPLE INTO THE ACADEMY, UM, INTO, OUT ON THE STREETS.
UH, WE STARTED ANOTHER ACADEMY TODAY.
UH, BUT THOSE NUMBERS ARE RELATIVELY SMALL GIVEN THE NUMBER OF VACANCIES THAT WE HAVE.
SO DPS IS THAT FORCE MULTIPLIER THAT WAS REALLY HELPING US TO US, TO SLOW ALL OF THESE THINGS, TO HAVE THEM GO ON A DECLINE.
AND, UH, THE FACT THEY'RE NOT HERE NOW, WE ARE SEEING THAT, THAT THOSE NUMBERS ARE STARTING TO CLIMB AGAIN.
I APPRECIATE THAT INFORMATION REGARDING THE CADETS WHO JUST GRADUATED, UM, THAT WAS ACTUALLY MY FOLLOW UP QUESTION.
HOW LONG, OR DO YOU EVEN HAVE AN ESTIMATION OF HOW LONG IT MAY TAKE TO FILL THE VACANCIES THAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE? WELL, THERE, UM, THERE ARE REALLY TWO FACTORS THAT AFFECT THAT.
HOW MANY PEOPLE CAN I, UM, CAN I ENCOURAGE AND, AND RECRUIT INTO AN ACADEMY CLASS? AND THE SECOND PART BEING, HOW CAN I RETAIN THE PEOPLE THAT I HAVE? AND, UM, THE NUMBERS THAT WE'RE LOSING CONTINUE TO BE VERY HIGH, AND THE NUMBERS THAT I'M RECRUITING INTO THE CLASS ARE RELATIVELY LOW.
SO I DON'T HAVE A GOOD TIMELINE OTHER THAN TO TELL YOU THAT IT IS NOT ON THE HORIZON.
UH, IT'S GONNA BE QUITE A BIT OF TIME BEFORE WE'RE ABLE TO REALLY, UM, FILL THOSE VACANCIES, AND WE'RE WORKING VERY HARD TO GET THAT DONE.
HAS, UM, THE DEPARTMENT GONE THROUGH ANY SORT OF OPERATIONAL CHANGES, OR HAVE YOU HEARD ANY, AND HAVE YOU HEARD ANY FEEDBACK FROM OFFICERS SINCE D P LEFT? UM, THE FEEDBACK
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WAS OVERWHELMINGLY POSITIVE FROM THE OFFICERS WHEN DPS GOT HERE.UH, THEY WERE GLAD FOR SOME RELIEF.
AND, UH, IT HAS BEEN SOMEWHAT NEGATIVE OBVIOUSLY, SINCE THEY'VE LEFT, BECAUSE, UH, THEY, UH, ENJOYED HAVING THAT, THAT BACKUP O OUT ON THE STREET.
UM, WITH REGARD TO OPERATIONAL CHANGES, UM, WE ARE IN A, A BIT OF A STEADY STATE RIGHT NOW WITH HOW MANY PERSONNEL THAT WE ARE REDEPLOYING FOR BACKFILL OPERATIONS.
UM, BUT THAT MAY CHANGE IN THE COMING WEEKS AND MONTHS AS WE CONTINUE TO LOSE FOLKS.
UH, AND UNTIL THOSE BRAND NEW OFFICERS CAN COME OFF PROBATION AND START TAKING CALLS ON THEIR OWN.
AND THEN MY LAST QUESTION, ARE THERE ANY TOOLS THAT COUNCIL CAN PROVIDE TO A P D THAT MAY ALLOW A P D TO WORK WITHIN THE CONSTRAINTS OF THE VACANCIES THAT YOU HAVE WITH D PS NO LONGER HERE? YEAH.
UH, I THINK THAT COUNCIL HAS BEEN VERY RESPONSIVE TO THOSE TYPE OF REQUESTS THAT HAVE COME OVER FROM THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE.
I WILL CONTINUE TO, UH, TO WORK WITH, UM, UH, ACM, UH, BRUCE MILLS, AS WELL AS OUR CITY MANAGER TO, UH, TO LOOK TO PROVIDE ANY SUGGESTIONS OR REQUESTS THAT COULD REALLY HELP US AND CONVEY 'EM TO COUNSEL TO, UH, TO HELP FULFILL IT.
AND, UM, I JUST, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT AS COUNCIL MEMBERS THAT WE LISTEN TO FEEDBACK AND THAT WE HEAR FROM THE COMMUNITY ABOUT THIS.
SO I'M GLAD TO SEE OUR CHAMBERS FILLED TODAY WITH INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE HERE TO SPEAK.
UM, I'VE ALSO GOTTEN THOUSANDS OF EMAILS IN SUPPORT OF THIS PARTNERSHIP AND COLLABORATION, AND I'VE HEARD FROM PEOPLE IN MY DISTRICT, I'VE DRIVEN THROUGH THE DISTRICT AND SEEING DPS, PULLING PEOPLE OVER OR JUST, UM, AT CALLS FOR ASSISTANCE.
AND SO I'M APPRECIATIVE OF THE COLLABORATION.
AND THANK YOU AGAIN FOR BEING HERE TODAY.
UM, THANK YOU FOR, FOR JOINING US DIRECTOR LUCIANO.
UM, I GUESS JUST TO TAKE A STEP BACK, I WANTED TO LAY OUT MY UNDERSTANDING AND, AND THANK YOU, UH, DR.
KINGIAN FOR MEETING WITH ME AND MY TEAM ON FRIDAY.
I THINK THAT CONVERSATION REALLY HELPED ILLUMINATE HOW, UH, THE OPERATION TOOK, HOW IT UNFOLDED.
UM, SO JUST TO BE REALLY CLEAR, CAUSE I WANNA MAKE SURE OUR COMMUNITY, THAT ONE WELL, WELL, ONE, I WANNA MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND IT CORRECTLY.
AND TOO, I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THE COMMUNITY ALSO HEARS MORE ABOUT HOW EXACTLY THE PATROLLING TOOK PLACE.
UM, IT SEEMS TO ME, BASED ON INFORMATION PROVIDED TO ME ON FRIDAY, THAT THE AREAS IN WHICH DPS WERE FIRST SENT TO WERE BASED BY AN INTERSECTION OF WHERE WE HAVE HIGH INJURY CRASHES AND FATALITIES AND THE INTERSECTION OF WHERE THERE'S HIGH CALLS FOR SERVICE.
IS THAT RIGHT? THAT'S CORRECT.
WE FOCUSED, WE FOCUSED, UH, AN INITIAL GROUP ON SIMPLY THE MAJOR THOROUGH HARRIS, AS WE TALKED ABOUT I 35 2 90, UH, 180 3, UM, AND, UH, I'M SORRY, MOPAC AS WELL.
AND SO THE REST OF THE CONTINGENT, WE LOOKED FOR THOSE AREAS TO MAXIMIZE THE GAIN, UH, WHERE WE SAW BOTH HIGH LEVELS OF EMERGENCY CALLS FOR SERVICE INVOLVING FIREARMS AND TRAFFIC COLLISIONS, INVOLV, UH, RESULTING IN, UH, TRAFFIC CRASHES RESULTING IN, UH, INJURIES OR FATALITIES.
AND SO AREAS WHERE BOTH OF THOSE OCCURRED WERE THE GUIDING, UH, INFORMATION FOR THAT DEPLOYMENT.
SO BASED ON YOUR DATA HERE THAT YOU PRESENTED, AND THIS DATA IS, IS IT TIED TO VISION ZERO? SO WHAT WE DO IS WE LOOK AT TWO DIFFERENT THINGS.
AND SO VISION ZERO, WE LOOKED AT, WE LOOK AT THEIR DATA, UM, AND WE LOOKED AT THEIR IMPACT DATA.
VISION ZERO HAS, UH, AUSTIN TRAFFIC HAS A METHODOLOGY FOR PROJECTING EFFECTIVELY THE COST OF A COLLISION, RIGHT? AND SO WHAT WE LOOKED FOR IN OUR DATA, UH, WAS THE ACTUAL NUMBER OF COLLISIONS RESULTING IN INJURIES.
AND THEN WE REFERENCED THEIR DATA TO MEASURE SOME FORM OF THE IMPACT.
THERE'S A HIGH LEVEL OF OVERLAP IN BOTH OF THOSE.
UM, WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT AN AREA, UM, WHERE THERE'RE REPEATED COLLISIONS OR CRASHES, UH, YOU HAVE A GREATER IMPACT OVERALL.
SO WE WORKED WITH AUSTIN TRAFFIC ON THAT.
THE NEXT THING THAT WE DID, BECAUSE AUSTIN TRAFFIC'S METHODOLOGY PLACES, UH, SO MUCH INFORMATION, UH, OR SO MUCH, UH, EMPHASIS ON I 35.
AND SINCE I 35 ITSELF WAS ONE OF THE INITIAL, UH, SINGULAR DEPLOYMENTS, RIGHT? FOR, FOR THE, UH, FOR THE DPS TROOPERS, UH, WE BEGAN TO WORK WITH AUSTIN TRAFFIC TO HAVE THEM HELP US ISOLATE AREAS, NOT I 35.
SO THESE WOULD BE MORE INTERSECTIONS WITHIN THE CITY.
SO WE'RE LOOKING AT SURFACE ROADS AS WELL.
AND THAT'S ONE BECAUSE LET'S DIG ON, LET'S DIG IN ON THAT.
SO THE, YOU MENTIONED YOU FOCUSED ON I 35 IN THE BEGINNING.
YOU KNOW, I WAS IN A MEETING WITH OUR COUNTY ATTORNEY, UM, WHO SHARED WITH US A MAP OF WHERE THE CITATIONS WERE ACTUALLY COMING FROM.
AND WE SAW RIVERSIDE AS A PREDOMINANT, PREDOMINANT AREA OF WHERE CITATIONS WERE HELD.
SO IF THE FOCUS WAS ADDITIONAL WAS FIRST FOCUSED ON I 35, WOULD WE HAVE NOT HAVE SEEN MORE CITATIONS BEING ISSUED ON I 35?
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SO I WANT TO TAKE THAT ONE IN.UH, CERTAINLY DIRECTOR LUCIANO CAN FILL IN ANY, UM, ANY GAPS THAT HE SEES.
BUT I WANT TO JUST, UH, JUST AS A REMINDER, UM, THREE OUT OF EVERY FOUR POSSIBLE CITATIONS THAT DPS COULD WRITE, THEY ISSUED A WARNING ON.
THE ONES THAT THEY WROTE GENERALLY WERE THE ONES THAT BY POLICY THEY HAVE TO WRITE, SUCH AS NO DRIVER'S LICENSE, UH, AND SOME OTHERS.
AND, UM, AND SO WHERE, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT YOU CAN'T SOLELY LOOK AT THE, THE TICKETS THAT ARE WRITTEN.
YOU NEED TO LOOK AT ALL THE STOPS, INCLUDING THE WARNINGS.
THAT'S THE INFORMATION THAT WE'RE STILL TRYING TO GET.
CUZ I DON'T KNOW TODAY HOW MANY WARNINGS WERE WRITTEN ON 9 35 OR MOPAC OR THOSE OTHER ROADWAYS WHERE DPS WAS WORKING.
WHAT WE KNOW ARE THE TICKETS THAT WERE WRITTEN, WHICH BY POLICY HAD TO BE WRITTEN, WELL, MOST OF 'EM HAVE BY POLICY HAD TO BE WRITTEN.
UM, AND SO UNTIL WE HAVE ALL THAT DATA, I'M NOT SURE THAT IT PAINTS AS CLEAR A PICTURE AS WE WOULD LIKE.
YOU KNOW, I, YOU KNOW, I SHARE IN THE OBJECTIVE OF TRYING TO CREATE SAFER STREETS AND, AND CERTAINLY, YOU KNOW, APPRECIATE THAT THE WAY ONE OF THE GOALS FOR THIS OPERATION WAS TO REDUCE SERIOUS TRAFFIC FATALITIES AND INJURIES.
AND SO TO ME, THE CITATIONS THAT WOULD'VE BEEN WELCOMED TO SEE WOULD'VE BEEN, YOU KNOW, CITATIONS FOR SPEEDING, UH, FOR RUNNING A RED LIGHT, UH, ESPECIALLY ALONG, UM, SPEEDING ALONG I 35.
BUT THAT ON PRELIMINARY DATA THAT WAS ISSUED, LIKE YOU SAID, CHIEF, YOU SAID MOST OF THE CITATIONS THAT WERE GIVEN WERE FOR DRIVING WITHOUT A DRIVER'S LICENSE.
UM, AND SO I THINK, WELL, FIRST I, YES, DIRECTOR, DID YOU HAVE A COMMENT TO SAY, I WOULD LIKE TO, SO FOR THOSE OF US WHO HAVE BEEN IN A PATROL CAR BEFORE, WE NOTICE THAT PEOPLE TEND TO DRIVE MUCH BETTER WHEN THEY SEE US THAN WHEN THEY DON'T.
HOWEVER, IF YOU WANT TO STOP SOMEBODY FOR SPEEDING OR RUNNING RED LIGHTS AND ALL THOSE OTHER KIND OF THINGS, TYPICALLY THAT'S WHY THEY CALL THEM SPEED TRAPS.
SO THE GOAL OF THIS OPERATION WAS NOT TO HIDE AND WRITE TICKETS.
THE GOAL OF THIS OPERATION WAS TO BE SEEN, TO BE VISIBLE WITH A PRESENCE THAT DETERS BOTH VIOLENT CRIME AND BAD TRAFFIC.
BAD DRIVING, POOR DRIVING, ILLEGAL DRIVING.
SO THAT IS PROBABLY ONE OF THE REASONS WHY YOU DIDN'T SEE A LOT OF, UH, SPEED ENFORCEMENT.
CUZ WHEN WE ARE VISIBLE, PEOPLE TEND TO DRIVE, UH, MORE CAREFULLY.
THE BYPRODUCT OF THAT GOES BACK TO THE COUNCILMAN'S SITTING TO YOUR, YOUR RIGHT, UH, ON HOW WE GET TO A BUNCH OF VIOLATIONS THAT AREN'T SPEEDING AND WHAT HAVE YOU IS BECAUSE THOSE ARE THE VIOLATIONS THAT WE SEE.
SO I, I THINK BACK IN MY DAY, THERE WERE 367 TRAFFIC VIOLATIONS IN THE TRAFFIC CODE.
I COULD BE WRONG CHIEF, HE PROBABLY KNOWS OFF THE TOP OF HIS HEAD, BUT I REMEMBER HE TOLD THAT ONE TIME.
SO, THE ONLY LAWS THAT YOU CAN ENFORCE ARE THE ONES THAT YOU SEE COMMITTED.
SO EVERYBODY WANTS TO SEE SOMETHING SPECIFIC IN THE REAL WORLD.
YOU ENFORCE THE LAWS THAT YOU SEE MM-HMM.
SO IF SOMEBODY'S NOT SPEEDING, YOU CAN'T, I, I DON'T KNOW, BEFORE I SAW HIM THAT HE WAS SPEEDING SOMEPLACE ELSE.
SO I GET TO STOP HIM FOR THAT.
SO THAT, THAT IS A LOT OF WHY THE DATA DOESN'T SHOW SPEEDING VIOLATIONS, BECAUSE WE ARE THERE TO BE HIGHLY VISIBLE TO DETER CRIME.
WE WANT SAFER NEIGHBORHOODS, WE WANT SAFER STREETS.
AND WHEN PEOPLE SEE POLICE OFFICERS WITH LIGHTS TURNING ONE, THE OTHER BYPRODUCT OF THAT IS WE ARE MORE VISIBLE.
SO PEOPLE TEND TO DRIVE BETTER AND THEY DON'T COMMIT CRIME AT OUR PRESENCE.
WELL, THANK YOU, DIRECTOR LUCIANO.
AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, HAVING MORE DPS PRESENCE ON I 35 ON 2222 ON MOPAC, THAT WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, A WELCOMED, UM, UH, PARTNERSHIP, A WELCOMED EFFORT, UH, OF THE PARTNERSHIP.
UH, WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO ILLUMINATE TO THE COMMUNITY IS THAT UNFORTUNATELY, DURING THE FIRST FEW WEEKS WITH THE COMMUNITY SAW WHERE DPS TROOPERS WITHIN THE NEIGHBORHOODS, AND SO HAVING THIS INFORMATION PRESENTED TODAY THAT THE REASON WHY, YOU KNOW, WE HAD A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF TROOPERS THE FIRST WEEK ON RIVERSIDE WAS BECAUSE BASED ON THE DATA THAT YOU SHARED OF HAVING THE INTERSECTION OF HIGH TRAFFIC INJURIES AND HIGH TRAFFIC FATALITIES WITH THE INTERSECTION OF CALLS FOR SERVICE, THAT WAS THE REASON WHY THE OPERATION WAS FIRST DEPLOYED INTO OUR EAST SIDE COMMUNITIES.
I GUESS DIRECTOR LUCIANO, MOVING FORWARD, WE KNOW THAT THIS OPERATION CURRENTLY IS ON PAUSE, LIKE YOU HAVE SHARED, UM, WITH US, THAT IT IS GOING TO RETURN AT SOME POINT.
UH, WHEN WE HEARD FROM COLONEL MCCRAW, HE SHARED WITH US PUBLICLY THAT THE TROOPERS ARE DEPLOYED, YOU KNOW, AT THE DISCRETION AND THE DIRECTION OF OUR POLICE CHIEF, CHIEF CHAK.
UH, WHAT CAN WE EXPECT MOVING FORWARD FOR THE NEXT ITERATION OF THE OPERATION? ANY, YOU KNOW, KNOWING THE ADJUSTMENTS THAT HAVE THAT WERE
[00:40:01]
MADE TOWARDS THE END OF THE PROGRAM, WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FOR, FOR THE SECOND PHASE? THIS IS A COLLABORATION.SO A LOT OF TIMES, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE THESE DISCUSSIONS.
PERSONALLY, I WANT TO BE THE MOST VISIBLE I CAN OR HAVE MY PEOPLE BE AS THE MOST VISIBLE THEY CAN IN THE AREAS THAT ARE MOST AFFECTED BY COST FOR SERVICE, VIOLENT CRIMES AND TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS.
SO, UM, THAT DATA IS, COMES FROM THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT, AND THEN THERE'S ALSO SOME OTHER FACTORS THAT GO INTO IT.
AND, YOU KNOW, BASED ON THAT IS WHERE WE WILL MOVE.
CHIEF, ANY COMMENTS FROM YOU? WELL, I APPRECIATE THE QUESTION, COUNCIL MEMBER.
AND, AND, UH, AS YOU SAW IN, UH, JUST AS THE OPERATION BEFORE IT WAS PUT ON PAUSE, THERE WAS A REDEPLOYMENT FROM THE AREAS, AND THAT WAS ALL BASED AGAIN, ON DATA.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, I, I HAVE TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT COUNCIL MEMBERS, YOU KNOW, AND THE COUN, THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL'S DESIRES ABOUT HOW, HOW THEY'D LIKE TO SEE POLICING SERVICES DELIVERED IN THE CITY, UH, THAT WEIGH INTO IT AS WELL.
UM, AND WHAT WE SAW WAS, YOU KNOW, THE, A DEPLOYMENT REALLY IN AREAS WHERE, UM, YOU HADN'T SEEN AS MUCH DPS PRESENCE, UH, AND IT, AND IT CONTINUED TO HAVE A GOOD EFFECT UP UNTIL WE HAD TO PUT IT ON PAUSE.
UM, THAT IS GOING, THAT, THAT IS LARGELY WHAT IS GOING TO DRIVE THE EFFORT MOVING FORWARD.
UM, I'VE HEARD VERY CLEARLY, UH, DPS HAS HEARD VERY CLEARLY WHAT THE COUNCIL'S WISHES ARE WITH HOW THE OPERATIONS SHOULD BE CONDUCTED.
WE WANT TO OPERATE WITHIN THAT FRAMEWORK.
WE ALSO WANT TO AFFECT VIOLENT CRIME AND SERIOUS INJURY COLLISIONS.
SO, UH, WE'LL WORK TOWARDS A PLAN AND, AND, UH, OBVIOUSLY PROVIDE DATA, PROVIDE UPDATES TO COUNSEL ON AN ONGOING BASIS SO THAT Y'ALL KNOW EXACTLY HOW WE'RE DOING IT.
THANK Y'ALL FOR BEING HERE WITH US TODAY.
UM, WHEN WE, WHEN WE SAT DOWN AND MET WITH, UH, COUNTY ATTORNEY ZA AND DISTRICT ATTORNEY GAZA AND, UH, AND THE REST OF THE FOLKS THAT ARE HERE IN THE ROOM, UH, WE TALKED ABOUT FORMING A WORKING GROUP SO THAT WE WOULD HA BE ABLE TO COMPILE DATA AND, UM, PROPERLY DISPERSE IT TO THE COMMUNITY SO THAT PEOPLE ARE AWARE OF WHAT'S HAPPENING AND WHERE IT'S HAPPENING.
HAVE WE ALREADY PUT THE WHEELS ON THAT? SO WE'VE HAD, WE'VE EXCHANGED SEVERAL EMAILS.
IT IS TOUGH TO GET, UH, SOME OF THE, UH, LEADERSHIP IN THE SAME ROOM AT THE SAME TIME, HAVE NOT SETTLED ON A FINAL SCHEDULE YET.
AND AT THIS JUNCTURE, UH, AND I APPRECIATE YOU DOCTOR, FOR CHATTING WITH US ON FRIDAY, WHAT DATA ARE WE MISSING AND HOW CAN WE GET THAT IN ORDER TO, BECAUSE THE, THE INITIAL ISSUE WAS THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE A FULL UNDERSTANDING OF THE NUMBERS BECAUSE THERE WAS DATA THAT WAS MISSING.
ARE WE STILL THERE? AND WHAT DO WE NEED TO GET THERE OR GET BEYOND THAT? EXCUSE ME.
YEAH, SO THE KEY INFORMATION, THAT'S THE KEY QUESTIONS THAT HAVE BEEN ASKED ARE DATA THAT ARE NOT APD OPERATIONAL DATA.
AND SO THOSE DATA ARE, I'M SORRY, DOCTOR, CAN YOU PULL THE MIC CLOSER TO YOUR MOUTH? UM, YOU'RE NOT, YOU'RE BETTER, YOU'RE NOT, YOU'RE NOT AS SOFT SPOKEN AS DIRECTOR LUCIANO, BUT, UM, YEAH.
BUT YOU ARE SOFT SPOKEN AND YEAH.
AND PLEASE START THAT ANSWER AGAIN IF YOU DON'T MIND.
SO THE KEY INFORMATION THAT WE'VE BEEN ASKED ABOUT THAT WE HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO PROVIDE ARE THE INFORMATION THAT A P D IS NOT THE CUSTODIAN OF RECORD FOR.
UM, AND SO ARE THERE DATA THAT ARE FUNDAMENTALLY DO NOT BELONG TO THE CITY OF AUSTIN? AND SO WE HAVE ASKED, UH, BOTH OF THE COURTS TO PROVIDE US INFORMATION, UM, THAT WE CAN USE TO START TO FILL IN SOME OF THE BLANKS, RIGHT? AND SO WE HAVE, UH, REVIEWED SOME INFORMATION, UH, FROM DPS THAT THEY'VE SHARED WITH US ABOUT THE ACTIVITIES AND WHATNOT, UM, SO THAT WE CAN UNDERSTAND, UH, THE INFORMATION COMING OUT FROM DIFFERENT SOURCES, RIGHT? SO, UM, SO THE INFORMATION THAT'S PROBABLY MOST PERTINENT TO THE DISCUSSION WILL HAVE TO COME FROM THE COURTS.
THAT'S GONNA BE THE MISDEMEANOR ARREST INFORMATION.
IT'S GONNA BE THE MIS, IT'S GONNA BE THE FELONY ARREST INFORMATION, UH, AND THE CITATION INFORMATION.
AND SO, UH, AT THIS POINT, BECAUSE WE HAVE A LIMITED ABILITY TO REVIEW DATA, UM, WE DO HAVE TO SORT OF, UH, USE AN INFERENTIAL REASONING, RIGHT? SO WE LOOK AT THINGS LIKE THE, UH, 167 MISDEMEANOR ARRESTS, UM, WHICH THE DISPROPORTIONALITY WAS DISCUSSED.
UM, SO WE LOOKED AT, YOU KNOW, SO WE LOOKED AT THOSE, UH, I ONLY REVIEWED THE 104, THE FIRST THREE WEEKS, NOT THE FIRST FOUR WEEKS.
UH, IMPORTANTLY, THERE WERE 94 MISDEMEANOR WARRANTS IN THOSE ARRESTS.
AND SO, AS, AS WE ALL RECALL, THOSE ARE REQUIRED BY LAW.
THERE IS NO ME, THERE'S NO MECHANISM WHEREBY ANY OFFICER A P D DPS OR OTHERWISE CANNOT
[00:45:01]
MAKE THAT ARREST.UM, SO WE ARE DOING ADDITIONAL ANALYSIS ON THE INFORMATION WE DO HAVE TO TRY TO INFORM, UM, FOR EXAMPLE, WE'VE BEGAN, WE'VE BEGAN A STUDY OF THE CURRENTLY OPEN WARRANTS THAT WE HAVE IN OUR SYSTEM FOR ARREST WARRANTS, UM, SO THAT WE CAN UNDERSTAND, UH, THE DISPARITY THAT EXISTS IN WARRANTS, AND TO THE EXTENT THAT WARRANTS DRIVE ARRESTS, WHICH THEY MUST, WE CAN UNDERSTAND HOW THAT CONTRIBUTES TO THE, THE RATIOS THAT WE'RE SEEING.
AND I JUST WANT TO ADD ONE, UH, ADDITIONAL, UH, ITEM ON THAT QUESTION, WHICH IS, I'VE HAD CONVERSATIONS WITH THE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY, UM, UH, I HAVEN'T SPOKEN DIRECTLY WITH, UH, JP CHU, BUT, UM, WE'RE STILL WORKING WITH ALL OF THEM.
UH, DISTRICT ATTORNEY GARZA INFORMED ME THAT HE ANTICIPATED BEING ABLE TO PROVIDE GOOD DATA TO ME THIS WEEK, PERHAPS AS, AS EARLY AS, UH, TOMORROW OR WEDNESDAY.
UH, THAT WOULD GIVE ME THE KIND OF INFORMATION THAT WE'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR, AND I KNOW THAT COUNCIL HAS BEEN ASKING FOR.
SO, UM, I'M HOPEFUL ON THAT FRONT.
BUT, UM, AGAIN, WE'RE, WE'RE A LITTLE BIT AT THE, AT THE MERCY OF, OF GETTING THAT INFORMATION FROM OUR PARTNERS.
AND ONCE WE, AND THANK YOU FOR THAT.
UH, AND I WANT TO TOUCH ON WHAT, UM, WHAT COUNCIL MEMBER FUENTES AND AND COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, UH, VELA SPOKE ABOUT INITIALLY, THE, THERE WAS A HEAVY, VERY HEAVY POLICE PRESENCE IN DISTRICT THREE.
IN DISTRICT FOUR, WE KNOW THAT WE ASKED FOR A REALIGNMENT READJUSTMENT OF, OF THIS PARTNERSHIP.
ARE Y'ALL ABLE TO TELL US WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE NOW IF WE HAVE A HUNDRED OFFICERS IN AUSTIN AND HOW THEY MAY BE DISPERSED ACROSS THE CITY? UH, IF I, I WANNA MAKE SURE I, OR, OR WHEN, WHEN, WHEN, WHEN WE HAVE THEM HERE, EXCUSE ME, THE, UH, THE A HUNDRED D DPSS OFFICERS, OH, WHEN, UH, WHEN DPS IS HERE AND WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE.
SO WE DID NOT CHANGE ANY OF OUR DEPLOYMENT STRATEGIES FOR OUR APD OFFICERS.
WHILE THE UPS IS HERE, THOSE REMAIN THE SAME, AND IT'S ALL BASED ON, UM, YOU KNOW, CALL THE NUMBER OF CALLS FOR SERVICE, THE TYPES OF CALLS FOR SERVICE.
UM, AND THEN WHERE, UM, OUR, OUR SECTOR AND, AND DISTRICT LINES ARE, ARE DRAWN THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'LL, WE'LL DEPLOY THE NUMBER OF OFFICERS IN EACH ONE OF THOSE SECTORS BASED ON, ON THOSE, ON THAT TYPE OF, OF DATA.
IT IS NOT, IT DID NOT CHANGE BECAUSE THE DPS DEPLOYMENT, UM, COULD POTENTIALLY CHANGE EVERY SINGLE WEEK BASED ON WHERE THE COST FOR SERVICE IS HAPPENING.
SO WE DON'T WANT TO, WE DON'T WANT TO ADJUST THE NUMBER OF APD OFFICERS AS WELL.
UM, SO THAT DID NOT, THAT DID NOT CHANGE.
BUT WITH THE DPS OFFICERS, HOW DID THAT CH HOW WAS THAT CHANGED? THAT, I WANNA MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND YOUR QUESTION.
YOU'RE SAYING WHERE ARE WE DEPLOYING THE DPS OFFICER? YES, SIR.
SO THAT IS ALWAYS GONNA BE BASED ON THE DATA THAT WE'RE PROVIDED THAT WE'RE PROVIDING TO THEM ON THE CALLS FOR SERVICE, THE P ZERO, UH, GUN HOTSHOT CALLS, AS WELL AS THE TRAFFIC DATA.
AND, UM, AS YOU, AS YOU SAW, THOSE WERE THE FIRST FEW WEEKS WERE REALLY ALONG THE I 35 QUARTER, UH, AND IN PREDOMINANTLY TWO AREAS OF THE CITY.
IN THE LATER PART, UH, IT REALLY DIS FURTHER DISPERSED BASED ON, UH, WHERE THAT CRASH DATA WAS, AS WELL AS CALLS FOR SERVICE.
AND WE'LL HAVE TO JUST REALLY LOOK AT WHAT DOES THE DATA LOOK LIKE WHEN THEY'RE READY TO COME BACK.
AND THAT WILL ONCE AGAIN DRIVE THAT, YOU KNOW, DRIVE THE OPERATION.
WHEN WE TALKED ABOUT, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE DATA THAT WE'RE COMPILING AS A WORKING GROUP, UH, WITH ALL THESE, WITH ALL THE ORGANIZATIONS, HOW ARE WE GONNA MAKE THAT AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC ONCE WE RECEIVE THE INFORMATION AND WE CAN, UH, PRO, YOU KNOW, PROVIDE SOME ANALYSIS ON IT THROUGH DR.
K CORGAN'S, UH, STAFF, UH, SOMETHING SIMILAR TO WHAT YOU SEE HERE.
WE MAY PROVIDE IT IN A MEMO FORMAT, OR WE MAY PROVIDE IT AS PART OF A FORMAL PRESENTATION.
I JUST HAD A, A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PROVISION OF THE DATA FROM OUR COUNTY PARTNERS.
YOU MENTIONED DA GARZA, HIS JURISDICTION IS, WHAT SPECIFICALLY IS IT FELONIES, FELONY CASES, AND WHERE DO THE MISDEMEANOR CASES FALL? WHO HAS THOSE, THOSE FALL UNDER THE COUNTY ATTORNEY, UH, COUNTY ATTORNEY GARZA.
AND YOU MENTIONED THAT DA GARZA WAS WILLING TO PROVIDE, UM, THE ARREST DATA.
UH, AND HE'S WORKING TO GET US THAT IT'S BEEN HOW MANY WEEKS SINCE WE STARTED THIS? UM, SIX, THIS PARTNERSHIP, ABOUT SIX WEEKS.
IT'S BEEN SIX WEEKS, UH, WITH ONE OF THOSE WEEKS BEING NO DEPLOYMENT.
SO, SO HE'S WORKING TO GET US THE INFORMATION THAT WE NEED IN ORDER TO ASSURE THE COMMUNITY THAT WE'RE BEING TRANSPARENT AND ACCOUNTABLE ON ARRESTS.
WHAT ABOUT AT THE COUNTY ATTORNEY LEVEL? WHAT, WHAT'S, IS THERE A HOLD UP THERE? I'M NOT SURE WHAT THE HOLD UP IS, COUNCIL MEMBER,
[00:50:01]
UM, BUT THEY HAVE INDICATED THAT THERE'S, THERE'S NO, UM, TIMELINE AT THIS POINT ON WHEN THEY'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO PROVIDE IT.DO WE, DO WE KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS? I REALLY DON'T.
UM, I THINK THAT'S PROBABLY A, A, YOU KNOW, A GOOD QUESTION FOR, FOR COUNTY ATTORNEY GARZA.
UH, SHE PROVIDED OBVIOUSLY SOME DATA, UH, A COUPLE WEEKS BACK, UH, RELATED TO WHAT SHE WAS SEEING IN, IN SOME OF THE DEMOGRAPHICS AND SO FORTH.
WE ASKED FOR MORE DETAILED DATA TO BE ABLE TO, AS, UH, DR.
KRAN WAS TALKING ABOUT, HOW MANY OF THOSE WERE WARRANT ARRESTS, WHERE DID THE ARRESTS OCCUR AND SO FORTH, AND HAVE YET TO RECEIVE IT.
SO IS THIS INFORMATION SUBJECT TO, UM, OPEN RECORDS DISCLOSURE? I WOULD THINK SO.
AND IS THAT UNDER THE, THERE'S SOME TIMELINES RELATED TO OPEN RECORDS DISCLOSURE, IS THAT CORRECT? WHEN YOU GO THROUGH THAT OFFICIAL PROCESS, YOU WANNA TALK ABOUT THAT? YEAH.
UNDER TEXAS PUBLIC INFORMATION LAW, THERE'S A LIMITED PERIOD OF TIME IN WHICH YOU CAN PROVIDE AN ESTIMATE OF TIMELINE, RIGHT? BUT THE ACTUAL TIMELINE FOR DELIVERY CAN GO WAY BEYOND THAT.
AND SO, UM, WE DO BELIEVE THAT, WE DO BELIEVE THAT WE ARE, WILL MAKE PROGRESS ON OBTAINING THE DATA.
AND SO WE'RE STILL PURSUING IT THROUGH THE, THROUGH THE, UH, EXECUTIVE DISCUSSION AND WHATNOT.
AND SO WE BELIEVE THAT WE WILL ACTUALLY, UH, GET THE DATA REASONABLY SOON, UM, AND ALLOW US TO ACTUALLY TAKE A LOOK IN MORE DETAIL, RIGHT? BECAUSE THE INITIAL DATA WERE LIMITED, AS WE MENTIONED, THE 94 WARRANTS IN THE FIRST 104 ARRESTS MEANS WE WANT TO UNDERSTAND THAT MORE, MORE THOROUGHLY.
AND WE KNOW UNDER THE OPEN RECORDS ACT, UH, UH, GOVERNMENTAL ENTITY IS REQUIRED TO RELEASE THE INFORMATION THAT'S BEEN REQUESTED WITHIN 10 DAYS OF THE REQUEST WHEN THEY KNOW THAT IT IS RELEASABLE OR GO TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL TO REQUEST, UM, A REASON NOT TO RELEASE IT.
SO, UM, I KNOW WE'RE NOT IN THAT FORMAL KIND OF, UH, SITUATION WITH, UM, OUR PARTNERS AT THE COUNTY, BUT IT IS A LITTLE BIT DISAPPOINTING AND CONCERNING, I THINK, TO ALL OF US HERE AT THE CITY THAT WE ARE INHIBITED FROM PROVIDING SOME GOOD DATA ASSESSMENT AND ANALYSIS TO THE PUBLIC WHO ARE ABSOLUTELY WANTING IT AND DESERVING TO RECEIVE IT.
BUT WE, WE SEEM TO BE RUNNING INTO SOME OBSTACLES.
UM, I SURE DO HOPE THAT WE ARE ABLE TO, UH, THAT WE SEE THESE OBSTACLES BE OVERCOME AND, UH, THAT WE GET FULL ACCOUNTING AND TRANSPARENCY ON ARRESTS FROM OUR PARTNERS WITH THE COUNTY REALLY, REALLY SOON, REALLY SOON.
COUNCIL MEMBER CADRE, AND THEN I'LL ASK.
UM, THE DATA THAT WAS PROVIDED TO, UH, ALL THE INDIVIDUAL COUNCIL MEMBERS AT WAS EMERGENCY CALLS FOR SERVICE BEFORE THE PARTNERSHIP, UH, BEFORE THAT PARTNERSHIP, IT LOOKS LIKE DISTRICTS 3, 4, 1, 7, AND NINE HAD THE MOST EMERGENCY CALLS FOR SERVICE IN THAT ORDER.
UH, WOULD YOU GUYS BE ABLE TO GET US EMERGENCY CALLS FOR SERVICE DURING THAT FIVE WEEK THAT DPSS WAS ON THE GROUND BY, BY DISTRICT? YEAH, WE'VE PUT THE INFORMATION TOGETHER.
UM, THOSE THINGS THAT WERE CIRCULATED TO COUNSEL WERE THE INITIAL BACKGROUND.
UH, WE'VE PULLED TOGETHER THE INFORMATION SINCE THE DEPLOYMENT, RIGHT? SO WE'LL BE PUTTING THAT TOGETHER, ADDING THAT IN, AND MAKING THAT AVAILABLE TO COUNCIL VERY SOON.
UM, I WANNA ALSO THANK THE COUNCIL.
I WANNA THANK THE COUNCIL MEMBERS THAT ARE HERE, UH, THAT AREN'T PART OF THE COMMITTEE.
I, IT'S PART OF WHAT WE HAD HOPED WOULD HAPPEN, AND, AND I APPRECIATE THEM BEING HERE.
I WANNA ALSO NOTE THAT, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ALLISON AL ALTER HAS JOINED US VIRTUALLY, UH, ALTHOUGH SHE'S, UH, APPARENTLY HAVING SOME AUDIO DIFFICULTIES, BUT I WANT RECOGNIZE THAT, THAT SHE'S HERE.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? ANYTHING ELSE Y'ALL WANT TO ADD BEFORE WE GO TO PUBLIC? COMMENT? WE COOL.
UH, THEN WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO, MEMBERS, IS WE WILL GO TO
[Public Communication: General ]
PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS AND THEN, UH, THOSE WHO HAVE SIGNED UP ON ITEM NUMBER TWO, WHICH IS THE BRIEFING DISCUSSION ITEM.THANK YOU MR. MAYOR FOR PUBLIC COMMUNICATION.
WE'LL START WITH, UH, PEOPLE THAT ARE REMOTE.
UH, STARTING OFF WITH, UH, VINCE KOBAS, PLEASE UNMUTE YOUR MIC.
I'M A PAST CHAIR OF THE ASIAN AMERICAN QUALITY OF LIFE ADVISORY COMMISSION, AND CURRENTLY THE PRESIDENT-ELECT FOR THE NETWORK OF ASIAN AMERICAN ORGANIZATIONS.
TODAY, HOWEVER, I'M NOW REPRESENTING EITHER ORGANIZATION, JUST MYSELF.
[00:55:01]
HISTORY, ASIAN AMERICANS HAVE BEEN REGULARLY SCAPEGOATED DURING PERIODS OF NATIONAL DISTRESS IN WORLD WAR II, FORCED INTERNMENT OF ABOUT 120,000 JAPANESE AMERICANS IS JUST ONE EXAMPLE.AND MORE RECENTLY, THE COVID PANDEMIC WITH CHINA IN THE SPOTLIGHT, BUT IT ALSO POSED A THREAT TO ALL ASIAN AMERICAN COM COMMUNITIES.
SO NOW IS A CRITICAL MOMENT FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN TO RECOGNIZE THE HISTORY OF ANTI-ASIAN VIOLENCE IN THE COUNTRY, AND REALIZE HOW IT'S CONNECTED TO THE MA MISTREATMENT OF OTHER ETHNIC MINORITIES.
THE ASIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY DOES NOT FEEL SAFE AS UNDERLYING TENSIONS CONTINUE TO GROW.
I KNOW THIS IS NOT SPECIFICALLY ABOUT THE SUBJECT TODAY, BUT, UH, IT'S A CONTINUING ISSUE IN THE ASIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY.
UH, IN RECENT YEARS, THERE WAS AN ASIAN COMMUNITY LIAISON WHO COULD BUILD TRUST WITH THE A A A P I COMMUNITY, AND ALSO, UH, HELP THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT UNDERSTAND THE GROWING CONCERNS IN THE COMMUNITY.
THIS AWARENESS CAN HELP PREVENT ASIAN HATE FROM ESCALATING.
UH, AND I'D LIKE TO SUPPORT REESTABLISHING A COMMUNITY LIAISON POSITION AT A P D FOCUSED ON THE A P I, ASIAN AMERICAN AND PACIFIC ISLANDER COMMUNITY.
SUM, SUBMIT THE
WE'LL START WITH IN PERSON PUBLIC COMMUNICATION.
I WAS GONNA SPEAK ABOUT SOMETHING, BUT I WAS KIND OF SHOCKED TO SEE THAT MY DISTRICT FOUR IS, HAS A LOT OF CRIME AREA AND I HAVE AN AGENDA TO SPEAK TO.
UH, BUT I'M REQUESTING TO HAVE A FACE-TO-FACE, UH, CONVERSATION WITH POLICE CHIEF JOSEPH CHAK, OR THE CITY MANAGER.
EVERYBODY KNOWS WHAT I'M GOING THROUGH, BUT ANYWAY, THIS IS NOT THE AGENDA FOR ME TO SPEAK ABOUT WHAT I'M GOING THROUGH, EVEN THOUGH PRETTY SURE HE CAN, HE CAN ADMIT THAT I'M TELLING THE TRUTH ABOUT WHO'S, UH, BEEN HARASSED.
UH, MAYOR, THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO COME AND SPEAK.
I'M AL I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THE ISSUES THAT ARE FACED BY THE ASIAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY HERE IN AUSTIN.
AND LITERALLY, THE COMMUNITY IS LIVING IN FEAR AND LIVING VERY UNSAFE.
EITHER THESE ARE NEIGHBORHOOD BREAK-INS, AUTOMOBILE BREAK-INS, JUGGING INCIDENTS, FOLLOWING AND TARGETING ASIAN AMERICANS.
AND YOU'LL HEAR SOME OF THE CASES THAT HAVE HAPPENED, NOT ONLY, UH, NOT ONLY OUR NEIGHBORHOOD ALL OVER, BUT IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOU ARE, PLEASE PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT IS GOING ON IN THE COMMUNITY.
AND, UH, I THINK THE, THE ISSUE HERE IS VISIBILITY.
WE USED TO HAVE THE PATROLLING OFFICERS IN THE NEIGHBORHOODS THAT WOULD COME AND PATROL THE NEIGHBORHOODS, AND THEY WOULD ATTEND THE NEIGHBORHOOD MEETINGS.
WE KNOW THE OFFICER, WE HAVE THEIR PHONE NUMBER, WE COULD CALL THEM ON WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
WE HAVEN'T SEEN THE POLICE OFFICERS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD FOR MANY YEARS.
AND, UH, THE ONLY TIME I SEE POLICE OFFICER IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD IS WHEN THERE IS AN EMERGENCY.
AND THAT IS CAUSING A SIGNIFICANT UNEASINESS AMONG ALL THE RESIDENTS.
AND YOU CAN SEE THAT IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD COMMUNICATIONS, IN THE FORUMS, IN, UH, UH, WHATSAPP GROUPS EVERYWHERE.
AND PLEASE DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS.
WE ELECTED YOU TO SET THE POLICY TO HELP, TO REDUCE THE CRIME AND TO GET THE VISIBILITY TO GO BACK TO WHERE WE FEEL SAFE AND, AND IT IS IMPORTANT FOR US.
ANOTHER THING I WANT TO TALK ABOUT IS WE MET WITH ACM MILLS
[01:00:01]
AND, UH, UH, CAPTAIN FIAL, UH, SOMETIME BACK, UH, LAST WEEK ACTUALLY, TO HIGHLIGHT WHAT IS HAPPENING.AND WE CAME TO KNOW THAT ONLY 33 S ARE GRADUATING THIS YEAR OUT OF THE HUNDRED THAT WE WERE AB WE COULD GRADUATE.
AND THERE IS A DISTINCT, I'M SORRY, I RAN OUT OF TIME.
AND, UH, I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THAT PLEASE USE RESOURCES TO GET MORE CS INTO THE GROUP, AND PLEASE HELP US BE SAFE.
I'M A MEMBER OF THE ASIAN INDIAN COMMUNITY, AND MY FAMILY HAS BEEN CALLING AUSTIN HOME FOR 25 YEARS NOW.
I'M HERE TO SPEAK TO YOU TODAY ABOUT INDIANS IN AUSTIN AND THE RECENT CRIME IN OUR COMMUNITY.
THE INDIAN COMMUNITY IN AUSTIN IS GROWING DYNAMIC AND MAKING A POSITIVE IMPACT ON THE CITY.
MOST COMMON OCCUPATIONS FOR INDIANS IN AUSTIN ARE IT HEALTHCARE AND BUSINESS.
ACCORDING TO THE 2020 US CENSUS, 56,623 INDIAN PEOPLE, OR 2.2% OF THE CITY'S POPULATION LIVE IN AUSTIN WITH A MEDIAN INCOME, HOUSEHOLD INCOME OF A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS AND A MEDIAN AGE OF 35 YEARS, THE COMMUNITY HAS BECOME MORE INVOLVED IN LOCAL ELECTIONS.
ACCORDING TO THE TRAVIS COUNTY'S CLERK OFFICE, 5.2% OF INDIANS VOTED IN THE 2020 ELECTION.
AUSTIN, A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE FROM 3.6% IN THE 2016 ELECTION.
VOTER TURNOUT AMONG INDIANS WAS 52.5%, AND THAT'S HIGHER THAN THE OVERALL TURNOUT OF 45.2% OF OVERALL VOTERS IN THE SAME ELECTION.
VOTER TURNOUT AMONG INDIANS IN AUSTIN IS ALSO HIGHER THAN THE VOTER TURNOUT RATE FOR ALL RACES AND ETHNICITIES IN AUSTIN.
THE INCREASE IN VOTER TURNOUT AMONG ASIAN INDIANS IS A POSITIVE SIGN FOR THE FUTURE OF AUSTIN.
IT SHOWS THAT OUR COMMUNITY IS ENGAGED AND INVESTED IN THE CITY'S FUTURE, AND THAT WE'RE BECOMING MORE AWARE OF THE IMPORTANCE OF VOTING AND TAKING STEPS TO MAKE OUR VOICES HEARD.
AUSTIN HAS BEEN, YOU KNOW, EXPERIENCING A CRIME IN AN ARISE IN CRIME IN RECENT MONTHS.
IN THE PAST YEAR, THERE'S BEEN VIOLENT CRIMES AGAINST INDIAN PEOPLE IN AUSTIN, INCLUDING ROBBERIES, ASSAULTS, AND MURDERS.
INCREASE IN CRIME HAS LEFT INDIAN PEOPLE FEELING UNSAFE IN OUR OWN HOMES AND NEIGHBORHOODS.
WE'RE AFRAID TO WALK OUT AT NIGHT.
WE'RE AFRAID ABOUT OUR SAFETY.
CAN I CONTINUE? I'M SO, I'M SO SORRY, BUT YOUR TIME HAS EXPIRED.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR BEING HERE AND GIVING US YOUR, YOUR COMMENTS ON DECK.
I JUST CAME TO EXPLAIN, UM, A JOGGING INCIDENT HAPPENED TO ME APRIL 21ST.
I LEFT HOME TO DEPOSIT SOME JEWELRY IN THE BANK.
UNFORTUNATELY, I HAD FORGOTTEN MY LOCKER KEY AT HOME.
I DROVE BACK HOME FROM THE BANK.
I LOCKED MY CAR, WENT, LEFT MY BAG IN THE CAR.
I WENT INSIDE TO GET MY LOCKER KEY.
I CAME OUT IN ABOUT FOUR MINUTES.
IN THE MEANTIME, MY JEWELRY HAD BEEN STOLEN.
UH, MY NEIGHBOR CAMERAS CAUGHT THAT, UH, SOME CAR FOLLOWED ME FROM THE BANK, WELL, I ASSUME FROM THE BANKS, BUT THEY CAUGHT THE CAR FOLLOWING ME, AND THEY, UM, GOT
AND, UH, MY SOCIAL CIRCLE, IT'S BECOME APPARENT THIS IS GROWING OVER THE LAST SEVEN, EIGHT YEARS.
AND I ECHO THE COMMENTS FROM GOPAL EARLIER THAT WE ARE NO LONGER SEEING PATROLS IN OUR NEIGHBORHOODS.
AND I REQUEST THE CT AND THE A P D TO WORK TOGETHER TO RESTORE THOSE.
REVEREND DARRELL HORTON ON DECK, PASTOR ABRAHAM PEREZ.
AND ALL PERSONS WHO ARE PRESENT.
THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING US TO BE HERE.
UH, WE HAVE JUST GATHERED HERE TODAY BECAUSE THERE ARE PERSONS OF THE FAITH COMMUNITY WHO WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT WE ARE JUST AS CONCERNED AS EVERYONE ELSE ABOUT THE ISSUES THAT YOU'RE DEALING TODAY WITH PUBLIC SAFETY.
WE WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT THIS IS A LARGE CONVERSATION THAT SHOULD CONTINUE.
UH, WE ARE GRATEFUL TO OUR POLICE CHIEF AND TO OUR DIRECTORS OF DPS FOR HELPING US TO BE HERE TO HAVE INFORMATION.
BUT OUR REQUEST IS THAT WE WOULD CONTINUE TO HAVE THESE CONVERSATIONS IN A GREATER PLACE WHERE MORE OF THE PUBLIC CAN HEAR THE INFORMATION THAT NEEDS TO BE PRESENTED.
I DON'T HAVE TO TELL YOU THAT PERCEPTION BECOMES REALITY WHEN PEOPLE LOOK AT THEIR EXPERIENCES AND HOW THEY FEEL THEY'RE BEING TREATED, HOW THEY PERCEIVE THAT ACTIONS ARE BEING TAKEN IN
[01:05:01]
THEIR AREA.AND SO I THINK IN AN EFFORT TO HELP THE COMMUNITY TO FEEL SAFER WITH THE ACTIONS THAT ARE BEING TAKEN, WE WOULD JUST ENCOURAGE SOME KIND OF WAY TO GET A GREATER AMOUNT OF COMMUNICATION OUT TO THE PUBLIC TO ALLOW THEM TO UNDERSTAND THAT THE REASON WHY DPS IS PRESENT IS TO CURB THE THINGS THAT ARE TAKING PLACE, NOT TO HARASS OR NOT TO DO OTHER THINGS.
WHENEVER MEDIA COMES OUT, AND THERE ARE REPORTS THAT TELL YOU THAT 80% OF THE STOPS ARE BLACK AND BROWN PEOPLE, THAT FURTHERS THE NARRATIVE, THAT FURTHERS THE PERCEPTION, AND I THINK IT MAKES THE CONVERSATIONS MORE CHALLENGING.
SO I THINK MEMBERS OF THE FAITH COMMUNITY ARE HERE TODAY TO LET YOU KNOW THAT WE ARE CONCERNED THAT WE ARE HERE, THAT WE ARE WANTING TO BE A PART OF THE SOLUTION, AND PART OF THAT WE THINK IS HELPING THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND ALL THE OTHERS TOGETHER TO JUST PROVIDE GREATER COMMUNICATION TO THE COMMUNITY SO THAT WE KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON, SO THAT WE DON'T HAVE TO FILL IN THE NARRATIVE WITH PERCEPTIONS AND ALSO WITH FEAR.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALLOWING US TO BE HERE THIS MORNING.
THANK YOU, PASTOR ON DECK, ALAN RAMIREZ.
HELLO, UH, MY NAME IS ABRAHAM PEREZ.
I'M A PASTOR OF AUSTIN RECONCILIATION CHURCH FOR THE LAST 28 YEARS, AND ALSO FOR THE PRESIDENT OF HEALTHY PASTORS GROW.
I WOULD ALWAYS ALSO LIKE TO ECHO ALL THE WORDS THAT, UH, REVEREND DARRYL HORTON SAID, UH, ABOUT THE SAFETY OF OUR COMMUNITIES.
UH, FAITH COMMUNITY WANTS TO ALSO BE PART OF THIS VITAL INFORMATION THAT WE CAN ALSO RECEIVE AND COMMUNICATE SO WE CAN BE INVOLVED IN THE PROCESS.
OUR CHURCH IS LOCATED RIGHT THERE IN CAMERON ROAD, MIDDLE 2 91, 83 IN I 35.
SO THAT'S WHERE I LIVE IN THAT SIDE OF DES ROAD.
SO I KNOW PRETTY MUCH WHAT GOES ON.
AND LATELY WE HAVE ISSUES WITHIN THE LAST YEARS OF LACK OF POLICING, LACK OF PATROLLING, UH, YOU KNOW, THE 9 1 1 CALLS TAKING QUITE A BIT LONGER TO BE RESPONDED, UH, ALSO WHEN THERE'S A LOT OF CRIME GOING ON IN THE COMMUNITY AND NOT ENOUGH, UH, POLICING TO DETER THAT CRIME.
AND SO WE ARE ASKING THE POLICE, UH, HEAR OUR VOICES, AND WE COULD ALSO GET THE FAITH COMMUNITY, THE DIFFERENT, UH, ETHNICS AND, UH, ALSO, UH, ECONOMIC GROUPS TO COME TOGETHER FROM THE COMMUNITY TO SUPPORT, UH, FOR THE UNITY AND THE SAFETY AND LAWING OF CRIME OF, UH, OUR NEIGHBORHOODS.
AND SO I ASK YOU TO PLEASE CONSIDER, UH, ALL THESE ISSUES THAT ARE IMPACTING OUR COMMUNITY AND HELP US TO COME UP WITH SOLUTIONS AND WORKING TOGETHER, UH, WITH DIFFERENT FAITH COMMUNITIES, ALSO WITH DIFFERENT AGENCIES THAT WE CAN PARTNER AND WORK TOGETHER TO SOLVE THIS ISSUE IN AUSTIN.
I'M A FORMER PRESIDENT OF ALMA.
IT'S, UH, ORGANIZATION THAT REPRESENTS OVER 50 CHURCHES IN THE AUSTIN AREA.
AND ALSO I'M A BUSINESS OWNER AS ALONG WITH MY FAMILY.
WE OWN FOUR BUSINESSES, AND I MOVED, UH, TO AUSTIN IN 1992, UH, ABOUT OVER 30 YEARS AGO.
AND I REMEMBER BACK THEN I COULD LEAVE THE KEYS IN MY CARS AND NOTHING HAPPENS.
SO NOW WE HAVE TO INSTALL SECURITY CAMERAS AND, UH, ALL OUR DIFFERENT BUSINESSES AND EVEN, UH, HAVING CAMERAS.
WE HAVE PEOPLE BREAKING INTO HIM.
AND, UH, JUST LIKE, UH, UM, DPS OFFICER SAYS THAT, UH, WHEN, UH, YOU KNOW, WHEN, WHEN THEY'RE AROUND PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S A WORD THAT THE POLICE IS AROUND THEM, AND IT'S JUST LIKE THE, UH, WHEN A HOUSE, WHEN WHEN YOU GET THE LIGHTS OFF, YOU KNOW, THE ROACHES AND THE, AND, AND THE, AND THE RATS, THEY'RE, THEY'RE HIGH SOMEWHERE, BUT WHEN YOU TURN ON THE LIGHTS, THEY'RE, THEY'RE JUST DISAPPEARING.
AND IT IS THE SAME WITH THE A P D AND DPS.
I KNOW, UH, YOU KNOW, LATELY WE HAVE SEEN THE PRESENCE OF DPSS AROUND THE CITY.
AND, AND I, YOU KNOW, I FOLLOW UP THE SOCIAL MEDIA AND EVERYBODY SAYS THAT THE CRIME DECREASE OVER 50%.
SO AS A TAXPAYER AND AS A PASTOR THAT I REPRESENT HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE, I REALLY ENCOURAGE Y'ALL THAT, UH, THAT, UH, UH, WE DO PAY A LOT OF MONEY ON TAXES AND THAT WE REALLY NEED THE PRESENCE OF THE, UH, UH, DPSS AND A P D SO THAT WAY WE CAN, YOU KNOW, WORK TOGETHER AND, AND THE, THE PEOPLE OUT THERE THAT THEY'RE LOOKING, THIS IS CERTAINLY TO, TO MAKE MONEY THE WRONG WAY.
YOU KNOW, WE WORK TOGETHER TO, YOU KNOW, TO, TO, TO, TO DECREASE THAT.
SO THANK YOU SO MUCH AND I HONOR Y'ALL, AND GOD BLESS YOU.
THANK YOU, CHIEF, AND GOD BLESS Y'ALL.
THANK YOU ON DECK, SCOTT FLACK.
I, UM, WORKED AT FROST BANK FOR 40 YEARS.
I JUST RETIRED, BUT I'VE BEEN IN THE CITY FOR 49 YEARS.
I LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT IT THAT WE, WE'VE DONE AND GROWN.
UM, I AGREE WITH THE FAITH LEADERS.
[01:10:01]
UH, SOME OF THE QUESTIONS AND CONCERNS TODAY.I'M VOICING MY PERSPECTIVE WHILE ACKNOWLEDGING THAT I ALSO WANT TO GAIN MORE UNDERSTANDING FROM MY FATHER, BROTHERS AND SISTERS OF FAITH OF SOME OF THE SOCIOECONOMIC IN THE, UM, UH, ETHNICITY GROUPS THAT ARE BEING IMPACTED.
UM, I'VE RAISED FOUR CHILDREN HERE.
I HAVE EIGHT GRANDCHILDREN, UH, IN THE AUSTIN AREA.
UH, I THINK WE CAN ALL AGREE, CAN ALL AGREE THAT WE WANT TO HAVE OUR FAMILIES FEEL SAFE FROM VIOLENT CRIMES AND, UH, BE ABLE TO GET ON THE ROAD AND, AND, AND FEEL SAFE.
UH, WE NEED A SAFE ENVIRONMENT TO CONTINUE TO, TO THRIVE AND GROW IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
UM, WE NEED A SAFE ENVIRONMENT.
AS I SAID, CURRENTLY, A P D IS THE SHORTEST STAFF.
WHILE THE CITY HAS CONTINUED TO GROW, UH, IN MY MIND THAT THIS IS A GOOD FORMULA FOR, UM, THAT THAT'S GONNA CAUSE A IS IS A GOOD FORMULA FOR DISASTER.
AND SO I KNOW WE'RE TRYING TO FIX IT.
UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I FEEL VERY IN, IN, I'M LOOKING FOR AND WOULDN'T LOVE TO HEAR A, A, A UNIFIED SOLUTION TO ALL THAT.
I THINK WE'RE ALL WORKING TOWARD THAT.
I WANT TO COMMEND MAYOR WATSON AND CHIEF CHACON, WHOM I'VE GOTTEN TO KNOW THROUGHOUT THE YEARS, AND BOTH OF THEM HAVE A HEART TO UNIFY THIS CITY AND, AND WORK WITH ALL THE ETHNICITIES AND SOCIOECONOMIC GROUPS.
I RE REALIZE THIS IS A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF TIME AND EFFORT TO COMPETENCE, BUT I'M CONFIDENT THEY WILL, THEY WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE US IN THE DIRECTION, UH, IN THE BEST DIRECTION FOR AUSTIN AND ITS RESIDENTS.
ULTIMATELY, WE BELIEVE THAT WE CAN HAVE A COLLECTIVE UNITY AROUND PUBLIC SAFETY.
WE'LL SHARE LONG-TERM VISIONS AND WORK FOR THE SAFETY AND UNITY OF AUSTIN'S BELOVED COMMUNITY.
AND THANK Y'ALL VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME.
UM, I'M ALSO A 30 YEAR AUSTINITE.
UM, CAME HERE TO ATTEND SCHOOL AND NEVER LEFT FOR MORE THAN A COUPLE WEEKS.
UM, I'VE GOT A BUSINESS HERE, I'VE GOT A FAMILY HERE.
I'VE GOT A LOT OF FRIENDS FROM THE FAITH COMMUNITY THAT HAVE, UH, ASKED ME TO LEAN IN.
UM, I'LL ALSO MENTION JUST QUICKLY, UM, THAT I CHAIRED THE SOCIAL EQUITY COMMITTEE AT A THINK TANK CALLED ARROW.
SOME OF YOU MIGHT BE FAMILIAR WITH.
I DON'T WANNA, I'M NOT HERE REPRESENTING ARROW.
I'M NOT HERE REPRESENTING MY, MY CHURCH OR MY BUSINESS.
I'M HERE JUST TO, TO SAY THAT I THINK THAT THERE'S A NEW GROUP, UM, A NEW, UH, APPROACH PERHAPS.
UM, I FEEL LIKE WHENEVER I'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS ISSUE, ONE-ON-ONE, UH, WITH FOLKS, I'M BEING ASKED TO MAKE A FALSE CHOICE TO EITHER, UH, FOCUS ENTIRELY ON, UH, THE OPPORTUNITY FOR LONG-TERM CHANGE IN THE BUSINESS OF POLICING AND PUBLIC SAFETY.
UM, WHICH I THINK IS, IS AN IMPORTANT THING TO STUDY AND WORK ON, BUT IT'S EITHER DO THAT OR ADVOCATE FOR, FOR, UH, UH, MORE, MORE POLICE ON THE STREETS AND, AND, UH, AT SOME COST TO THINKING LONG TERM.
UM, SO THE NEW GROUP THAT I'M THINKING ABOUT DOESN'T EVEN HAVE A NAME.
I JUST WAS, UH, I'VE BEEN FRUSTRATED THAT I'VE, I'VE BEEN ASKED TO MAKE A CHOICE BETWEEN TWO REALLY IMPORTANT THINGS.
SIMILARLY, DO I CARE ABOUT TEACHERS OR STUDENTS DURING THE COVID PROCESS? I CARE ABOUT BOTH OF THEM.
AND I ALSO CARE ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY TO HEAR FROM ALL GROUPS IN TERMS OF, UM, HOW WE MIGHT RETHINK SOME OF, UH, THE TRAINING AND EXECUTION OF, OF LAW ENFORCEMENT LONG-TERM.
WE HAVE A LITTLE WHITE PAPER THAT WE CAME UP WITH AFTER A YEAR'S WORTH OF WORK THAT'S PRODUCED SOME, SOME POTENTIALLY LONG-TERM OPPORTUNITIES FOR, UH, NEW FACILITIES TO PULL PEOPLE TOGETHER TO THINK ABOUT THAT.
SO ARE YOU FOR LONG-TERM CHANGE AND, AND WORKING ON THAT RESEARCH TO CREATE POTENTIALLY MEANINGFUL CHANGE TO THIS BUSINESS? OR ARE YOU FOR, UH, THE, THE APPROPRIATE RATIOS AND THE MATHEMATICS AND STATISTICS THAT ARE TOO COMPELLING TO IGNORE? UM, I'M FOR BOTH.
SO JOIN ME IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN THAT.
MAYOR, CAN I, CAN I ASK THIS GENTLEMAN IF YOU CAN, MR. FLAG? YES, MA'AM.
CAN YOU, UH, SHARE THAT WHITE PAPER THAT YOU REFERENCED TO US? YES, MA'AM.
GOOD MORNING MAYOR AND, UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS.
SO I'M FORTUNATE TO HAVE LIVED HERE IN AUSTIN ALL MY LIFE, 70 YEARS, AND, UH, I, LIKE YOU ARE CONCERNED WITH THE RISING CRIME RATE, THE I ILLEGAL DRUG TRAFFICKING AND SEX CRIMES THAT ARE TAKING PLACE IN MY HOMETOWN.
I WATCHED AND DISMAY WHEN GANGS TOOK OVER INTERSECTIONS OF OUR GREAT CITY AND LAWLESSNESS PREVAILED.
I KNOW A P D HAS CADETS IN TRAINING AND ADDITIONAL OFFICERS IN A YEAR OR TWO, BUT WE DON'T HAVE A YEAR OR TWO.
WE, UH, I APPLAUD YOU FOR PARTNERING WITH THE DPS, UH, TO LOWER OUR VIOLENT CRIME ARREST VIOLENT CRIMINALS
[01:15:01]
AND LOWER 9 1 1 RESPONSE TIMES, RESTORING CIVILITY TO OUR CITY.BUT THERE IS MUCH MORE WORK TO BE DONE, EVEN WITH LOWER CRIME NUMBERS.
OUR COMMUNITY, WHICH IS THE HEART OF THE PROVINCE, SEEMS BROKEN.
UH, I THINK IT GOES WITHOUT SAYING THAT CRIMINALS ARE TAKING, UH, EXPLOITING OUR MINORITY COMMUNITIES.
THEY'RE, UH, AND, AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE MUCH STRIVE TO STOP.
THE BLACK, BROWN, ASIAN, AND LOWER INCOME COMMUNITIES ARE BEING SALTED WITH CRIMINALS.
AND, UH, IT'S THREATENING THEIR HARDWORKING FAMILIES, THEIR CHILDREN, AND THEIR FRIENDS, AND THEY ALL DESERVE THE SAME RIGHTS TO SAFE NEIGHBORHOODS THAT YOU AND I ENJOY.
BUT NO, IN OUR MINORITY COMMUNITIES, INCREASED POLICE ACTIVITY CAN BRING FEAR FOR THE INNOCENT AND GUILTY ALIKE.
THE ACTIONS OF BAD COPS AND THE EVILS OF RACISM HAS PROPAGATED FEAR AND UNREST FOR MANY IN OUR MINORITY COMMUNITIES.
HOWEVER, THE EXTREME CRIME SITUATION, WHICH IS WHERE WE ARE TODAY, JUST MAKES NECESSARY MEASURES, SOLICITING THE HELP OF THE DPS.
THANK YOU GUYS FOR YOUR SERVICE.
I KNOW IT'S A THANKLESS JOB A LOT OF TIMES.
I'VE LIVED IN AUSTIN FOR 55 PLUS YEARS.
I GREW UP IN THE EAST SIDE, WENT TO WYNN ELEMENTARY, PIERCE JUNIOR HIGH, AND REAGAN HIGH SCHOOL.
I'VE BEEN LUCKY ENOUGH TO OWN A BUSINESS IN AUSTIN FOR THE LAST 35 YEARS CALLED APPLE LEASING.
I'VE SEEN AUSTIN GROW AND CHANGE IN A LOT OF DIFFERENT WAYS.
I'VE ALSO GOTTEN TO KNOW THE LAST THREE POLICE CHIEFS.
I'M PART OF A GROUP OF BUSINESSMEN AND CHURCH LEADERS THAT SUPPORT A P D SPIRITUALLY, ALONG WITH THE CITY, WE'RE ALSO ABLE WITH THIS GROUP TO PURCHASE A HEALTH AND WELL WELLNESS PROGRAM FOR SUPPORT A P D.
WE'VE ALSO HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO PRAY OVER THE LAST THREE BELIEF CHIEFS, AND I COULDN'T BE PROUDER THAN TO HAVE THEM PROTECT OUR CITY.
AND I'M A PROUD SUPPORTER OF ALAN GRAHAM AND, AND SOLUTIONS FOR HIS HOMELESSNESS.
I WANNA SHARE AN ABBREVIATED STORY.
IN ONE OF THE WEALTHIEST ZIP CODES IN AUSTIN ON NOVEMBER 6TH, 2022, EAGLE, ILLEGAL MEN PULLED ONTO MY LOT THAT GOT OUT OF THE CAR AND ACTED LIKE THEY WANTED TO BUY A LINCOLN NAVIGATOR.
MY SALESPERSON, JERRY LEE, A 60 YEAR OLD BLACK MAN, OPENED THE VEHICLE TO SHOW IT TO THEM.
SOMEHOW MY OTHER SALESMAN SAW THIS HAPPENING.
HE CALLED A P D JERRY WAS ABLE TO GET AWAY FROM THE, THE CRIMINALS AS HE STARTED TO RUN AWAY.
THEY BOTH TACKLED HIM AND BEAT HIM TO THE GROUND.
THEY PULLED THE PISTOL AND SHOT HIM TWO TIMES IN THE BACK, HEAD AT POINT BLANK RANGE.
THEY WALKED BACK, GOT ON ONE OF MY VEHICLES TO STEAL IT.
AS THEY WERE LEAVING THE CAR, LOT A, B, D PULLED UP, PUT THEIR LIVES ON THE LINE TO ARREST THEM.
THESE OFFICERS HAVE BEEN A MINUTE LATER, THESE INDIVIDUALS WOULD BE FREE ON THE STREETS COMMITTING HEINOUS CRIMES, MAYBE AGAINST ONE OF US OR ONE OF OUR FAMILY MEMBERS.
HAVE HER DO THE QUICK AND COURAGEOUS RESPONSE TO THOSE OFFICERS INSTEAD OF THEM.
ANYWAY, I JUST WANNA THANK YOU GUYS FOR YOUR JOB, YOUR SUPPORTIVE CHIEF MCAH.
HE LOVES THIS CITY AND HE LOVES HIS POLICE OFFICERS.
MR. CROAK, I KNOW YOUR BUSINESS IS IN MY DISTRICT, AND SO ONE OF MY STAFFERS IS GONNA COME DOWN WITH A BUSINESS CARD SO THAT YOU CAN REACH OUT TO MY OFFICE IF YOU HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR NEED ANY ASSISTANCE.
COUNCIL MEMBER ON DECK, PASTOR BELIEFS, REGA, MAYOR WATSON COUNCIL MEMBERS, THANK YOU SO MUCH.
GRATEFUL FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK INTO THIS, UM, COMMUNITY DISCUSSION AROUND PUBLIC SAFETY.
IT'S A CONVERSATION THAT WE ALL BELIEVE THAT WE CAN HAVE.
I AGREE WITH EVERYTHING THAT REVEREND DR.
HORTON SAID, AS WELL AS THE PASTORS AND THE, UH, MARKETPLACE LEADERS.
UM, YET THERE ARE ADDITIONAL LEADERS AND VOICES THAT ARE NOT HERE THAT WE HOPE WILL ENGAGE THIS DISCUSSION BECAUSE IT'S A COMMUNITYWIDE DISCUSSION.
AND TODAY, UM, LIKE MANY OF MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS, I'M SIMPLY VOICING MY PERSPECTIVE WHILE ALSO TRYING TO LEARN ON A VERY STEEP LEARNING CURVE.
WE WILL ALWAYS PREFER, UM, TO USE A P D APPROPRIATELY TRAINED OFFICERS IN AUSTIN, BUT WHEN YOU HAVE A 350 PERSON DEFICIT OF OFFICERS ON A P D, THAT'S NOT VIABLE RIGHT NOW.
[01:20:01]
WE WILL ALSO ALWAYS FIGHT TO ENSURE THAT ALL OF OUR CITIZENS, ALL OF THEM, ARE NOT UNFAIRLY TARGETED.UH, WHILE A LOT OF US ARE STRONG SUPPORTERS OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND PARTICULARLY CHIEF CHICO'S LEADERSHIP, UM, WE NEED TO, AND THIS IS PROBABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT THING THAT Y'ALL NEED TO HEAR AND HAVE RESONATE, WE NEED TO HAVE A, UM, DEEPER APPRECIATION THAT PUBLIC SAFETY HAS A LOT OF DIFFERENT DIMENSIONS AND IT STARTS FROM BIRTH.
AND SO TO COME IN HERE AND JUST TALK ABOUT LAW ENFORCEMENT IS, I THINK WHAT IS FRUSTRATING FOR A LOT OF THE MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITY.
WE'VE GOT TO HAVE EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES EARLY ON.
WE'VE GOTTA HAVE JOB OPPORTUNITIES.
AND I THINK THE COMMUNITY'S ALSO WILLING TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION.
FINALLY, UM, FOR OUR PUBLIC SAFETY, UH, FAMILIES, PLEASE FIND A WAY TO GET TO A MULTI-YEAR DEAL WITH A P D AND ITS OFFICERS SO THAT WE CAN MOVE FORWARD SO THAT WE CAN STOP THE PROBLEM WITH RETENTION AND WE CAN START RECRUITING 33.
WE CELEBRATE LAST NIGHT, BUT WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT A DEFICIT OF 350, IT CERTAINLY SEEMS, UH, INADEQUATE TO THE TASK.
AND MAYOR, YES, MY APOLOGIES TO THE COMMITTEE AND TO THE, UH, THE PUBLIC, BUT I HAVE A CAPITAL METRO MEETING AT NOON AND I NEED TO, UH, GET OVER THERE.
UH, SO I'LL BE HAVING TO LEAVE.
MORNING COUNCIL MEMBERS, THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY.
I'M IN LIVE IN THE SAME NEIGHBORHOOD AS, UH, MR. GOPAL AND MS. BENNY AND SOUTH.
I'M HERE TO EXPRESS, UH, MY CONCERN ABOUT THE CRIME IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD.
UH, I'M VERY ACTIVE IN SOCIAL MEDIA, UM, AND FOR THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS I'VE NOTICED SOMETHING ALARMING INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF POSTS FROM ORDINARY CITIZENS IN VARIOUS FORUMS LIKE INSTAGRAM OR FACEBOOK OR WHATSAPP ABOUT INCREASING CRIME.
FIRST THING IN THE MORNING I SEE IS PEOPLE GETTING JUGGED OR THEY'RE LOSING THEIR LY CONVERTERS OR THE FORD PICKUP IS GONE, AND SO ON AND SO FORTH.
PEOPLE WORKING FROM HOME, THEY HAVE TO RUSH DOWNSTAIRS TO PICK UP THEIR AMAZON PACKAGE OR FEDEX PACKAGES OR UPS PACKAGES.
AND I DON'T KNOW IF YOU NOTICED THAT YESTERDAY OR A COUPLE DAYS AGO, THERE WAS SOMETHING IN THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA WHERE AUSTIN CITY IS DROPPED FROM SIX TO NUMBER 40 IN THE MOST LIVABLE PLACES TO LIVE, RIGHT? AND ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE CRITERIA IS QUALITY OF LIFE.
WHEN YOU ARE FEARFUL OF YOUR CAR OR YOUR PACKAGE BEING PICKED UP OR BEING JUGGED, THAT'S NOT GOOD QUALITY OF LIFE, RIGHT? AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT IS DRIVING THESE CRIMINALS, AND I DON'T KNOW WHY THEY ARE HERE AND SO ON AND SO FORTH.
BUT MY REQUEST IS VERY SIMPLE.
UH, DIRECTOR LUCIANO TALKED ABOUT THAT LITTLE BIT.
WHEN THERE'S A PRESENCE OF A PET, PET PATROL CAR, A P D OR A A POLICE, UH, COP, THE CRIMINALS WILL STOP OR JUST RUN AWAY.
SO I'M, I'M REQUESTING FOR INCREASED PRESENCE OF A P D, UH, IN THE NEIGHBORHOODS, UH, WITH, WITH INCREASING CRIMES, IT'S ACTUALLY A CASCADING REQUEST.
YOU KNOW, A APD JUST DON'T, DON'T SHOW UP FROM TENURE.
THAT'S THE INCREASED A P D FUNDING AND INCREASED RECRUITMENT EFFORTS AND SO ON AND SO FORTH.
I, YOU ALL KNOW ALL ABOUT IT, BUT PLEASE DO PLAY, UH, YOU KNOW, EMPHASIS ON THAT.
YEAH, I KNOW SOME OF THE OTHER, UH, FOLKS OF SOUTH ASIAN DESANT HAD MADE A COMMENT THAT THIS MIGHT BE RACIALLY MOTIVATED, UH, MYSELF AND, AND COUNCIL MEMBER ALLISON
SO PLEASE REACH OUT TO OUR OFFICE, UM, AND IF YOU'RE HERE AFTER THIS MEETING ENDS, I'LL GLADLY AND HAPPILY TALK TO Y'ALL.
UM, UH, MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEMBERS, AND, UM, THANK YOU FOR, UM, A P D CHIEF FUNDED D PS UH, OFFICERS.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR, UM, CAREFULLY LISTENING WHAT WE ARE SAYING.
MY FELLOW CITIZENS, AND I'VE BEEN TO DOWNTOWN HUNDREDS OF TIMES, AND I'VE BEEN LIVING IN AUSTIN PAST 19 YEARS.
I NEVER THOUGHT I'LL BE IN FRONT OF YOU GUYS.
SO YOU GUYS CAN UNDERSTAND THAT LIKE, YOU KNOW, HOW THE ASIAN COMMUNITY IS FEELING.
[01:25:02]
I HAVE TWO QUESTIONS.IN FACT, I DIDN'T PREPARE FOR ANY SPEECH OR ANYTHING.
I WANT TO SPEAK FROM MY HEART.
FIRST ONE IS LIKE, UM, SO THERE ARE A LOT OF THEFTS, LIKE MY NEIGHBOR SAID, THEFT AND LIKE, YOU KNOW, HAPPENING WHEN WE CALL 9 1 1.
AND THEY MIGHT COME OR THEY MIGHT SAY LIKE, YOU KNOW, IS, UH, SOMEBODY IS THERE IS ANY LIFE THREATENING WHEN WE SAY THAT IF IT'S NOT LIFE THREATENING AND NOBODY'S THERE, THEY MAY SHOW UP AFTER COUPLE OF HOURS.
AND IN OUR ASIAN COMMUNITY, WHAT WE ARE THINKING IS SOMETHING HAPPENS SOME ROBBERY OR ANYTHING, JUST FORGET ABOUT IT.
YOU WILL NOT GET YOUR MONEY OR GOLD OR WHATEVER.
THE SECOND THING ON EXPERIENCE LAST WEEK HAPPENED, BUT IT'S NOT INCIDENT, THAT KIND OF FEAR.
I WENT TO THE BANK WITH MY WIFE, AND WHILE COMING BACK, I WAS LOOKING BACK IN MY REAR VIEW CAMERA.
SOMEBODY IS FOLLOWING, IN FACT, THERE WAS A CAR FOLLOWING AFTER SOME TIME THE CAR WENT AWAY.
BUT THAT KIND OF FEAR WE HAVE WHEN WE GO TO THE BANK OR ANYWHERE COMING BACK IS SOMEBODY'S FOLLOWING.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS, SUMIT.
SO MAY COUNCIL MEMBERS CHIEF CHECKON, THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO, TO LET ME SPEAK.
SO I WANT TO EXPRESS ON BEHALF OF ASIAN AMERICANS THE LEVEL OF CONCERN THAT SEEMS TO BE INCREASING ABOUT OUR PERSONAL SAFETY AND THE SAFETY OF OUR FAMILIES.
SO I WANT TO DESCRIBE AN ANECDOTE IN THE MIDDLE OF 2021, AT THE REQUEST OF CONGRESSMAN DO'S OFFICE.
MY WIFE AND I ARRANGED TO GET TOGETHER OF ABOUT 75 ASIAN AMERICANS IN OUR BACKYARD TO LISTEN TO CONGRESSMAN DUGGAN SO THAT WE COULD STAND APART FROM EACH OTHER AND WITH OUR MASKS ON.
AS I WENT AROUND SPEAKING TO ALL THE GUESTS COMING IN, I SPOKE TO A YOUNG FAMILY AND EXPRESSED MY CONCERN ABOUT OUR INCREASING LACK OF SAFETY AND OUR CONCERNS ABOUT IT.
AND THAT'S SO FEW OF US EVER EVEN THOUGHT OF OWNING GUNS, TO WHICH THIS YOUNG WOMAN SMILED AT ME AND SAID, UNCLE, THAT MAY BE YOUR PER PERSPECTIVE, BUT WE IN THE ASIAN COMMUNITY WHO ARE OF THE YOUNGER AGE ARE BEGINNING TO TAKE OUR SECURITY IN OUR OWN HANDS AND MANY OF US HAVE GOT BOUGHT GUNS.
THAT IS NOT THE DIRECTION WE SHOULD BE TAKING, WHERE WE WILL BE OWNING OUR OWN GUNS TO FIGHT FOR SECURITY.
SO I'M APPEALING TO ALL OF YOU INVOLVED IN THIS MATTER TO FOCUS ON INCREASED PUBLIC SAFETY, MENTAL HEALTH AND EDUCATION OF EVERYBODY TO LET PEOPLE KNOW THAT WE PEOPLE OF COLOR ARE NOT THE ENEMY.
WE ARE ALL PART OF THE SAME HUMANITY.
THAT CONCLUDES PUBLIC COMMUNICATION.
UH, WE'LL START WITH OUR REMOTE CALLERS.
CLEO PETRICK, PLEASE UNMUTE YOUR MIC.
EVERYONE LISTENING, CONCERNED ABOUT CRIME AND WONDERING WHY WE CAN'T RECRUIT OFFICERS.
THERE'S ONLY ONE REASON, AND THAT IS THE ONGOING DEMORALIZATION BY THE COUNCIL, BY THIS COUNCIL OF OUR POLICE DEPARTMENT AND THEIR FAILURE TO PLACE A CITY AGREED, FOUR YEAR CONTRACT UP FOR A VOTE.
I RECOMMEND YOU SCHEDULE A MEETING WITH YOUR COUNCIL MEMBER AND URGE THEM TO PUT THE POLICE CONTRACT WITH THE MOST PROGRESSIVE OVERSIGHT IN THE STATE UP FOR A VOTE.
THE A P D D P S PARTNERSHIP EXISTS FOR ONLY ONE REASON AND ONLY ONE REASON.
THE FAILURE OF THIS AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL TO CAST OFF THE FOOLISH POLICY DIRECTION IT TOOK SEVERAL YEARS AGO, THOSE POLICIES RESULTED IN UNACCEPTABLE LEVELS OF CRIME AND AN INABILITY OF A P D TO RESPOND APPROPRIATELY.
THOSE POLICIES RESULTED IN A DEMORALIZED POLICE FORCE AND PRECIPITATED STAFFING CRISIS THAT AUSTIN CAN'T EASILY UNDO.
THOSE POLICIES RESULTED IN MORE VIOLENT CRIMES, DISPROPORTIONATELY BLACK AND BROWN, WHICH IS A FACT THAT THE OPPOSITION TO D P S NEVER WANTS TO DISCUSS.
IN FACT, THE OPPOSITION TO D P HAS NO IDEAS EXCEPT TO COMPLAIN ABOUT EVERY OTHER SOLUTION.
[01:30:01]
HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO TURN THIS AROUND BY ACCEPTING A NEGOTIATED POLICE CONTRACT WITH, IN WHICH INCLUDED THE BEST ACCOUNTABILITY MEASURES ANYWHERE IN THE STATE.INSTEAD, IT OPTED TO PRETEND A LOW TURNOUT SHAM VOTE ON UNENFORCEABLE MEASURES WAS THE ANSWER.
AUSTIN HAD THE CHANCE TO CONTROL ITS OWN LAW ENFORCEMENT DES DESTINY, BUT INSTEAD OPTED TO KEEP PRETENDING THAT ENDLESS MEASURES PUT FORTH BY THOSE THAT HATE ANY LAW ENFORCEMENT WERE THE WAY TO RESTORE A PRODUCTIVE RELATIONSHIP WITH A P D.
MEMBERS KNEW ALL THIS, BUT ONLY COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER AND KELLY HAD THE COURAGE TO STATE THE TRUTH.
I SUPPORT THE DPS S PARTNERSHIP, NOT BECAUSE I PREFER DPSS OVER A P D, BUT BECAUSE IT IS THE ONLY SOLUTION AVAILABLE FOR COMMUNITIES IN NEED OF LAW ENFORCEMENT.
AND THE TRUTH IS, THE WEAK MEMBERS OF OUR CITY COUNCIL PREFERRED D P S TWO DPS, TWO DPS PROVIDES THEM AN OPPORTUNITY TO COMPLAIN AND VIRTUE SIGNAL AND CLAMOR AWAY ALL WHILE GETTING THE LAW ENFORCEMENT.
THEY ALL KNOW WE NEED, THEY ALL KNOW.
BRUCE, CAN YOU PLEASE UNMUTE? UNMUTED.
UH, FIRST OF ALL, LET ME JUST SAY THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE MY PERSPECTIVE ON THE IMPORTANCE OF CONTINUING THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S COLLABORATION WITH DPS.
WE'VE ALL SEEN CHANGES AS AUSTIN HAS GROWN.
UNFORTUNATELY, PRIOR CITY COUNCILS HAVE FORGOTTEN WHAT SHOULD BE LOCAL GOVERNMENT'S HIGHEST PRIORITY, AND THAT IS ENSURING THE SAFETY OF ITS CITIZENS THROUGH ADEQUATE POLICE, FIRE, AND EMERGENCY SERVICES.
FOR THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS, CITY COUNCIL ELIMINATED POLICE POSITIONS CANCELED AND REDUCED ACADEMY CLASSES, AND DID NOT INVEST IN NEEDED FIRE EQUIPMENT.
AUSTIN WAS ONCE LOOKED UPON AS HAVING ONE OF THE BEST POLICE DEPARTMENTS IN THE STATE AND RECOGNIZED FOR ITS EXCELLENT LEADERSHIP, WHICH WAS OFTEN SOUGHT BY OTHER CITIES, NOT SO TODAY AS A CITY, WE ARE LESS SAFE WITH FEWER OFFICERS, HIGH RETIREMENTS AND INSUFFICIENT CLASSES TO CLOSE THE GAP.
NO LOCAL TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT AND IN MY VIEW, IS PROCEEDING ON THE SAME PATH AS PORTLAND, MINNEAPOLIS, AND SAN FRANCISCO.
IS THAT WHAT WE WANT? THE REDUCTION OF POLICE COVERAGE AND NO TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT HAS RESULTED IN MORE DANGEROUS ROAD CONDITIONS, SPEEDING, RUNNING RED LIGHTS, RECKLESS AND DRUNK DRIVING.
JUST STOP AT ANY INTERSECTION ALONG THE 180 3 ACCESS ROAD AND SEE HOW MANY CARS RUN RED LIGHTS WITH IMPUNITY.
I ALSO CAN'T RECALL THE LAST TIME I SAW AN A P D OFFICER DRIVE THROUGH MY NEIGHBORHOOD IN NORTHWEST AUSTIN.
POLICE COVERAGE IS CLEARLY INADEQUATE.
I AM VERY PLEASED OR WAS VERY PLEASED WHEN THE GOVERNOR, THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL MANAGER, REACHED AN AGREEMENT FOR D P S TO SUPPLEMENT APDS POLICE FORCE.
UNFORTUNATELY, AS WE KNOW, UH, THAT FORCE HAS, UH, BEEN REASSIGNED TO HIGHER PRIORITIES.
I AM REQUESTING THE CITY COUNCIL TO CONTINUE THIS PARTNERSHIP WHEN DPS DETERMINES IT CAN REASSIGN, REASSIGN STAFF BACK TO OUR CITY.
DON'T LET THE VOICES OF A FEW ADVERSELY INFLUENCE CONTINUATION.
I'M CONFIDENT THE VAST MAJORITY OF OUR RESIDENTS WANT MORE.
I'M SORRY TO INTERRUPT YOU, BUT YOUR TIME HAS EXPIRED.
MATT, CAN YOU HEAR US? CAN YOU HEAR ME? YEAH, GO AHEAD.
UH, TO MAYOR AND TO THE MEMBERS OF COUNCIL WHO ARE STILL HERE.
UH, CERTAINLY WISH EVERYONE WHO WAS HERE AT THE BEGINNING COULD STILL BE HERE NOW.
UM, SEEMS TO ME THAT, UM, WE HAVE A BASIC MATH PROBLEM IN OUR CITY AND THE D P S PARTNERSHIP, UH, WAS AN ATTEMPT, UH, TO TRY TO ADDRESS THAT, UH, BECAUSE THERE REALLY WASN'T ANOTHER SHORT TERM OPTION THAT WAS GOING TO WORK.
AND WHEN I SAY A MATH PROBLEM, LET'S LOOK AT THE NUMBERS.
UM, AS OF A, I GUESS ABOUT SIX DAYS AGO, WE HAD 338 POLICE VACANCIES.
UH, YOU ADD 150 TO THAT, WHICH WERE CUT IN, UH, 2020 FROM THE AUTHORIZED STRENGTH THAT TOTALS 488 VACANCIES FROM THE 2020 AUTHORIZED STRENGTH LEVEL.
IT'S A WONDERFUL THING THAT WE HAD 33 CADETS GRADUATE, UH, RECENTLY.
[01:35:01]
NEW CLASS WHICH WILL HAVE A SEVEN TO EIGHT EIGHT MONTH COURSEWORK PERIOD AND A ONE TO TWO MONTH, UH, FIELDWORK PERIOD.BUT WE'VE ONLY GAINED 33 AND WE'VE LOST 108 JUST SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THIS YEAR.
SO WE ARE NOW 75 SHORT, UH, WHERE WE'RE JUST AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS YEAR, UM, WITH THAT MATH, UH, PROBLEM STARING US IN THE FACE, WE HAVE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE FACT THAT DPS IS WILLING TO PARTNER WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN, WILLING TO IMPROVE PUBLIC SAFETY IN OUR STATE, WILLING TO ENFORCE STATE LAW, WILLING TO BACK UP A P D.
WE CAN ALWAYS MAKE THINGS BETTER.
THAT IS THE RULE THE COUNCIL HAS, UH, TO TRY TO PROVIDE OVERSIGHT, UM, AND, AND IMPROVE AND LOOK AT THE DATA.
UM, BUT WE NEED TO LET THE DATA DRIVE WHERE THESE RESOURCES GO.
AND I CERTAINLY HOPE, AND SO MANY OTHER PEOPLE HAVE TESTIFIED TODAY THAT D P S WILL BE BACK HELPING A P D AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
CHARLES, CAN YOU PLEASE UNMUTE? YES, SIR.
MY NAME IS MR. ROME WITH THE HEALTH ENROLLMENT CENTER, JUST RESPONDING TO AN APPLICATION THAT WAS SUBMITTED FOR HEALTH.
I'M A TWO TOUR VIETNAM VETERAN AND I SERVED IN LAW ENFORCEMENT, THE STATE OF TEXAS FOR 20 YEARS.
UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF ELOQUENT THINGS SAID, UH, WHAT, WHAT BASICALLY BOILS DOWN TO UNDER THE PREVIOUS MAYORAL LEADERSHIP DECISION WAS MADE TO DEFUND THE POLICE DEPARTMENT.
BOTTOM LINE IS THERE'S A REASON WHY THAT THERE ARE NUMERICAL, UH, EQUATIONS THAT TELL YOU HOW MANY PEACE OFFICERS YOU NEED TO HAVE FOR EVERY CITIZEN IN YOUR COUNTY.
UM, WITH THIS KINDA LIBERAL DIRECTION WE WENT IN, WE BECAME CATEGORIZED WITH EVERY OTHER DEMOCRATIC CITY COUNCIL, UH, THROUGHOUT THIS COUNTRY THAT LIBERALIZED EVERYTHING.
AND SO WE HAVE THIS BIG PROBLEM.
THE BOTTOM LINE IS, IT IS ABOUT VISIBILITY.
YOU KNOW, I CAN, THERE WAS A TIME I COULD NOT DRIVE DOWN ONE 30, UH, 180 3 FROM MY NORTHWEST AUSTIN HOME TO DOWNTOWN AND NOT SEE AT LEAST THREE OR FOUR LAW ENFORCEMENT VEHICLES OUT ON THE ROAD.
I CAN DRIVE RIGHT NOW FROM THE NORTHERN PART OF AUSTIN TO THE SOUTHERN PART OF AUSTIN AT ABOUT A HUNDRED MILES AN HOUR AND NOT WORRY ABOUT IT BECAUSE THERE'S NOT ANYBODY OUT THERE BECAUSE THEY CAN'T, WITH THE LO, WITH THE REDUCTION IN STAFF, YOU DON'T HAVE TRAFFIC ANYMORE.
THERE'S A LOT OF STUFF GOING ON.
IT'S A CRIME ISSUE, AND YOU GUYS INHERITED IT.
AND RIGHT NOW, THE COLLABORATION WITH A P D IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT.
AND DON'T FORGET IT, DON'T, THIS WHOLE RACISM STUFF GOT NOTHING TO DO WITH IT.
THEY PUT YOU IN HIGH, THEY PUT HIM IN HIGH CRIME AREAS BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE THE HIGH CRIME IS.
MAKES PERFECTLY GOOD COMMON SENSE.
SANDY RAMIREZ, MCNALL, SANDY, CAN YOU PLEASE UNMUTE? JORDAN MOOREHEAD.
TINA, CAN YOU PLEASE UNMUTE? MORNING, THIS IS TINA RODRIGUEZ.
UM, AND THANK YOU PARTICULARLY TO THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT AND THE D P S.
UH, UM, I STRONGLY BELIEVE THAT THIS IS A CONTINUATION OF, UH,
[01:40:01]
SUPPORT THAT THIS CITY NEEDS TO PROTECT ITS CITIZENS, BE IT YOUNG, BE IT OLD, SO THAT WE CAN FEEL SAFE IN THIS CITY.IT'S A SHAME THAT AS CITIZENS, WE CANNOT POLICE OURSELVES AND MIND OF RULES AND LAWS THAT ARE MADE TO PROTECT EACH OTHER.
WE NEED TO BRING BACK RESPECT IN THIS CITY AND ORDER, AND WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAT EVERYONE IS ALLOWED TO HAVE THEIR OWN OPINIONS ABOUT OUR CITY AND TO MOVE FORWARD.
WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAT WE HAVE TO WORK TOGETHER TO COLLABORATE AND MAKE THESE, UH, SITUATIONS BETTER.
THERE'S NO WAY THAT 300 POLICEMEN ARE GONNA JUST APPEAR OVERNIGHT.
WE KNOW THAT THE DPS IS GOING TO BE WITH THIS LONG TERM, AND I THINK IT WOULD BE SMART FOR US TO, AS WE GO THROUGH THAT RELATIONSHIP, HAVE COMMUNITY MEETINGS AS WE DO WITH OUR CURRENT POLICE DEPARTMENT WHEN THEY'RE AVAILABLE.
IT IS IMPORTANT FOR EVERYONE IN THE CITY TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY AND BE, UM, PART OF THIS, UH, MOVING FORWARD IN OUR CITY SO THAT WE CAN BE SUCCESSFUL AND BE PEOPLE, UH, THAT WE ONCE WERE AND ENJOY OUR OWN CITY AND RESPECT EACH OTHER ACROSS, UH, ALL, ALL COMMUNITIES.
CAN YOU HEAR ME? I GUESS YOU CAN.
FIRST, I'D JUST LIKE TO SAY I'VE LIVED IN AUSTIN SINCE 1978, AND I WANNA THANK Y'ALL FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK ABOUT THE MOST IMPORTANT ISSUE FACING OUR COMMUNITY TODAY.
I THINK THAT EVERY COMMUNITY IN AUSTIN DESERVES TO BE SAFE, EVERY COMMUNITY, AND RIGHT NOW, WE ARE NOT SAFE.
WE NEED MORE PATROLS IN EVERY SECTOR.
AND AS WE KNOW, A P D IS ROUGHLY 350 VACANCIES DOWN.
I AND MY FAMILY APPRECIATE THE D P S COMING ON BOARD TO HELP OUR EXHAUSTED PATROLS, AND MANY OF MY NEIGHBORS DO AS WELL.
I DON'T THINK WE SHOULD HAVE EVER STOPPED THE CADET PROGRAM, AND I THINK WE ALL KNOW THAT HAVING D P S IS NOT THE LONG-TERM ANSWER, BUT NOW WE NEED TO DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO GET OUR PATROLS AND OUR UNITS FULLY STAFFED AGAIN, AND THAT MEANS SUPPORTING A P D.
D P S HELP IS MUCH NEEDED, AND WE HOPE THAT YOU WILL CONTINUE THIS PROGRAM AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
RICHARD SMITH, CATHERINE REER, CHRIS HARRIS.
CHRIS, CAN YOU UNMUTE ON YOUR END? GOOD.
UH, THIS IS CHRIS HARRIS WITH THE AUSTIN JUSTICE COALITION.
BRINGING D P TO AUSTIN WAS A BAD DECISION, UH, AND MADE IN A VERY, UH, BAD WAY.
UH, WITHOUT INPUT FROM THE COUNCIL, WITHOUT INPUT FROM COMMUNITY, IT'S CAUSED MORE HARM THAN IT'S HELPED, AND WE REALLY HOPE THAT THEY DO NOT COME BACK, AND THAT YOU DO NOT BRING THEM BACK.
FIRSTLY, IT'S BECAUSE OF HOW D P S OPERATES, THEY PERFORM AND, AND D P S DIRECT 'EM ACROSS SAID THIS, AT YOUR LAST WORK SESSION, THEY ENFORCE ALL TRAFFIC LAWS AND THEY DO SO AS A PRETEXT TO LOOK FOR OTHER THINGS.
THIS IS A FAILED TACTIC, SIMILAR TO STOP AND FRISK, KNOWN TO DISPROPORTIONATELY HARM COMMUNITIES OF COLOR AND THE POOR, AND NOT, NOT FIND MAJOR CRIMES OR PREVENT MAJOR HARM IN ANY SERIOUS WAY.
NUMBER TWO, THE REALITY IS THE REALITY RECRUITING INPUT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT NATIONWIDE HAS BEEN FALLING FOR THE BETTER PART OF A DECADE.
THE OFFICERS HIRED AFTER 1994 CRIME BILL AND THAT GLU OF SPENDING ARE ALL RETIRING.
YOU THE POLICYMAKERS HAVE TO FIND ALTERNATIVE WAYS TO ADDRESS OUR SUB PUBLIC SAFETY CHALLENGES.
AND THOSE OFFICERS ARE NOT WALKING THROUGH THAT DOOR.
THAT MEANS REALLY ASSESSING WHAT POLICE DO, WHAT THEY DO THAT CAUSES MORE HARM THAN HELPS HIM AND NOT DOING IT.
AND WHERE THE VIOLENCE AND THE THREAT OF VIOLENCE, WHICH IS WHAT POLICE DO, ISN'T
[01:45:01]
USEFUL, ISN'T HELPFUL, AND IN FACT MORE HARMFUL.AND HOW CAN WE ADDRESS THOSE SITUATIONS WITH OTHER TYPES OF WORKERS, OTHER PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY? HOW CAN WE ADDRESS OUR PUBLIC SAFETY CHALLENGES DIFFERENTLY? THIS IS THE CHALLENGE BEFORE YOU NOT TO BRING IN, UH, OFFICERS WHO WILL CONDUCT HARMFUL OPERATIONS, NOT TO DOUBLE DOWN ON SOMETHING THAT LITERALLY CANNOT BE CHANGED, CANNOT BE ADDRESSED IN THE WAY THAT, YOU KNOW, UNFORTUNATELY MANY PEOPLE HAVE BEEN FOOLED.
AND TO BELIEVING IT CAN BE, BUT TO REALLY BE CREATIVE.
AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO PARTNERING WITH Y'ALL TO, TO, TO REALLY FIND AND IMPLEMENT THOSE SOLUTIONS TO OUR PUBLIC SAFETY CHALLENGES THAT, AGAIN, RECOGNIZE WHERE WE ARE AND HELP POLICING AFFECTS DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES DIFFERENTLY.
THOMAS HENRY, CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES, WE CAN.
THANK YOU MAYOR WATSON FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO ADDRESS COUNSEL AND THE CITIZENS OF AUSTIN.
I AM A 20 YEAR RESIDENT OF TRAVIS COUNTY, AND I WOULD LIKE TO TESTIFY IN FAVOR OF ITEM TWO, THE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN A P D AND D P S WITH AN EXAMPLE OF QUANTITATIVE, AN EXPONENTIALLY SIGNIFICANT FAVORABLE RESPONSE TIME INCREASE TO AN INJURY ACCIDENT THAT HAPPENED ON APRIL 30TH INVOLVING AN ELDERLY DRIVER WHO I PERCEIVED TO BE IN HIS EIGHTIES.
AND A FEMALE DRIVER HE HAD HIT AFTER HE HAD MISTAKENLY FAILED TO STOP FOR A RED TRAFFIC SIGNAL.
THE RESULTING HEAD-ON COLLISION LEFT BOTH VEHICLES DISABLED AT THE INTERSECTION OF THE 180 3 NORTH FEEDER ROAD AND CRATE HILLS.
TRAIL TRAFFIC WAS IMPEDED IN ALL DIRECTIONS, BUT BECAUSE OF THE RUSH HOUR TIME OF DAY, SEVERAL DRIVERS DID NOT SLOW DOWN NOR RENDER AID, AND CREATED CRITICAL AND ADDITIONAL POTENTIAL DANGER FOR BOTH D DRIVERS AND PEDESTRIANS BYSTANDERS WHO WERE AT THE TIME STANDING NEAR THE SMOKING VEHICLES.
THE VEHICLES WERE IN SUCH SERIOUS DAMAGE CONDITION THAT ALL AIRBAGS HAD DEPLOYED ON.
THE ELDERLY GENTLEMAN WAS WALKING IN OBVIOUS DISTRESS AND SHOCK WHILE IN TRAFFIC.
SO I RAN TO HIM TO OFFER ASSISTANCE TO GET HIM OFF THE MAIN ROAD AND TO THE CURB.
DURING THAT TIME, I COULD HEAR SIRENS APPROACHING IN THE DISTANCE, AND ONE OF THOSE TURNED OUT TO BE A D P S UNIT.
THE D P S UNIT OFFICER WAS THE ONLY FORM OF LAW ENFORCEMENT WHO SHOWED UP ON SCENE FOR THAT ACCIDENT.
HE TOOK DOWN MY WITNESS INFORMATION AS WELL AS IMMEDIATELY BEGAN DIRECTING TRAFFIC FLOW FOR SAFE PASSAGE.
AFTER ALL, PEDESTRIANS IN THE ROADWAY WERE SAFELY OFF TO THE SIDEWALKS.
AUSTIN TRAVIS COUNTY EMS WAS ON SCENE AND NEAR MINUTES.
THIS ACCIDENT OCCURRED AT THE NEAR, AT THE NEW AND NOW NOTORIOUS ACCIDENT SITE THAT HAD RESULTED IN A TWO AND A HALF HOUR DELAY OF LAW ENFORCEMENT RESPONSE TO AN INJURY ACCIDENT AT THE SAME AREA OF 180 3.
THE ADDITION OF THE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN D P S AND A P D WAS CRUCIAL IN PROVIDING RELIEF TO AUSTIN DISPATCH AN A P D RESPONSE TO A CRITICAL INJURY ACCIDENT.
THE ELDERLY GENTLEMAN WHO I QUICKLY YOU SIR, I'M SORRY, BUT YOUR TIME HAS EXPIRED.
NICK, CAN YOU UNMUTE, PLEASE? YES.
UH, THANK YOU, UH, UH, MAYOR WATSON AND COUNCIL MEMBERS, UH, ESPECIALLY THE ONES THAT ARE STILL THERE TODAY.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, UH, CHIEF DECON AND, UH, THE D P S UH, POLICE OFFICERS.
UH, WE REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR WORK.
UM, MY COMMENT FOR THE CITY COUNCIL IS, UH, TO PLEASE DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO SUPPORT OUR LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS.
UH, WE HAVE, UH, UH, IT'S, YOU KNOW, DOCUMENTED THAT WE, THE CITY WOULD LIKE TO HAVE MORE OFFICERS THAN WHAT WE HAVE NOW.
AND, UH, THE PARTNERSHIP WITH THE D P S ALLOWS, UH, FOR THE OFFICERS TO FEEL SUPPORTED AND, UM, AND ALLOWS FOR MORE, UH, RES, YOU KNOW, FASTER RESPONSE TIMES AND PATROLS.
UM, I, I, UH, HAVE LIVED IN AUSTIN FOR OVER 20 YEARS, AND I RUN A, UH, A BUSINESS HERE.
AND, UH, WE HAVE PROPERTIES, UH, ALL OVER, UH, THE CITY OF AUSTIN, AND WE DEAL WITH, UH, HUNDREDS OF DIFFERENCE OF PROPERTIES AND, UM, THOUSANDS OF TENANTS.
AND, UH, I CAN'T TELL YOU THE AMOUNT OF A CONVERSATION WE HAVE WITH OUR TENANTS.
UM, UH, OVER THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS OF UNSAFE CONDITIONS, UM, UH, PEOPLE LOITERING ON THE PROPERTY, TRESPASSING BREAK-INS, UH, FIRES THAT HAVE BEEN STARTED, UH, DIFFERENT THINGS.
AND THOSE ARE AFFECTING OUR SMALL BUSINESSES, UH, PEOPLE THAT ARE IN THIS COMMUNITY, UH, AS WELL AS THEIR CUSTOMERS, UH, THEIR INVITED GUESTS.
AND, UM, AND I THINK BY, UH, CHOOSING THE DPSS PARTNERSHIP, WE'RE SHOWING THAT THE CITY, UH, IS SUPPORTING OFFICERS AND WE'RE SUPPORTING OUR COMMUNITY AND LOCAL BUSINESSES
[01:50:01]
AND BUSINESS OWNERS.UH, AND I THINK THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT AND, UH, WE GREATLY APPRECIATE, UH, YOUR, UH, UH, REVIEW OF THIS.
AND, UH, UH, I SUPPORT THE, UH, THE, THE PARTNERSHIP WITH D P S.
OKAY, SANDY, CAN YOU UNMUTE FROM YOUR PHONE? CAN YOU ALL HEAR ME? YES, WE CAN GO AHEAD.
I'M IN SUPPORT OF THIS PARTNERSHIP AND SHOULD BE STRONGLY, WHICH SHOULD BE STRONGLY APPRECIATED AND SUPPORTED.
LET'S NOT FORGET WE'RE HERE BECAUSE OF CONTINUED POOR CHOICES MADE BY THE COUNCIL, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY, JUST FOR THE SHORT TIME, WE'VE HAD THIS PARTNERSHIP.
CRIME PROVED TO BE ON THE DECREASE IN AREAS LIKE RIVERSIDE, DISTRICT THREE, DISTRICT FOUR, WHICH ARE ALL WELL KNOWN BY CITIZENS TO BE HIGH CRIME AREAS.
OUR POLICE DEPARTMENT IS NOT STAFFED 24 7 TO PROTECT AND SERVE ALL RESIDENTS WITH WELL OVER 300 VACANT OFFICER POSITIONS.
THERE SHOULDN'T BE ANY DOUBT OF RUNNING THEIR SUPPORT, WHICH IS WHY WE NEED AND WANT DPS BACK.
WHILE MOST OF YOU QUESTION THE SUCCESS OF THIS PARTNERSHIP, ANYONE THAT MAKES A DIFFERENT CHOICE BECAUSE OF THE PARTNERSHIP IS A SUCCESS.
ANY ONE LIFE THAT IS SAFE BECAUSE OF THIS PARTNERSHIP IS A SUCCESS.
D P AND A P D MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND KEEP YOU ALL SAFE.
WE'LL MOVE ON TO OUR IN-PERSON SPEAKERS.
UM, UH, MY NAME'S YVONNE WELDON.
I'M A LONG, UH, I GREW UP HERE IN AUSTIN, AND SOME OF Y'ALL KNOW, I RECENTLY, UH, WAS A CANDIDATE FOR A CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT THREE.
AND THE TOP ISSUES THAT PUSHED ME OVER THE EDGE TO RUN WAS THE HOMELESS CRISIS AND THE PUBLIC SAFETY CRISIS AND THE STAFFING CRISIS.
UM, IN THE COUPLE, IN THE PAST COUPLE OF MONTHS, I HAVE WITNESSED FIRSTHAND WHAT SEEMS TO BE A POSITIVE PIVOT, UM, IN DIRECTION ON THOSE ISSUES.
UM, WHEN I FIRST HEARD ABOUT THIS SPECIALTY CALLED MEETING, I MAINLY WANTED TO, UH, CONVEY THE GRATITUDE DPS FOR STEPPING OUT, STEPPING UP AND HELPING US OUT.
FOR ME, IT'S BEEN NOTICEABLE WHEN OUT ON THE STREETS.
I OFTEN DO RIDE SHARES A SIDE GIG, AND IT'S NOT UNCOMMON FOR ME TO DRIVE THREE TO 4,000 MILES A MONTH, MOSTLY ON THE STREETS OF AUSTIN.
THIS PAST WEEKEND, I WAS ABLE TO LOG IN OVER A THOUSAND MILES ALONE.
I'VE SEEN A LOT AND I'VE HAD A LOT OF CONVERSATIONS WITH THOUSANDS OF FOLKS, UM, THAT I'VE BEEN DOING SINCE I'VE BEEN DOING A SIDE GIG.
AND WHEN I RECENTLY STARTED SEEING MORE DPS OFFICERS ON THE STREET IN THE PAST COUPLE OF MONTHS, I ASSUMED IT WAS A LEGISLATIVE RELATED, UH, BUT IT WAS, IT'S, IT'S CALMED.
UH, IT'S BEEN A LOT CALMER AND THE DEGREE OF SAFETY, UH, MY DEGREE OF SAFETY HAS INCREASED.
UM, AND YES, UH, THE DPS S PRESENCE HAS SLOWED MY HEAVY FOOT DOWN AS WELL.
UH, RECENTLY I WAS ALSO, I WAS ALMOST SIDESWIPED AND CUT OFF BY AN IX INTOXICATED DRIVER ON I 35.
I HAD RIDER IN MY VEHICLE AND I LET, UH, THAT DRIVER STAY WELL IN FRONT OF ME, UM, UNTIL HE CRASHED AT THE SPLIT, UM, ON BEN WHITE IN 35, I WAS, UH, FORCED AND ABLE TO STOP IN THE MIDDLE OF I 35.
I CALLED 9 1 1 AND IMMEDIATELY, AND I CALLED THE 9 1 1 IMMEDIATELY AND WILL NEVER FORGET THE FEAR I EXPERIENCED AS I WAITED AND HEARD, PLEASE HOLD, DO NOT HANG UP.
THEN AGAIN IN SPANISH AND THEN AGAIN IN ENGLISH.
AND AS I WAITED FOR A HELP TO ARRIVE, I HAVE A LOT MORE TO SAY, BUT I DELETED MOST OF IT AFTER SEEING THE PRE, YOU KNOW, THE PRESENTATION IN THIS DISCUSSION.
I LOVE STATISTICS AND I'M PROFICIENT IN UNDERSTANDING HOW DATA AND STATISTICS CAN BE CREATED AND MANIPULATED AND EXPRESSED TO SAY WHATEVER YOU WANTED TO SAY.
IT'S EVIDENT TO ME THAT THE EXPERTISE PRESENTED TODAY BY CHIEF CHACON AND THE THE DPS, UM, ARE EXCEPTIONAL.
AND I HOPE THE CITY COUNCIL AND LEADERSHIP THAT IS EXASPERATED THE CRISIS WILL GET OUT OF THEIR WAY AND LET THEM DO THEIR JOB.
SO, UM, ALL THANK YOU ON DECK.
MY NAME'S AMANDA RIOS AND I'M HERE TO TELL YOU A STORY ABOUT A PARK WHERE CHILDREN ARE FREE TO ROAM THEIR SCENES SWINGING.
THEIR PARENTS ARE PUSHING THEM, AND IT'S JUST A SAFE PLACE TO BE.
THEY'VE RIDDEN THEIR BIKES TO THE PARK, THEY CAN GO HOME.
AND NOW I WANNA TELL YOU ANOTHER STORY OF A PARK WHERE CHILDREN CAN NO LONGER GO PLAY.
UM, IT IS OVERRUN WITH DRUG DEALERS, WITH PEOPLE WHO ARE PROSTITUTING WITH THE CHILDREN, CANNOT WALK TO THE LIBRARY, THAT CANNOT WALK TO THE RECREATION CENTER.
THERE IS LACK OF SAFETY AND HAS BEEN FOR A WHILE.
UM, WHEN WE'RE DOWN TO THESE SITUATIONS AND WE'RE TALKING ABOUT LOW INCOME NEIGHBORHOODS WHERE LACK OF OPPORTUNITY PERSISTS, YOU
[01:55:01]
ADD ONTO THAT PUBLIC SAFETY AND YOU'RE JUST SQUASH THEM, SQUASHING THEM EVEN FURTHER.SO I'M HERE TO ASK, DO YOU WANT TO HELP RAISE UP A COMMUNITY AND PROVIDE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR CHILDREN TO FEEL SAFE AND TO BE ABLE TO ENJOY THE AMENITIES THAT WE PAY FOR, UM, AND GIVE HOPE IN A FUTURE TO OUR CHILDREN? OR DO WE WANT TO CONTINUE LIVING IN FEAR WHERE THE CHILDREN CAN'T GO IN THEIR FRONT YARDS BECAUSE OF THE GUNSHOTS, BECAUSE OF THE PEOPLE WHO ARE CROSSING BY? UM, I AM A, A MEMBER OF DISTRICT FOUR, UM, AND I HAVE TAUGHT IN TITLE ONE SCHOOLS FOR MY ENTIRE ENTIRE CAREER.
AND THIS IS A QUESTION THAT KEEPS COMING UP.
WHAT CAN I DO AS A CITIZEN, AS A TEACHER TO BRIDGE THE GAP BETWEEN LOW INCOME AND MIDDLE UPPER INCOME? AND IT, IT SEEMS TO BE GETTING BIGGER AND THE POLICIES THAT Y'ALL ARE MAKING CAN EITHER CONTRIBUTE, CONTRIBUTE TO THAT, OR HELP CONTRIBUTE TO LIFTING UP THESE KIND OF NEIGHBORHOODS THAT I LIVE IN.
UM, AND THE DPS PARTNERSHIP AND A P D, ALL OF US WERE RELIEVED BECAUSE IF WE HEAR GUNSHOTS OUTSIDE OF OUR HOUSE, IF OUR CHILDREN ARE OUT THERE PETTING A CAT AND WE HAVE NO ONE TO CALL, IF SOMETHING GOES DOWN, WE'RE JUST IN TROUBLE.
SO THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE.
I REALLY APPRECIATE Y'ALL ON DECK.
UH, SO ON MARCH 8TH, 2023, ABOUT 30 HOURS AFTER PROP A PASSED, UH, AN AUSTIN CONSTITUENT GOT HIMSELF PULLED OVER BY DPS ON 180 3, DECIDED TO FLEE DPS, SPIKE STREP HIM IN ROUND ROCK, AND THEN HE DECIDED IT WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA TO HAVE A GUNFIGHT WITH DPS.
HE LOST THAT GUNFIGHT AND RIGHTLY SO.
BUT WHAT IF THAT DISCUSSION HAD NOT TURNED OUT AS CLEAN AS IT DID? WHAT IF A TROOPER HAD BEEN INJURED OR KILLED IN THAT ENGAGEMENT? THAT WOULD BE VERY BAD.
THE SECOND AND THIRD, FOURTH ORDER RIPPLE EFFECTS OF DEFUND THE POLICE MOVEMENT ARE SEVERE AND ONGOING.
DPS HAS NOW CLEARLY DEMONSTRATED AND PRACTICED WHAT PUBLIC SAFETY IN AUSTIN IS SUPPOSED TO LOOK LIKE.
ON THE OTHER HAND, THE IDENTITY JUSTICE MOVEMENT IS ANTITHETICAL TO WHAT PUBLIC SAFETY IS SUPPOSED TO LOOK LIKE.
WE KNOW THAT NOW BY ALL AVAILABLE RATIONAL METRICS, D P S TROOPERS ARE DOING AN EXEMPLARY JOB IN A NOTABLY SUBOPTIMAL SITUATION.
THANK YOU GREG ABBOTT FOR PROVIDING THAT TEMPORARY LIFELINE AND WHAT CAN ONLY BE CHARACTERIZED A MANUFACTURED CRISIS.
DPS HAS SHOWN US ALL THE RIGHT WAY HOW TO DO IT.
IF DPS CAN DO IT, THEN A P D CAN DO IT TOO, AND THEY WILL.
BUT ONLY IF CITY COUNCIL RECOGNIZES THE REALITY THAT DPS DID NOT MAKE THIS MESSY SITUATION, AND IT IS NOT FOR DPS TO CLEAN THIS MESS UP.
THE CITY MADE THIS MESS IN THE NAME OF IDENTITY JUSTICE POLITICS.
THE CITY MUST NOW CORRECT COURSE AND TIME TO MATTER.
I HAVE THREE PRINTED AS WELL TESTIFIED.
I THINK TWO ARE FROM EIGHT AND ONE ARE FROM 10.
ANY QUESTIONS ON DECK? COLE ADAMS, MAYOR WATSON, HONORABLE COUNCIL.
UH, I'M, I'M BORN AND RAISED HERE IN AUSTIN, TEXAS, AND, UH, SEEN A LOT OF CHANGES LIKE EVERYONE ELSE.
BUT I WILL SAY THIS, JUST LISTENING TODAY TO DIRECTOR LUCIANO, UH, I'M MAY PRONOUNCE YOUR NAME WRONG.
UH, MY APOLOGIES, NO DISRESPECT.
UM, TO HEAR HIM TALK ABOUT WHAT PUBLIC SAFETY LOOKS LIKE FROM A DPS STANDPOINT, THAT HIS OFFICERS ARE ONLY GIVEN ONE CHARGE, AND THAT'S TO TRY TO ENFORCE 300 AND SOME ODD 400 AND SOME ODD, UH, OFFENSES THAT ARE IN THE CRIMINAL CODE TRAFFIC CODE TO JUST CONTINUOUSLY HOSTILE LOOK OVER BLACK AND BROWN BODIES, UH, TO ENFORCE.
THAT'S NOT, THAT'S, THAT DOESN'T MAKE, THAT DOESN'T MAKE FOR SAFETY.
THAT DOESN'T MAKE ME FEEL SAFE.
THAT DOESN'T MAKE ANYBODY THAT HAS TO BE LOOKED OVER CONTINUOUSLY AND HOSTILELY NO CIRCUMSTANCES.
WE, WHATEVER WE SEE, WE CALL IT OUT.
IT DOESN'T MAKE ANYBODY FEEL GOOD.
HE TALKED ABOUT SETTING TRAPS BECAUSE PEOPLE ACT RIGHT WHEN THEY SEE US SETTING TRAPS, THAT DOESN'T MAKE US FEEL GOOD.
SAFETY DOESN'T LOOK THE SAME FOR EVERYBODY.
AND BUILDING TRUST IS A BIG THING I'VE SEEN, I BELIEVE EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU ON THIS DICE DURING YOUR CAMPAIGNS OR IN THE COMMUNITY.
UM, AND, AND ONE THING THAT I'LL GIVE YOU CREDIT FOR MAYOR WATSON IS THAT YOU REACH ACROSS AND YOU TRY TO BUILD TRUST ACROSS LINES.
[02:00:01]
THAT'S TRUE.TRUST ISN'T BUILT BY HOSTILELY, POLICING, BLACK AND BROWN AND POOR BODIES, UNHOUSED BODIES, MENTAL ILLNESS, UH, CITIZENS IN OUR COMMUNITY.
THAT ISN'T HOW YOU BUILD TRUST.
AND SO THAT POPULATION OF PEOPLE THAT ARE UNHOUSED, THAT ARE DEALING WITH MENTAL ISSUES THAT ARE BLACK AND BROWN, DO NOT FEEL SAFE.
AND THEREFORE THIS PARTNERSHIP NEEDS TO END.
COLE ADAMS, THOMAS KIMO, JEN RAMOS, MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE.
MUCH TO THE IR OF OUR CURRENT MAYOR.
I'M JEN RAMOS, A SENIOR AT TEXAS A AND M INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY, A RESIDENT OF DISTRICT THREE AND A COMMUNITY LEADER HERE TO SPEAK IN STRONG OPPOSITION TO THE DPSS ARSON PARTNERSHIP.
AS A RESIDENT OF THE RIVERSIDE TF COMMUNITY FOR SEVEN YEARS AND SOMEONE WHO ACTUALLY LIVES IN AN AREA OF OVER-POLICING BY DPS, I HAVE NEVER SEEN SO MUCH FEAR AND ANXIETY BY MY NEIGHBORS, BY THEIR PRESENCE.
IT WAS A REGULAR SIGHTING TO SEE AT LEAST TWO PATROL CARS FOR EVERY TRAFFIC STOP OR A PATROL CAR LOITERING EVERY 500 FEET WITHOUT AN EMERGENCY IN SIGHT.
IT IS BECAUSE OF JOURNALISTS AND NOT DPS OR THE CITY OF AUSTIN THAT WE HAVE LEARNED THAT 90% OF THE CITATIONS WERE FOR BLACK AND BROWN AUSTINITE IN SPITE OF THE FACT THAT WE MAKE UP LESS THAN HALF OF THE CITY'S POPULATION.
BASED ON WHAT WE'VE HEARD ON THE PRESENTATION TODAY BY DPS AND A P D, THE OBVIOUS SOLUTIONS TO WHAT'S BEEN PRESENTED BY TODAY'S CHERRY PICK DATA IS ONE, LET'S NOT EXPAND I 35 BECAUSE OF THE HIGH LEVEL OF CRASHES IN THE AREA, AND TWO, LET'S USE DPS TO BE DISPATCHERS INSTEAD OF HARASSING AUSTINITES WITH TRAFFIC TICKETS IN THE NAME OF SHORTENING RESPONSE TIMES.
RATHER THAN FOCUS ON AN OPEN SOLUTION MINDED DISCUSSION, THIS PARTNERSHIP HAS BEEN STARTED IN SECRECY, EXACERBATED BY THE FACT THAT ONLY FIVE WEEKS AFTER THE FACT HAS LAW ENFORCEMENT ANNOUNCED THEIR OBJECTIVES AND GOALS IN THIS PARTNERSHIP THROUGH TODAY'S PUBLIC PRESENTATION, THE PERSON WHO STRUCK THIS CLOSED DOOR DEAL WITHOUT INPUT FROM COUNCIL MEMBERS, KIRK WATSON HAS NOT BOTHERED TO HOLD THE TOWN HALL OR SHOW HIS FACE IN THE COUNCIL.
DISTRICTS THAT HAVE SUFFERED THE MOST FROM OVER-POLICING.
TWITTER MIGHT NOT BE THE SOLUTION MAYOR, BUT HIDING FROM CONSTITUENTS IS NOT A SOLUTION EITHER.
AS A CONSTITUENT AND RESIDENT OF ONE OF THE MOST DIVERSE COMMUNITIES IN OUR CITY, I'M ASKING THAT WE PLEASE NOT BRING D P S BACK INTO OUR NEIGHBORHOODS.
AND I'M MORE THAN HAPPY TO ANSWER QUESTIONS ABOUT THE EXPERIENCES OF LIVING IN THIS AREA THAT HAS BEEN TRAUMATIZED BY THIS PARTNERSHIP.
SHANE WALKER ON DECK, LELAND FREEMAN.
MR. MAYOR, COUNSEL, GOOD MORNING.
MY NAME IS SHANE WALKER AND I'M THE COO OF AN ORGANIZATION CALLED GREATER AUSTIN MERCHANTS ASSOCIATION.
I'M PROVIDING COMMENTS TODAY ON BEHALF OF OUR ORGANIZATION, WHICH IS A RETAIL AND GAS ASSOCIATION OF MORE THAN 575 LOCATIONS OF WHICH 258 ARE LOCATED WITHIN AUSTIN CITY LIMITS.
OVERALL, AUSTIN IS A VERY SAFE CITY, STATISTICALLY SAFER THAN MOST OTHER LARGE CITIES, BUT WHEN WE WITNESS OUR RETAIL BUSINESS, CUSTOMERS, EMPLOYEES BEING THREATENED AND POLICE RESPONSE TAKES RESPONSE TIMES TAKING TOO LONG, IT DOES NOT ALWAYS FEEL SAFE.
OUR PREFERENCE IS TO USE ONLY AUSTIN, UH, POLICE OFFICERS THAT ARE TRAINED TO PATROL THE CITY.
BUT UNTIL THAT CAN HAPPEN, WE SUPPORT AUGMENTING THE PUBLIC SAFETY WITH OTHER OTHER DEPARTMENTS SUCH AS D P S, GETTING A NEW FOUR YEAR CONTRACT NEGOTIATED WITH AUSTIN POLICE ASSOCIATION IS VITAL.
LOWERING CURRENT POLICE RESPONSE TIMES IS IMPORTANT, AND ENSURING THE SAFETY OF BUSINESSES SO THAT THEY CAN STAY IN BUSINESS IS ESSENTIAL.
MANY OF OUR RETAILER LOCATIONS HAVE EXPERIENCED THREATENING, FRIGHTENING TYPES OF SITUATIONS TO THEIR CUSTOMERS.
EMPLOYEES BECAUSE OF SEVERAL OF THE LOCATIONS ARE STRUGGLING TO RE BECAUSE OF THAT.
SEVERAL OF THEM ARE, ARE STRUGGLING TO RETAIN THEIR EMPLOYEES THAT THEY HAVE CUZ THEY DON'T FEEL SAFE.
MANY HAVE EXPERIENCED PEOPLE COMING IN AND TAKING WHAT THEY WANT AND JUST WALKING OUT.
SOME HAVE BEEN QUOTED TO SAY WHEN THEY WERE ASKED TO PAY FOR THE GOODS, CALL THE POLICE.
THEY AREN'T GOING TO COME ANYWAY.
BOTH EXAMPLES ARE REOCCURRING REGULARLY AND MOST TIMES WE'RE DIRECTED TO CALL 3 1 11 AND REPORT IT.
THIS CANNOT BE HOW THIS WORKS.
WE CANNOT SUPPORT OUR CITY'S BUSINESSES AND CITIZENS THIS WAY.
WE SHOULD, HOWEVER, FEEL THAT WE ARE PROTECTED.
TOGETHER WE ARE SAFER CONVENIENCE STORE RETAILERS IS AN ESSENTIAL BUSINESS FOR ALL.
WE PROVIDE GAS FOR YOUR VEHICLES, UM, PRODUCTS FOR THOSE LATE NIGHTS AND HOLIDAYS WHEN EVERYBODY ELSE IS CLOSED.
PRODUCTS IN THOSE TIMES IN NEED, LIKE ICE STORMS AND WATER BOILS AND MUCH MORE.
THE GOOD WORK OF THIS COUNCIL WILL ENABLE GAMMA TO SAFELY PROVIDE GOODS AND SERVICES TO LAW ABIDING CONSUMERS.
MR. MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEMBERS, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR HEARING ME TODAY ON DECK, CRAIG STALEY.
UM, CO MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL ARE STILL AT THE, UH, MEETING AND ESPECIALLY TO, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY, WHO, UH, SUGGESTED I WOULD, UH, UH, SHOULD COME AND TESTIFY TO, UH,
[02:05:01]
THIS BEING.I AM VERY MUCH IN FAVOR OF NOT ONLY CONTINUING THE PARTNERSHIP, UH, WITH, UH, DPS, BUT, UH, I HEAR THE VIEWS, UH, THAT WERE, UH, PREVIOUSLY STATED BY FORMER SHERIFF, UH, TERRY KEEL, WHERE I FEEL THAT, UH, MAYBE AB UH, P SHOULD COMPLETELY, UH, TAKE OVER, UH, UH, A P D, UH, HERE IN THE CITY.
AND MY SEDIMENTS ARE, UH, OVER THE PAST DECADE, THERE HAVE BEEN NUMEROUS CRIMES, NUMEROUS FELONIES.
I HAVE TRIED TO REPORT TO A P D AND THEY, STEFAN FASTLY REFUSED TO TAKE DOWN, UH, POLICE REPORTS, EVEN GOING SO FAR AS STATING THAT I SHOULD SUE THE SUSPECT FOR THE EVIDENCE BEFORE THEY WOULD BE INTERESTED IN TAKING DOWN THIS EVIDENCE.
UH, UH, BEFORE EVEN TAKING A POLICE REPORT, UH, THE STATISTICS HAVE SHOWN THAT, UM, WHERE THE AREAS THAT DPS HAS, UH, HAD PATROLS.
UH, OBVIOUSLY THE, THE CRIME RULES HAVE GONE DOWN AND AS A DPS DIRECTOR HAS SAID THAT IT IS A, YOU KNOW, DETERRENT TO CRIME.
UH, I ACTUALLY WITNESSED, UH, SOME INCIDENTS HAPPEN LAST NIGHT IN, UH, AUDITORIUM SHORES WHERE AN INDIVIDUAL WAS, UH, TAKING A SHOWER ABOUT 50 FEET TO THE EAST OF, UH, THE STEVE RAY VAUGHN STATUE, AND THEN DIRECTLY NEXT TO HIM ON THE BENCH.
THERE WAS A COUPLE, UH, THAT COM, UH, IN AN ACTIVE FORNICATION.
UH, I HAVE LIVED IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN FOR 20 YEARS, AND WHEN I FIRST MOVED HERE TO GO TO THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS, THE CITY, I CONSIDERED IT EXTREMELY SAFE AT THE TIME.
I DON'T CONSIDER IT SAFE NOW, AND AT THE VERY LEAST, YOU KNOW, CONTINUING THE PARTNERSHIP WITH DPS S HAVING THE ABILITY FOR CITIZENS TO REPORT CRIMES MAYBE DIRECTLY TO D P S OR THE COUNTY CHAIRS WITHOUT USING THE EXCUSE OF IT'S NOT THEIR JURISDICTION, UH, COULD ALSO BE A NEAR TERM SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM.
HELLO MAYOR COUNCIL MEMBERS, MY NAME IS CRAIG STALEY, UH, ONE OF THE OWNERS OF ROYAL BLUE GROCERY IN DOWNTOWN.
UM, WE HAVE A UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE ON THE, THE CRIME IN THIS CITY WITH, UH, SIX STORES IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA.
MANY OF THEM OPEN 17 HOURS A DAY.
UM, I CAN TELL YOU THAT THE CRIME LEVEL GOING ON IN OUR STORES OVER THE PAST COUPLE YEARS HAS JUST GONE THROUGH THE ROOF.
UM, WE'RE HAVING A HARD TIME KEEPING OUR STAFFS STAFF SAFE, AND WE'RE AT THE POINT NOW WHERE THERE'S A CRIME COMMITTED IN ONE OF OUR STORES EVERY DAY.
UM, THIS DPS PARTNERSHIP IS VITAL TO GETTING US THROUGH THE SHORTAGES AND APD STAFFING.
THAT'S PROBABLY GONNA GO ON FOR YEARS, AND I URGE YOU TO, UH, TO CODIFY THIS, UH, PARTNERSHIP LONG TERM.
UM, AND IF I MAY REQUEST THAT RESOURCES ARE DIRECTED TOWARD DOWNTOWN, UM, THE PERCEPTION OF SAFETY IN DOWNTOWN IS NOT THERE.
UM, THE CALL TIMES ARE TOO LONG AND WE DON'T HAVE THE POLICING THAT WE USED TO HAVE FROM A P D, AND I THINK DPS COULD BE A VITAL PART OF THAT.
AND, UH, IN KEEPING OUR CITY SAFE, IT'S THE PERCEPTION THAT THEY WOULD PROVIDE.
CITY COUNCIL OFFICERS, BY ALL MEANS.
AND I APPLAUD THE, UH, CITY COUNCIL PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN LOOKING INTO THE STATISTICS BECAUSE STATISTICS CAN BE MISLEADING.
I WANNA SAY THAT, UH, I APPRECIATE THE DPS AND THE A P D.
I THINK THE FACT THAT THEY ARE USING A VISUAL DETERRENCE IN MY HOTELS IS EXACTLY WHAT WE ALWAYS LOOKED FOR WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT THE PROBLEMS OF THE CITY.
YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE COMMENTS THAT WAS MOST DISTRESSING IS THAT WE HAVE LESS RECRUITS AND MORE TURNOVER.
AND IF THAT'S THE CASE, WE ARE IN DIRE STRAITS BECAUSE THAT'S GONNA BE VERY IMPORTANT FOR THE FUTURE.
I USED TO LIVE IN SAN FRANCISCO WHEN IT WAS A GREAT COMMUNITY.
NOW YOU HAVE GUNS, UH, GANGS RUNNING RAMPANT.
YOU HAVE, UH, APPS THAT SHOW YOU WHERE THE FECES AND THE NEEDLES ARE, AND I'M AFRAID THAT AUSTIN MAY BE ON THAT SAME ROAD.
WE ALL WANT TO HAVE A SAFE CITY, AND THERE'S NOTHING INEVITABLE IN OUR FUTURE OF THE CITY.
THERE ARE WAYS TO PREDICT THE FUTURE, AND THAT'S TO CREATE IT.
AND THAT'S WHERE YOU ALL COME IN.
WE CAN TALK ABOUT ALL THE FUNDING OF THE POLICE, THE GOVERNMENT'S INVOLVEMENT.
WE CAN TALK ABOUT DPS, BUT THE FACTS ARE, WE ARE IN THIS CITY RIGHT NOW AND WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT HOW DO WE STOP THE CRIME? AND THAT'S THE MOST IMPORTANT PART REGARDING THE TARGETING THAT SOMEBODY MENTIONED.
I JUST WANT TO, I JUST WANNA MENTION A GREAT MAN ALMOST 60 YEARS AGO TO THE DATE, WHICH THAT SOMEDAY OUR NATION WOULD NOT BE JUDGED BY THE COLOR OF THEIR SKIN, BUT BY THE CONTENT OF THE CHARACTER.
AND I STILL BELIEVE IN THAT DREAM.
I APPLAUD YOU FOR AT LEAST GETTING INTO THIS, WORKING HARD FOR IT.
IF YOU HAVE A CHANCE, TALK TO THE PATROL OFFICER.
IS THIS ONE THING TO TALK TO DEPARTMENT HEADS AND TO THE,
[02:10:01]
UH, THE PEOPLE WHO ARE IN CHARGE, BUT TALK TO THE PEOPLE ON THE LINE.TALK TO THE DA'S ATTORNEYS, UH, TALK TO THE, THE P DPSS OFFICERS THEMSELVES AND SEE HOW THEY FEEL ABOUT THAT.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME ON DECK, CARLOS PINON.
I'VE BEEN A NATIVE OF AUSTIN FOR OVER 70 YEARS.
THIS PARTNERSHIP WAS IMPLEMENTED WITHOUT COMMUNITY OR COUNCIL INVOLVEMENT AND IS ANTI-DEMOCRATIC.
THIS PARTNERSHIP IS BEING EXECUTED WITHOUT ANY MUTUAL AGREEMENT, UPON NO VARIABLE GUARANTEES.
WE WANT THE RACIAL PROFILING TO STOP AND WE WANT THIS PARTNERSHIP TO START TO STOP.
UH, THE INSTITUTE FOR PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE AT TARLETON STATE UNIVERSITY HAS PUBLISHED AND ADDENDUM TO ITS ANNUAL REPORT REGARDING RACIAL PROFILING DATA.
AND THIS IS A REVIEW OF DPS RACIAL PROFILING.
HISPANICS WERE MORE LIKELY THAN WHITES TO BE STOPPED SEARCHES.
HISPANICS WERE MORE LIKELY TO BE SEARCHED.
HISPANICS WERE SEARCHED AT A RATE OF 5.4% MORE THAN WHITES, AND AT A RATE AT WHITES HAD A RATE OF 4.1 CONSENT SEARCHES.
HISPANICS WERE MORE LIKELY TO BE TO EXPERIENCE A CONSENT SEARCH OF ALL SEARCHES CONDUCTED BY DPS.
ONLY 19.5% OF SEARCHES OF WHITES WERE CONSENT SEARCHES, WHEREAS A STAGGERING 32.1% OF HISPANIC SEARCHES WERE CONSENT SEARCHES.
THIS FINDING IS SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE CONSENT SEARCHES ARE DISCRETIONARY CONTRABAND DISCOVERY.
HISPANIC SEARCHES WERE LESS LIKELY THAN WHITE SEARCHES TO RESULT IN DISCOVERY.
A CONTRABAND ONLY 28.5% OF HISPANIC SEARCHES RESULTED IN CONTRABAND COMPARED TO 39 PER 39.6% OF WHITE SEARCHES.
THESE FINDINGS INDICATE THE POSSIBILITY THAT TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY DPS MAY BE RACIALLY PROFILING HISPANICS.
AND THAT'S NO DOUBT OF WHAT IS HAPPENING IN OUR COMMUNITIES.
WHEN WE LOOK AT ALL OF THEIR STATISTICS THAT THEY PRODUCED FROM 20 21, 22, AND 23, IT SHOWED THAT PEOPLE OF COLOR WERE MOST LIKELY STOPPED AND PULLED OVER THAN ANY OTHER ETHNICITY IN THIS CITY.
AND THEY TRY, I FEEL INSULTED THEY THEIR IT TO JUSTIFY.
GOOD AFTERNOON, COUNCIL MEMBERS.
UH, MY NAME IS CARLOS PINON AND I'M WITH POD.
UM, AND I'M BASICALLY HERE TO JUST ECHO THE SENTIMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN, UH, GATHERED BY PEOPLE AGAINST THE PARTNERSHIP OVER THE LAST MONTH.
UM, THIS PARTNERSHIP INTENDED TO DECREASE CRIME TRAFFIC RELATED INJURIES AND FATALITIES AND EMERGENCY CALL RESPONSE TIMES.
BUT IT APPEARS TO ME THAT DPS TROOPERS HAD DIFFERENT PRIORITIES, UM, CONDUCTED MASS TRAFFIC STOPS WITH THE INTENTION TO BRING PEOPLE INTO AUSTIN'S CRIMINAL LEGAL SYSTEM, INVADED HOMELESS ENCAMPMENTS AND CITED AND ARRESTED PEOPLE FOR MINOR OFFENSES THAT WERE NO THREAT TO PUBLIC SAFETY.
OF COURSE, THIS AFFECTED AUSTIN'S BLACK AND BROWN COMMUNITIES.
THE INCESSANT SURVEILLANCE AND POLICING OF BLACK AND BROWN PEOPLE BY GPS OFFICERS HAS RACIST ORIGINS AS HISTORICALLY WE KNOW BLACK AND BROWN PEOPLE HAVE BEEN THE PRIMARY TARGETS OF OVER-POLICING AND POLICE BRUTALITY.
UM, THE HARM DONE OVER TIME HAS THEN YIELDED EXORBITANT AMOUNTS OF TRAUMA IN COMMUNITIES OF COLOR WHO ALREADY EXPERIENCED HARDSHIPS BECAUSE OF STRUCTURAL, SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC FACTORS THAT I THINK YOU SHOULD REDIRECT THE ENERGY YOU HAVE FOR THIS PARTNERSHIP TOWARD.
UM, INSTEAD OF TURNING TO A STUNT LIKE THIS, A CLEAR COMMITMENT TO REPRODUCING HARM IN ALL THE COMMUNITIES YOU'RE MEANT TO SERVE, WHY WOULDN'T YOU INVEST IN THEM AND ADDRESS THE ROOT CAUSES OF THE ISSUES YOU WANT TO SOLVE? IMPLEMENTING NON PUNITIVE ALTERNATIVES THAT CAN ACHIEVE THE SAME THINGS YOU WANTED IN PURSUING THIS PARTNERSHIP.
WHY DEVOTE YOURSELF TO MAKING THINGS ONEROUS AND WORRISOME BY INTRODUCING MORE POLICE INTO AUSTIN'S COMMUNITIES AND INSTILLING FEAR IN THEM WHEN YOU HAVE THE RESOURCES AND POSITION TO LESSEN SUFFERING AND IMAGINE WAYS, UM, TO MOVE AWAY FROM HARM.
UM, SO YEAH, THAT'S BASICALLY ALL I WANT TO SAY.
UM, PLEASE RECONSIDER, UM, RESUMING THIS PARTNERSHIP WITH D P S AND END IT PROMPTLY.
THANK YOU ON DECK, VALERIE MENARD.
MY NAME IS ADRIAN MESSIAS, AS WE KNOW, MAYOR KIRK WATSON, TEXAS GOVERNOR AVID AND LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR PATRICK.
UM, DAN PATRICK, UH, RELEASED A PARTNERSHIP WITH DPS TROOPERS, BUT WITH OUR PARTNERSHIP AS A COMMUNITY.
THERE WAS NO PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT WITH THE TRAVIS JAIL COUNTY, NO PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT WITH THE AUSTIN COURTS AND NO PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT TO THE COMMUNITIES WITH THIS PARTNERSHIP BEING IN FULL EFFECT.
[02:15:01]
MANY BLACK, BLACK AND BROWN COMMUNITIES FEARFUL AND JUST NOT HAVING LIKE THE, THE SAFETY AS WE WANTED.UM, IT'S REPORTED JUST IN A FEW WEEKS THAT 12,000 STOPS HAVE BEEN REPORTED AND E EVER SINCE THE DPS S TROOPS HAVE BEEN, UM, AROUND OUR COMMUNITIES, WHICH IS, UM, BEFORE THE TPSS WERE AROUND ONLY 17,000 STOPS WERE HAPPENED.
NEARLY PEOPLE ARE SCARED TO LEAVE THEIR HOMES AND WORRIED THAT THEY'RE GONNA BE BULLIED BY THE HIGHER AUTHORITIES AS THE DPS.
SO I'M ASKING TO HEAR OUR VOICES TO THE COUNCILS AND MAYORS THAT WE STOP THIS PARTNERSHIP.
THANK YOU ON DECK, JORDAN PALMER.
COUNCIL MEMBERS, UM, THANKS AGAIN FOR GIVING US THIS OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK.
AND I AM, UM, A PROJECT, UM, DIRECTOR WITH POD AS WELL.
UM, I ACTUALLY LIVE IN DISTRICT ONE, SO I ACTUALLY, I HAVE TO SAY I DIDN'T SEE AS MANY DPS IN MY DISTRICT, BUT WE HAD A PRESS CONFERENCE AT THE CORNER OF RIVERSIDE AND, UM, MONOLO, UH, THIS WAS WITH OTHER COMMUNITY, UH, JUSTICE, UM, LEADERS, UM, AND PADE.
AND IN THAT ONE HOUR TIME, I COUNTED 16 DPS VEHICLES ON THE, ON RIVERSIDE, UH, GOING BY.
AND WE ALSO FOUND, UH, COUNTED FOUR STOPS.
AND ALTHOUGH OUR DPS REPS SAID THAT THEY'RE JUST GOING TO DO, UH, THE, UM, FOLLOW THEIR, THEIR ROUTINE OR THEIR PROGRAM FOR WHO THEY STOP AND WHY THEY STOP PEOPLE MAINLY FOR SPEEDING, THAT'S WHAT WE SAW WERE PEOPLE BEING STOPPED AND HELD AND, AND QUESTIONED FOR 30 TO 40 MINUTES.
SO I DON'T KNOW IF IT TAKES THAT LONG TO GIVE A TICKET FOR SPEEDING, BUT WE ALSO HAVE, UM, ANECDOTAL, UH, EVIDENCE FROM OTHER RESIDENTS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD THAT HAD THE SAME EXPERIENCE.
THEY WERE ACCUSED OF THIS OR THAT.
AND WHEN THE OFFICER COULDN'T FIND SOMETHING TO CHARGE THEM WITH THE, THE QUESTIONS KEPT COMING AND FINALLY THEY WERE LET GO.
SO IT'S, THIS IS, THIS IS NOT JUST YOUR BASIC, UM, POLICING, AND SO WE, I'M OPPOSED AND WE ARE OPPOSED, UH, TO CONTINUING THIS PARTNERSHIP.
NOT BECAUSE WE DON'T WANNA BE, WE DON'T WANNA BE SAFE, BUT BECAUSE WE DON'T FEEL THAT THE DPS, WELL, WHAT THEY DO ON THE HIGHWAYS IS APPRECIATED.
WE NEED THEM ON THE HIGHWAYS AND THEY, THAT'S GREAT, BUT WE DON'T THINK THEY BELONG IN NEIGHBORHOODS, NOT CERTAINLY IF THEY'RE GONNA BE OVERWHELMINGLY VISIBLE IN NEIGHBORHOODS OF COLOR WHERE THEY'RE OVERWHELMINGLY ISSUING, UH, TICKETS.
UM, 70% WHEN WE'RE ONLY 35% OF THE, OF THE, OF THE POPULATION.
UH, OUR COMMUNITIES WERE DISRUPTED AND TRAUMATIZED.
WE KNOW AT LEAST ONE FAMILY THAT WAS SEPARATED WITH A FATHER BEING DEPORTED REPORT REFERRED TO ICE.
SO WHEN YOU ARE COMPILING THESE STATISTICS, WE DO WANNA SEE THAT AS WELL.
PLEASE GET A STATISTIC OF HOW MANY ICE REFERRALS WERE MADE.
UM, GOOD AFTERNOON, UH, MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEMBERS.
UM, MY NAME IS JORDAN AND I'M A MEMBER OF B AND REPRESENTING ON THEIR BEHALF.
UM, I UNDERSTAND THAT SAFETY AND DECRIMINALIZATION IS THE GOAL HERE, UM, BUT I DON'T THINK IT'S RIGHT TO PUT FEAR INTO THESE BROWN AND BLACK COMMUNITIES WITH CONSTANT SURVEILLANCE THREAT OF CITATION, SEARCH OR ARRESTS ALONG WITH VIOLENCE AND DEPORTATION.
D P S TROOPERS HAVE CONDUCTED MASS PRETEXT, TRAFFIC STOPS TRYING TO FIND ANY REASON FOR, TO BRING PEOPLE INTO THE CRIMINAL, UH, LEGAL SYSTEM, UM, SWEEPING THE HOMELESS CAMPS, TICKETING, UNHOUSED AUSTIN NIGHTS, AND ALSO CITING AND ARRESTING PEOPLE FOR MINOR OFFENSES THAT HAVE NO THREAT TO PUBLIC SAFETY.
BECAUSE OF THIS, IT HAS RESULTED IN TREMENDOUS FEAR INTO THESE COMMUNITIES, AND I ASK YOU TO PLEASE DO NOT CONTINUE THIS PARTNERSHIP WITH DPS.
GOOD AFTERNOON, UM, MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEMBERS.
MY NAME IS PETER HERNANDEZ AND I'M WITH PODER, AND I ALSO AM A MEMBER OF THEOLO NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION.
UM, I'M THE CHAIR FOR VA FIELDS NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION, AND I AM HERE TO OPPOSE A PARTNERSHIP.
AND I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THAT GOING BACK TO THE PRESS CONFERENCE THAT WE HAD, AGAIN, THERE WERE, I COUNTED 14 DPS OFFICERS AND AGAIN, FOR, FOR BEING STOPPED AND, AND, UM, TICKETED OR SOMETHING OF THAT NATURE.
UM, 14 WITHIN THAT PRESS CONFERENCE WAS VERY UNNECESSARY.
THEY COULD HAVE BEEN IN THOSE OTHER NEIGHBORHOODS WHERE PEOPLE ARE NEEDING THEIR,
[02:20:01]
THOSE PEOPLE, THE, THE PROTECTION THAT THEY ARE THAT THEY'RE ASKING FOR.UM, I ALSO WORK WITH THE HOMELESS COMMUNITY.
PEOPLE ARE BEING PULLED OVER ON THEIR BIKES.
HOW IS THAT NECESSARY? WHAT, WHAT, WHAT IS THE REASON FOR THAT? NOTHING.
UM, SO I JUST LIKE TO SAY THAT I, I DO OPPOSE THAT.
THE PARTNERSHIP WITH THE D P S AND D P D.
MY NAME IS CYNTHIA SIMONS AND I AM THE DIRECTOR OF WOMEN'S JUSTICE AT THE TEXAS CENTER FOR JUSTICE AND EQUITY.
SO PART OF MY ROLE, I AM A POLICY ANALYST AND I'M HERE TO TELL YOU THAT THIS IS A BAD POLICY AND IT WILL BE MY RECOMMENDATION FOR YOU TO END THE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN DPSS AND UM, TRAVIS COUNTY.
THE STRUCTURAL INEQUITIES THAT ARE IN PLACE, THE SYSTEMIC RACISM THAT HAS EXISTED IN TEXAS HISTORY IN AUSTIN.
THE OVER POLICING OF MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES IS REALLY WHAT IS THE PROBLEM WHEN THAT'S DRIVING THE FORCE FOR CRIMINALIZATION AND POVERTY.
AND THOSE ARE THE THINGS THAT HAVE TO BE ADDRESSED BY BRINGING A MORE POLICE PRESENCE TO AREAS WHERE THERE IS ALREADY DISCORD AND DISCONTENT BETWEEN THE POLICE AND BETWEEN THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS IS NOT HEALING ANYTHING AND IT'S NOT MAKING ANYTHING BETTER.
THE DATA SHOWS THAT THERE'S MORE CRIME BECAUSE THOSE AREAS ARE OVERSATURATED WITH POLICE AND BECAUSE THEY ARE LOOKING FOR THAT AND THAT'S WHAT THEY WANTED TO MIMIC SO THAT THEY CAN UPLIFT THIS NARRATIVE THAT THERE IS MORE CRIME THERE, THERE ARE OTHER ALTERNATIVES TO SENTENCING AND OVER-POLICING THESE COMMUNITIES THAT WOULD BE BETTER SOLUTIONS.
THERE IS, UM, CATEGORICALLY THERE, THE BLACK SINGLE MOM HAS THE HIGHEST LIKELIHOOD TO BE INCARCERATED, BUT YET SHE HAS THE LOWEST LIKELIHOOD TO RECEIVE SERVICES.
THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT SHOULD BE ADDRESSED IF WE REALLY WANNA CREATE SAFER AND HEALTHIER COMMUNITIES, OVERSATURATING OUR COMMUNITIES WHERE BLACK AND BROWN PEOPLE ARE NOT SAFE.
AS THE MOTHER OF A BLACK SON, I HAVE TO FEAR IF MY SON, DEPENDING ON WHAT HE WEARS OR WHAT HIS HAIR LOOKS LIKE, IF HE'S GOING TO BE HARASSED, OR IF HE MAY NOT MAKE IT HOME, THAT'S NOT FAIR TO COMMUNITIES OF COLOR.
AND TO SAY THAT THIS IS NOT RACIST WHEN 90% OF THE PEOPLE WHO ARE BEING TICKETED ARE PEOPLE OF COLOR IS ILLOGICAL AND IRRATIONAL.
IT'S ABSOLUTELY RACIST AND IT'S ABSOLUTELY A RESULT OF THE SYSTEMIC RACISM AND STRUCTURAL INEQUITIES THAT HAVE ALWAYS EXISTED.
AND IF WE WANNA MOVE TOWARDS SAFER COMMUNITIES, WE HAVE TO ADDRESS THE MITIGATING FACTORS THAT GOT US TO THIS POINT.
MY ADVICE HERE, THAT CONCLUDES ALL OF OUR SPEAKERS.
UM, COLLEAGUES, DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING THAT YOU'D LIKE TO, TO ADD? OKAY.
WELL, WITH, UM, THE CHAIR MAYOR WATSON, OFF THE DIAS AS THE VICE CHAIR, I, UM, MCKENZIE COUNCIL MEMBER MCKENZIE KELLY WILL ADJOURN THE SPECIAL CALL AT PUBLIC SAFETY MEETING AT 12:33 PM THANK YOU AGAIN TO EVERYONE WHO CAME TODAY TO GIVE YOUR FEEDBACK WHICH WAY TO MY, WHICH WAY TO, I'VE BEEN TAKING UP SHELTER IN THE.