Jul 11, 2025 Mayor's Committee for People with Disabilities

[00:00:02]

ALL RIGHT, WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND CALL TO ORDER THE,

[CALL TO ORDER]

AND WE ARE GOING TO START OFF WITH ROLL CALL.

THANK YOU.

CHAIR.

CONNOR KELLY, HERE.

ELIZABETH MEYER.

GABRIEL ANO.

HERE.

LISA CHANG.

LISA.

OH, THANK YOU.

DELANIA COMER.

HAGENS.

DELANIA.

I THINK YOU'RE MUTED HERE.

THANKS.

THANK YOU.

DIAZ.

MICKEY ANTE.

JONATHAN FRANKS.

LYNN MURPHY.

HERE.

ELIZABETH SLADE.

HERE.

KRISTEN SILL.

OKAY.

UH, TO GET STARTED, WE'RE GOING TO DO THINGS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT THIS TIME AND HAVE, UH, OUR NEW CIVIL RIGHTS OFFICER FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN, ENRIQUE SERRANO, COME AND INTRODUCE HIMSELF.

THANK YOU, CHAIR.

GOOD AFTERNOON.

I REALLY APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO, UM, MEET EVERYBODY.

AND, UH, MY NAME'S ENRIQUE SERRANO.

I AM THE NEWLY APPOINTED CIVIL RIGHTS OFFICER FOR THE OFFICE OF EQUITY AND INCLUSION.

UM, I'M BEEN APPOINTED YOUR EXECUTIVE LIAISON AND I LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU.

THANK YOU.

THANK YOU, MR. SERRANO.

APPRECIATE IT.

ALRIGHT, THEN WE'LL

[PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL]

UH, DO WE HAVE ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS? YES, WE DO.

CHAIR, WE'LL START FIRST WITH REMOTE SPEAKER MORGAN CLIFFT.

SHE'LL HAVE THREE MINUTES.

WELCOME MORGAN.

SOUNDS LIKE SHE HASN'T JOINED ONLINE.

OH, OKAY.

OKAY.

SO WE'LL MOVE TO IN-PERSON XENOBI JOSEPH SPEAKING FOR THREE MINUTES IS IT IS.

OKAY.

THANKS FOR JOINING US.

THANKS.

GOOD TO SEE YOU.

THANK YOU MR. CHAIR.

MEMBERS ZENOBIA JOSEPH, UH, THE STAFF IS JUST PULLING UP THE PRESENTATION.

PRESENTATION.

I JUST WANTED TO MAKE MY COMMENTS, UH, RELATED TO ITEM NUMBER SEVEN, WHICH IS A DISCUSSION ITEM.

IT'S THE 35TH ANNIVERSARY.

TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION CIVIL RIGHTS DIVISION WILL CELEBRATE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT OF 1990.

I JUST WANTED TO REMIND YOU THAT THE SYSTEM IS INE EQUITABLE AND I WANTED TO SHOW YOU NORTH LAMAR IN PARTICULAR.

THAT'S LOOP TWO SEVEN, LOOP 2 7 5, WHICH IS ACTUALLY T DOTS RIGHT AWAY.

I WANT YOU TO RECOGNIZE THE PICTURE THAT YOU'RE SEEING ON THE LEFT.

THAT'S ACTUALLY NORTH LAMAR TODAY.

IT WAS THAT WAY IN 2010 WHEN THERE WAS A $90 MILLION MOBILITY BOND.

IT WAS THAT WAY IN 2016 WHEN THERE WAS A $720 MILLION BOND.

AND IN 2020 WHEN T ACTUALLY HELD A PUBLIC HEARING, I WANT YOU TO SEE THE GENTLEMAN, UH, DONALD NORTON WAS KILLED IN HIS WHEELCHAIR.

NORTH LAMAR.

1 2, 3 0 0 WAS THE ADDRESS.

IT'S BY NOT YOUR ORDINARY SCHOOL.

ONE OF THE REASONS IT'S AN EQUITABLE IS BECAUSE IT'S LOW INCOME AND PEOPLE OF COLOR THAT LIVE IN THIS AREA, LIKE THE BLACK MAN ON THE BUS STOP BENCH.

BUT THE CITY STAFF CONTINUES TO SAY THEY LEAD WITH RACIAL EQUITY.

NEXT SLIDE.

I WANT YOU TO RECOGNIZE THAT CAPITOL METRO ACTUALLY ELIMINATED NORTHEAST WEST CONNECTIVITY JUNE 3RD, 2018, WHEN THEY ACTUALLY CHANGED 52 BUS ROUTES.

BUT THE PROPAGANDA SAID MORE FREQUENT, MORE RELIABLE, BETTER CONNECTED.

YOU DON'T HAVE TO RIDE THE BUSES TO SEE THAT THE NETWORK IS SOUTHWEST CENTRAL.

ON THE LEFT, THE GRAY MAP IS DISCONNECTED.

NEXT SLIDE.

I WANT YOU TO RECOGNIZE THAT THE INVESTMENT IS IN THE AREA THAT IS SOUTHWEST AND CENTRAL.

THIS IS 46TH STREET.

AT THE TOP IS NORTH LAMAR.

THAT IS ACROSS FROM THE METROPOLITAN PARK AND THE HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S PROPERTY.

THAT'S TWO 11 FEET WIDE ROADWAYS.

THAT'S WHY PEOPLE CONTINUE TO GET KILLED ON NORTH LAMAR.

NEXT SLIDE.

THIS IS WHERE THE INVESTMENT IS.

IF YOU LOOK AT THE INSET, YOU'LL SEE DOBY MIDDLE SCHOOL, THEY DIDN'T EVEN PUT THE BENCH BACK WHEN THEY FINISHED THE GRAY SIDEWALKS.

THE TERRACOTTA SIDEWALKS, WHICH ARE RED, ARE IN THE AREA WHERE THE RAIL IS.

THIS IS AIRPORT BOULEVARD HAD 20 MILE 20,000 VEHICLES

[00:05:01]

NEXT SLIDE.

THIS IS A CLOSER IMAGE OF DOBY MIDDLE SCHOOL.

AND ON THE LEFT IS BURNETT MIDDLE, UH, BURNETT ROAD, WHICH IS LAMAR MIDDLE SCHOOL.

AND THAT'S PREDOMINANTLY WHITE DOBY.

MIDDLE SCHOOL IS 81% OR SO.

HISPANICS AND AFRICAN AMERICANS MAKE UP ABOUT 11% OF THE POPULATION.

NEXT SLIDE.

AND I JUST WANT YOU TO SEE HOW DARK IT IS AT NORTH LAMAR TRANSIT CENTER.

BUT AGAIN, THE CITY'S TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT CONTINUES TO SAY THEY LEAD WITH RACIAL EQUITY, WHICH IS NOT TRUE.

BUT THIS HAS BEEN USED TO TRY TO INFLATE THE RIDERSHIP TO GET MONEY FOR THE LIGHT RAIL SYSTEM.

NEXT SLIDE.

AND THIS IS THE NEIGHBORHOOD 3 92 BY RHETT, WHICH IS A NEW DEVELOPMENT FOR LOW INCOME HOUSING.

YOU CAN'T EVEN SEE THE BLACK MAN ON HIS BICYCLE.

BUT AT THE TOP, THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN ON DUVAL, THE BUS STOP BENCHES WERE IN PLACE.

AND THE LAST SLIDE JUST GIVES YOU A REFERENCE, UM, FOR THE, FOR YOU TO SEE THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S TRANSIT ENHANCEMENT, UH, STAFF MEMBER ACTUALLY ELIMINATED THIS SERVICE AND ADMITTED IT.

AND I CAN EMAIL THOSE SLIDES TO YOU.

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, I'LL GLADLY ANSWER THEM AT THIS TIME.

THANK YOU XENOBI.

APPRECIATE YOUR COMMENTS.

THANK YOU.

YOU'RE WELCOME.

PLEASE DO ALMOST US THE DECK IF YOU HAVE A CHANCE.

CERTAINLY.

THANKS SPEAKER.

IF YOU'D LIKE TO SEND IT TO ME, THE LIAISON, YOU WELCOME TO DO SO AND I CAN DISTRIBUTE IT TO THE COMMISSION.

UM, NEXT SPEAKER WE HAVE IS REMOTE MORGAN CLIFF MORGAN, YOU'LL HAVE THREE MINUTES.

SORRY, .

THANK YOU.

HI, CAN YOU HEAR? HI, CAN YOU HEAR ME? WE CAN HEAR YOU.

HI, MY NAME IS MORGAN.

I WANTED TO INTRODUCE MYSELF A LITTLE BIT AND WHAT MY COMPANY DOES.

SO WE ACTUALLY, UM, PROVIDE A BA SERVICES.

AND IF YOU'RE NOT, UH, FAMILIAR WITH A BA, WE ARE, UM, THERAPY FOR CHILDREN WHO ARE ON THE SPECTRUM.

UH, WE RECENTLY JUST EXPANDED TO AUSTIN, TEXAS.

WE ARE BASED OUT OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK FOR 20 PLUS YEARS.

UM, WE'VE ALSO EXPANDED TO A FEW OTHER STATES AS WELL.

BUT YEAH, I WANTED TO LET YOU GUYS KNOW A LITTLE BIT THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, PUTS US ASIDE FROM OTHER A, BA COMPANIES IS THAT WE ARE IN A NO WAIT LIST.

SO THERE'S NO WAIT LIST AT ALL.

UH, $0 COPAY.

UM, IT'S ALL BASED OFF THROUGH INSURANCE.

WE ALSO ACCEPT ALL INSURANCES, UM, INCLUDING MEDICAID AS WELL.

UM, AND WE JUST MAKE IT TO WHERE IT'S NO COST FOR PARENTS AND WE MAKE IT ACCESSIBLE FOR, FOR ALL KIDS.

SO IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU LOVE, UM, WOULD LIKE SERVICES, I'M GOING TO EMAIL OVER MY, UH, WEBSITE, MY PHONE NUMBER, MY EMAIL, AND I'D LOVE TO HELP Y'ALL OUT.

THANK YOU.

THANKS SO MUCH.

MORGAN, WHAT WAS THE NAME OF YOUR COMPANY? IT'S CALLED GREAT STRIDES, A BA.

GREAT, THANK YOU.

THERE ARE NO OTHER SPEAKERS CHAIR.

ALRIGHT.

UH, FIRST

[1. Approve the minutes of the Mayor’s Committee for People with Disabilities regular called meeting on June 13, 2025.]

UH, I'LL MOVE TO APPROVE THOSE.

DO WE HAVE A SECOND? COMMISSIONER CHAIN? UH, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, RAISE YOUR HANDS OR SAY AYE.

AYE.

ALL RIGHT.

THE MINUTES ARE APPROVED.

AND SO NOW WE'LL START WITH THE, UH, STAFF

[2. Staff briefing regarding upcoming events from the Office of Police Oversight. Briefing provided by Cooper Thompson, Community Engagement Specialist, and Sara Peralta, Public Information and Marketing Program Manager, Office of Police Oversight.]

UH, IT'S GONNA BE COOPER THOMPSON, SARAH PERALTA, COME ON UP.

AND LIKE CHRISTY MENTIONED, IT'S GONNA BE, WE HAVE, WE KIND OF HAVE A, A PACKED AGENDA.

SO IF YOU GET LIMITED TO 15 MINUTES OR SO IN INCLUSIVE OF QUESTIONS, THAT WOULD BE GREAT.

THANK YOU.

UH, SORRY, JUST PRESS THE BUTTON.

NO, HE'S GOOD.

OH, HE'S GOOD? YEAH.

OKAY.

ALL RIGHT.

UH, HELLO.

UH, MY NAME IS COOPER THOMPSON.

I'M A COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT SPECIALIST WITH THE OFFICE OF POLICE OVERSIGHT.

AND SO WE JUST WANTED TO COME TODAY AND SORT OF REINTRODUCE OURSELVES TO THE COMMISSION, UH, KIND OF GO OVER, UH, SOME OF OUR, OUR SERVICES AND, UH, SOME UPCOMING EVENTS.

UH, SO JUST GOING OVER OUR, OUR MISSION STATEMENT, UH, THE OFFICE OF POLICE OVERSIGHT, OR OPO IS TO PROVIDE IMPARTIAL OVERSIGHT OF THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT'S CONDUCT PRACTICES AND POLICIES IN ORDER TO ENHANCE ACCOUNT ACCOUNTABILITY, INFORM THE PUBLIC TO INCREASE TRANSPARENCY AND CREATE SUSTAINABLE PARTNERSHIPS THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY.

SO WE'VE TURNED THAT INTO OUR THREE GOALS, TRANSFORMING ACCOUNTABILITY, ENHANCING TRANSPARENCY, AND BUILDING PARTNERSHIPS.

WE'LL

[00:10:01]

LET'S SEE.

OH, OKAY.

UH, SO STARTING SORT OF ON THAT ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY PIECE, UH, OUR COMPLAINTS AND INVESTIGATIONS DIVISION IS, UH, DEFINITELY OUR MOST WELL KNOWN DIVISION.

WHENEVER COMMUNITY MEMBERS COME INTO FILE A COMPLAINT, IT IS OUR COMPLAINTS TEAM THAT WALKS THEM THROUGH THAT PROCESS.

UH, IF THEY REQUEST AN ADMINISTRATIVE INVESTIGATION, UH, THEY HANDLE THAT INVESTIGATION, UH, TALK WITH OFFICERS AND, UH, ISSUE OUR DISCIPLINARY RECOMMENDATIONS.

UH, ALSO ON THAT ACCOUNTABILITY PIECE IS OUR POLICY AND RESEARCH DIVISION.

UH, THEY'RE A PRETTY, UH, UNIQUE DIVISION FOR AN OVERSIGHT AGENCY TO HAVE, ESPECIALLY THE ONE, UH, AS, AS BIG AS WE HAVE.

UH, THEY ISSUE, UH, UH, POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS AROUND APDS, GENERAL ORDERS, UH, THAT TRAINING ACADEMY CURRICULUM AND OTHER THINGS IN SORT OF THAT DOMAIN.

AND, UH, YOU KNOW, LOOK AT NATIONAL BEST PRACTICES AROUND POLICING, WHETHER THAT'S FROM OTHER OVERSIGHT AGENCIES, OTHER LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES, OR THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR CIVILIAN OVERSIGHT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT.

UH, NOW ALSO, ALSO PUBLISH, UH, A LOT OF OUR REPORTS, UM, PARTICULARLY THOSE AROUND, UH, TRAFFIC STOPS AND USE OF FORCE.

UH, AND THEN LASTLY ON THAT SORT OF TRANSPARENCY AND BUILDING PARTNERSHIPS END OF THINGS IS, UH, MY DIVISION, THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS DIVISION.

AND SO, UH, THAT INCLUDES THINGS, UH, SUCH AS RUNNING OUR WEBSITE WHERE, UH, ALL OF OUR DOCUMENTS ARE PUBLISHED.

SO ALL OF THOSE REPORTS, INCLUDING THINGS LIKE OUR, OUR ANNUAL REPORT, UH, OUR DISCIPLINARY RECOMMENDATIONS AND OBJECTIONS, AS WELL AS, UH, WE'VE JUST BEEN, UH, RE-POWERED TO BE, UH, PUBLISHING COMPLAINTS.

AND SO WE'VE BEEN WORKING THROUGH THAT BACKLOG SO THAT WAY COMMUNITY MEMBERS HAVE ACCESS TO THOSE AS WELL.

UH, AND LASTLY, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.

THAT IS, UH, SORT OF WHERE, WHERE I COME IN AND WE'RE OUT THERE AT DIFFERENT EVENTS SUCH AS COMING TO BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS, UH, LIKE TODAY.

UM, OTHER CITY EVENTS LIKE, UH, THE AUSTIN ENERGY COMMUNITY RESOURCE FAIR, THE AUSTIN TRAVIS COUNTY EMS POPUP RESOURCE CLINIC.

UH, AS WELL AS ANY SORT OF, UH, COMMUNITY BASED EVENTS, UH, LIKE AUSTIN PRIDE COMING UP NEXT MONTH, UH, JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE KNOW THAT WE'RE OUT HERE FOR THEM AND WHAT WE CAN DO FOR THEM, AND HOW THEY CAN BE INVOLVED IN OVERSIGHT HERE IN AUSTIN.

SO, UH, IT IS JUST SOME WAYS TO GET IN CONTACT WITH US, UH, AT OUR OFFICE, AT OUR WEBSITE, ATX POLICE OVERSIGHT.ORG OR OVER THE PHONE.

UH, THESE ARE GREAT WAYS TO, UH, NOT ONLY, UH, HAVE COMMUNITY MEMBERS SUBMIT COMPLAINTS AND COMPLIMENTS ABOUT A PD OFFICERS, BUT ALSO GET IN CONTACT WITH US.

AND IF YOU'D LIKE, UH, A MORE SPECIFIC CONTACT INFORMATION, I CAN PROVIDE THAT ON FOLLOW UP.

UM, BUT ON OUR NOTE ABOUT EVENTS, WE HAVE AN UPCOMING OPEN HOUSE EVENT, UH, A WEEK FROM TOMORROW, JUST A COUPLE BLOCKS OVER AT THE CENTRAL LIBRARY.

IT WILL BE FROM 10:00 AM TO 2:00 PM.

UH, UM, JUST ABOUT OUR WHOLE STAFF WILL BE THERE.

AND SO THIS IS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO COME IN, LEARN IN DETAIL ABOUT OUR COMPLAINTS PROCESS, OUR POLICY AND RESEARCH PROCESS, OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PLANS, AND, UH, JUST GET THAT SORT OF LITTLE BEHIND THE SCENES LOOK AT, UH, HOW WE DO WHAT WE DO AND HOW THEY CAN GET INVOLVED.

BECAUSE ALL FEEDBACK IS GOOD FEEDBACK.

AND SO WE WANT TO KNOW IF THERE ARE, YOU KNOW, MORE WAYS FOR US TO BE ABLE TO BE INVOLVED IN THE COMMUNITY AS WELL AS, UH, MAKE SURE THAT COMMUNITY MEMBERS HAVE, UH, AS, AS GOOD AN UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT WE DO AND HOW WE DO IT AS POSSIBLE.

SO IT IS A FREE EVENT.

WE WILL HAVE FOOD PRIZES, GIVEAWAYS, UH, WE WILL HAVE SPANISH AND A SL INTERPRETATION AVAILABLE FOR THE FULL DURATION OF THE EVENT.

UH, SO WE HOPE TO SEE YOU ALL THERE.

UH, THAT'S THE END OF MY PRESENTATIONS.

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, I, UH, AM HERE TO ANSWER YOU ABOUT.

THANKS, COOPER.

APPRECIATE IT.

UM, I'LL START OFF WITH, WITH QUESTIONS.

UM, SO IN, IN TERMS OF YOUR COMPLAINT DIVISION, DO YOU TRACK THE PERCENT OF COMPLAINTS THAT ARE MADE BY INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES OR DEMOGRAPHICS GENERALLY? UH, WE DO, UH, HAVE A SECTION ON OUR COMPLAINT FORM THAT ASKS DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION,

[00:15:01]

SO IT'S UP TO, UH, THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS DISCRETION ON IF THEY WANT TO, UH, PROVIDE THAT INFORMATION TO US.

SO IT IS DATA THAT WE DO HAVE, BUT IT IS, UM, YOU KNOW, IS AS ONLY AS REPRESENTATIVE AS COMMUNITY MEMBERS WHO FEEL COMFORTABLE SHARING THAT.

DO YOU TYPICALLY RUN ANY KIND OF ANALYSIS ON THAT DATA? UH, UH, I'M NOT SURE OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, BUT I CAN CONSULT WITH OUR COMPLAINTS DIVISION AND GET BACK TO YOU WITH THAT.

YEAH, THAT WOULD BE GREAT.

I THINK I WOULD JUST BE INTERESTED IN, IN UNDERSTANDING KIND OF THE, WHETHER OR NOT THE PERCENTAGE OF COMPLAINTS REFLECTS THE REPRESENTATION OF INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES IN THE COMMUNITY.

HI THERE, I'M SARAH PERAL.

I, UM, I GET THE PLEASURE OF WORKING WITH COOPER AT THE OFFICE OF POLICE OVERSIGHT.

WELCOME, SARAH.

UM, THANKS FOR HAVING ME.

UM, I JUST WANNA ADD, ANECDOTALLY, PART OF THE REASONS IS IT IS SO IMPORTANT FOR US TO PUBLISH COMPLAINTS PUBLICLY BECAUSE WHEN WE PUBLISH COMPLAINTS, YOU CAN SEE THE BODY OF THE COMPLAINT AS SUBMITTED BY THE COMMITTEE MEMBER.

AND IF YOU LOOK BACK, UM, ON OUR ARCHIVE OF COMPLAINTS, YOU CAN SEE THAT THERE ARE SOME COMPLAINTS THAT ARE SUBMITTED BY COMMUNITY MEMBERS WHO HAVE HAD ISSUES WITH THEIR SERVICE ANIMALS, ACCESS TO WHEELCHAIRS, UH, ALL SORTS OF RELATED OR, UH, ISSUES TO, UH, ACCESS AND, UM, PEOPLE LIVING WITH DISABILITIES.

SO IT IS SOMETHING THAT WE, UM, HAVE NOTED IN OUR, UM, COMPLAINTS PROCESS.

UM, ADDITIONALLY, OPO WORKED WITH THIS COMMITTEE, UM, TO HOST THE TOWN HALL FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES SO THAT WE COULD, UH, DOCUMENT AND MAKE SOME RECOMMENDATIONS RELATED TO, UM, APDS POLICIES WHEN INTERACTING WITH PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES.

OKAY.

THANKS.

UH, THANKS FOR THAT EXPLANATION.

SARAH.

UH, COMMISSIONER CHANG.

HI.

UM, I WAS, UH, FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO PARTICIPATE IN THE COMMUNITY POLICE ACADEMY, UM, LAST YEAR, AND I LEARNED A LOT ABOUT, UM, THE TRAINING OFFERINGS.

A LOT OF IT IS ACADEMY BASED, BUT THEN THEY HAVE OPTIONAL WORKSHOPS OR CLINICS.

I, I SUPPOSE, UM, BECAUSE OF RESOURCES AVAILABLE, UH, BEING LOCATED IN AUSTIN, UM, I THINK MANY OF THE OFFICERS WHO CAME IN TO PRESENT WERE FAMILIAR WITH, UM, CITIZENS WHO MIGHT HAVE, UH, I GUESS, AUDITORY IMPAIRMENTS.

AND SOME ALSO TOOK PART IN, UM, LEARNING ABOUT THE AUTISM SPECTRUM AND, UM, HOW IT IS TRULY A, A SPECTRUM OF, OF DIFFERENT, UM, ABILITIES ON, ON THAT.

AND SO I WAS JUST CURIOUS IF YOU HAD CERTAIN, UH, GOALS AROUND, UM, THOSE TRAINING, TRAINING AND, UM, COMPETENCIES, I GUESS.

SURE.

AND, UM, YOU KNOW, JUST AS A FOLLOW UP, WE'D LOVE TO ACTUALLY BRING, UM, OUR POLICY STAFF TO TALK TO YOU MORE IN MORE DETAIL ABOUT WHAT THEY'RE DOING, SPECIFICALLY FOCUS ON THE TRAINING ACADEMY AND, UM, IMPROVING THE CURRICULUM AROUND THE EXPERIENCE OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES.

SO, UM, RELATED TO TRAINING, UH, ONE THING THAT WE DO, AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE DO JUST BROADLY, WE MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS BASED ON THEIR, THE ACADEMY CURRICULUM.

SO WHAT ARE THEY TEACHING? IT'S PART OF WHAT ARE THE EFFORTS THAT, UH, WAS BROUGHT FORTH BY THE CROW CONSULTANTS? AND YOU WERE TRACKING THE RE-IMAGINING PUBLIC SAFETY PROJECT FROM A COUPLE YEARS AGO.

UH, THERE WAS THIS BIG EFFORT TO GET SOME CONSULTANTS TO LOOK OBJECTIVELY AT O UH, AT A PD IN THEIR PROCESSES.

ONE OF THOSE RESEARCH REPORTS WAS TO LOOK AT THE, THE A PD ACADEMY IN, UM, W HOLISTICALLY LOOK AT THEIR, UM, RETENTION RATES IN THE CURRICULUM ITSELF.

SO AS ONE OF THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS IS TO INCLUDE COMMUNITY MEMBERS, SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF CURRICULUM.

AND SO THEY'VE BEEN TAKING ONE SECTION, ONE MODULE AT A TIME AND REVIEWING THEM.

ONE OF THE FIRST RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE MADE WAS FOR THE MODULE ON, UM, DEAF OR HARD OF HEARING FOLKS.

AND SO OUR RECOMMENDATIONS ARE PUBLISHED ONLINE.

SO WE UNFORTUNATELY ARE NOT ABLE TO PUBLISH THE CURRICULUM ITSELF, BUT YOU CAN SEE FROM OUR REC CURRICULUM RECOMMENDATIONS, WE DESCRIBE OUR NOTES OF THE CURRICULUM VERY CLEARLY SO YOU CAN KNOW WHAT'S IN THERE.

A LOT OF OUR RECOMMENDATIONS IN SUMMARY, ARE REALLY RELATED ABOUT RECENTERING THE, THE CURRICULUM AROUND THE LIVED EXPERIENCE OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES.

SO, UM, INSTEAD OF WATCHING A MOVIE ABOUT SOMEBODY, UH, WITH THE ACTOR PLAYING A ROLE, ACTUALLY GOING OUT TO THE COMMUNITY AND MAKING THOSE CONNECTIONS AND LEARNING FROM PEOPLE WITH THAT LIVED EXPERIENCE, BECAUSE IT IS MORE IMPORTANT TO BUILD THAT CONNECTION THAN UNDERSTANDING, THAN TO OBSERVE IT FROM A DISTANCE.

SO, UM, THAT'S JUST KIND OF A SUMMARY OF OUR RECOMMENDATION.

YOU CAN SEE ALL IN ONLINE.

[00:20:01]

OH, AND JUST IN GENERAL, UM, JUST GOING BACK TO THE QUESTION, WHICH I THINK WAS LIKE, WHAT ARE WE DOING RELATED TO CURRICULUM? UM, WE'RE, THAT'S AN ONGOING PROCESS AS WE LOOK AND WORK WITH A PD TO REVIEW EVERY CHAPTER.

SO, UM, I DO THINK THE MOST RECENT, UM, SET OF RECOMMENDATIONS WAS ABOUT SEARCH AND SEIZURE, BUT WE CAN KEEP YOU GUYS INFORMED ON THE NEXT TIME WE ARE LOOKING AT A CHAPTER RELATED TO, UM, THE PURVIEW OF THIS COMMISSION.

AND AGAIN, WE'D BE HAPPY TO COME AND, AND TALK TO YOU MORE ABOUT OUR WORK WITH THE TRAINING ACADEMY, ESPECIALLY HOW IT RELATES TO THIS COMMISSION.

YEAH, THAT WOULD BE GREAT.

THANK YOU.

COMMISSIONER CHANG, DID YOU HAVE ANY FOLLOW UPS? YES, I WAS PARTICULARLY INTERESTED IN INTELLECTUAL AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES, AND I'D BE SUFFERING FROM A MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS OR ONGOING, UH, MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES.

YEAH, THAT DEFINITELY IS ONE OF OUR, OUR BIGGEST RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE TOWN HALL FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES.

UM, THAT REPORT THAT WE'VE RELEASED, UM, GOSH, I THINK IT'S OVER A YEAR AGO NOW.

TIME FLIES.

UM, I THINK IN GENERAL, NOT JUST SPECIFIC TO TO A PD, WHEN YOU SPEAK GENERALLY ABOUT THE INTERSECTION OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES AND LAW ENFORCEMENT, TO YOUR POINT, IT'S VERY MUCH FROM THE, THE, THE LENS OF, UM, MENTAL HEALTH, MENTAL ILLNESS.

AND AS WE KNOW, THAT IS JUST ONE PART OF PEOPLE'S LIVED EXPERIENCE.

IT DOES NOT, UM, COVER THE DEPTH AND BREADTH OF PEOPLE'S LIVED EXPERIENCE OF PEOPLE, WHETHER THEY IDENTIFY AS A PERSON WITH DISABILITY OR NOT.

AND SO THAT WAS ONE OF THE CORE RECOMMENDATIONS WE HAD IN THAT REPORT WAS, UM, WE NEED TO THINK MORE BROADLY.

THERE'S A LOT OF DIVERSITY THERE, AND, UM, WE NEED TO BRING IN PEOPLE WITH LIVED EXPERIENCE TO HEAR WHAT THEIR CONCERNS ARE AND TO CENTER TRAINING AROUND THOSE CONCERNS.

SO PART OF THOSE THAT REPORT THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS ORIGINATED FROM COMMUNITY MEMBERS.

WE, THEY CAME OUT TO OUR EVENT AND THEY TOLD US DIRECTLY, THEY TOLD, ACTUALLY, WE HAD A PD THERE WITH US, TOLD A PD DIRECTLY WHEN I'M, YOU KNOW, STOPPED.

UH, YOU KNOW, WHEN I, I, I WORRY ABOUT MY KID WHEN BEING, THEY'RE BEING STOPPED BECAUSE THEY MIGHT BE, UH, MISINTERPRETED AS BEING, UM, RESISTANT WHEN THEY ARE JUST SOMEBODY WITH AN INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY OR THEY'RE ON THE SPECTRUM, OR THEY HAVE OTHER EXPERIENCE.

SO WE WANT A PD TO UNDERSTAND THAT THERE ARE SO MANY, UH, THERE'S SO MUCH DIVERSITY THERE, THERE'S SO MUCH, SO MANY OTHER REASONS THAT SOMEONE MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO, UM, COOPERATE IN THE WAY THAT THEY MIGHT EXPECT RIGHT AWAY.

SO, UM, A LOT OF PEOPLE, UM, THEY BRING THAT LIVED EXPERIENCE TO THOSE, THOSE INTERACTIONS, AND WE WANT A PD TO UNDERSTAND THAT.

SO TO YOUR POINT, YES, WE AGREE.

THANK YOU.

UM, I HAD, SO I, YOU WERE TALKING A LOT ABOUT RECOMMENDATIONS.

DO YOU DO ANY DIRECT EDUCATION OF THE POLICE FORCE, OR IS IT PRIMARILY THROUGH RECOMMENDATIONS? SO OPIOIDS AUTHORITY IS, IS RECOMMENDATION BASED.

UM, WE DO WORK CLOSELY WITH A PD, AND THEY DO TAKE MANY OF OUR RECOMMENDATIONS, BUT, UM, IT, IT IS A RECOMMENDATIONS BASE.

SO THEY DO, THEY HAVE BASICALLY UNILATERAL DISCRETION TO ACCEPT OR NOT ACCEPT YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS? UM, THE, THE, UM, IT IS UNDER THE PURVIEW OF THE, THE CHIEF OF POLICE, UH, HOUSE, RIGHT? YES.

RIGHT, RIGHT.

OKAY.

MM-HMM .

UM, ARE THERE, IS THAT OUTSIDE THE PURVIEW OF YOUR DEPARTMENT IN THE CITY CODE IN TERMS OF, ARE YOU ABLE TO PROVIDE DIRECT EDUCATION IF THE POLICE DEPARTMENT DEPARTMENT WERE TO AGREE TO IT? OR IS THAT, IS IT YOUR AUTHORITY STRICTLY LIMITED TO RE RECOMMENDATIONS IN CITY CODE? I'D HAVE TO LOOK INTO THAT MORE THOROUGHLY.

I DON'T WANNA SPEAK AT A TURN, BUT, UM, I KNOW, UM, OUR, THE MAIN PART OF OUR AUTHORITY IS RELATED TO RECOMMENDATIONS, RIGHT? WHEN IT COMES TO DISCIPLINE AND, UM, POLICY RECOMMENDATION.

DO YOU HAVE, UM, AND IT'S FEEL FREE TO SAY NO, DOES, I MEAN, DOES YOUR DEPARTMENT HAVE ANY INTEREST IN, UH, MAKING DIRECT EDU EDUCATING THE POLICE FORCE DIRECTLY? OR DO, IS THAT SOMETHING KIND OF OUT OF YOUR SCOPE? I THINK WE WOULD REALLY LOVE TO, TO HELP A PD BE BETTER.

UM, REALLY WE WANT THE SAME THING A PD WANTS, WE WANT THEM TO BE, UH, UH, UH, INSTITUTION THAT PEOPLE TRUST AND HAVE CONFIDENCE IN, AND THAT'S BASED AND REFLECTED OF OUR COMMUNITY.

SO, UM, WE'RE, WE DON'T, I DON'T THINK, I THINK I CAN SAFELY SAY WE'RE NOT TRYING TO REPLACE ANYBODY.

UM, WE WOULD LOVE TO PARTNER WITH THEM CLOSELY TO HELP BE MORE INCLUSIVE AND DEVELOP CURRICULUM THAT DOES REFLECT OUR COMMUNITY'S NEEDS AND, AND THEIR VALUES.

SO, UM, IW I'M NOT GONNA SAY YES OR NO.

'CAUSE THAT, THAT'S PROBABLY A LITTLE BIT OUTTA MY YEAH, I UNDERSTAND THAT.

I DIDN'T, DIDN'T WANNA, DIDN'T WANNA PIN YOU DOWN ON THAT.

THANK YOU.

I, I, I WILL SAY WE HAVE HAD SUCCESS WORKING WITH THEM IN OTHER RELATED, UH, UH, EFFORTS.

SO, FOR INSTANCE, THE HISTORY OF RACISM AND POLICING, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT CAME OUTTA THE REIMAGINING PUBLIC SAFETY

[00:25:01]

THAT IS A CLASS THAT IS CURRENTLY TAUGHT AT THE ACADEMY THAT WAS DEVELOPED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE OFFICE OF POLICE OVERSIGHT, THE EQUITY OFFICE.

AND THERE WAS SOME, WE WORK WITH SOME, UM, HISTORIANS AND EXPERTS AT, AT UT TO DEVELOP THIS CURRICULUM THAT IS NOW TAUGHT AT THE ACADEMY.

SO TO ME, THAT'S THE IDEAL KIND OF SITUATION WHERE WE ARE WORKING WITH THEM WITH SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS AND PEOPLE LIVED EXPERIENCE TO DEVELOP THE CURRICULUM FOR A PD TO DELIVER TO THEIR OWN, UM, THEIR OWN CADETS.

GREAT.

THANK YOU.

ANY MORE QUESTIONS, COMMISSIONER? YES.

I HAVE A QUESTION.

YEAH, SO I WAS VISITING IN KOREA, AND I SAW THEIR OFFICERS ON THE STREET, AND THEY LOOKED A LOT LIKE CIVILIANS.

YOU KNOW, THEY DIDN'T EVEN CARRY WEAPONS OR ANY TYPE OF, YOU KNOW, AMMO OR ANYTHING.

SO I'M HOPING THAT WE COULD LEARN FROM THAT AND, AND KIND OF MODEL THAT AND REALLY BECOME MORE OF A COMMUNITY BASED OFFICER.

AND SO, YOU KNOW, LOOKING INTO NETWORKING AND, AND HOW WE CAN CHANGE OUR APPROACH, I BELIEVE THAT YOU'LL DEFINITELY BE SUCCESSFUL.

RIGHT? YEAH.

I, I THINK BUILDING THOSE BRIDGES BETWEEN COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND, UM, MAKING IT SEEM LIKE THERE'S LESS OF A DIVIDE IS, UH, REALLY IMPORTANT.

UM, A BIG PART OF THAT IS ALSO THE, YOU KNOW, IT'S THE, THE BASIS IS TRUST, RIGHT? SO WE WANT COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO FEEL TRUST IN THE POLICE, BUT A FUNCTION OF TRUST IS ACCOUNTABILITY TO KNOW THAT THEIR, THEIR TRUST IS BEING TAKEN SERIOUSLY.

AND SO THAT IS WHY THE COMPLAINTS PROCESS FOR US, THE POLICY RECOMMENDATION PROCESS IS SO FUNDAMENTAL TO DEVELOPING AND ADVANCING TRUST.

YOU CANNOT HAVE TRUST WITHOUT ACCOUNTABILITY.

AND SO THESE THINGS GO HAND IN HAND TOO.

SO, TO YOUR POINT, A PART OF THAT, YOU KNOW, BRIDGING THAT DIVIDE IS ALSO THE RESPONSIBILITY THAT COMES WITH TRUST.

AGREE.

THANK YOU.

THANK YOU.

UM, WHAT'S, UM, WHAT'S THE SCOPE OF THE, FOR THE COMPLAINT DIVISION? WHAT'S THE SCOPE OF THEIR INVESTIGATIVE AUTHORITY? UH, AS FAR AS INVESTIGATING COMPLAINTS THAT COME IN, YOU KNOW, DO THEY, DO YOU HAVE TO RELY ON THE A PD TO TURN OVER EVIDENCE, OR CAN YOU REQUEST IT AND THEY'RE REQUIRED TO GIVE IT TO YOU? I WAS JUST INTERESTED IN KIND OF HOW THAT WORKS.

THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.

UM, SO WITH THE PASSAGE OF THE AWESOME POLICE OVERSIGHT ACT IN MAY, 2023, IT ACTUALLY BROADENED AND DEEPENED OUR AUTHORITY, WHICH IS FANTASTIC.

UM, SO WE HAVE AN INVESTIGATIVE, INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATIVE FUNCTION NOW.

SO WE HAVE TWO COMPLAINT INVESTIGATORS ON STAFF WHO DO CONDUCT THEIR OWN INVESTIGATION OF COMPLAINTS SEPARATE FROM THE INTERNAL AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT AT A PD AS PART OF THAT, AS WELL AS WE KEEP AND MAINTAIN OUR OWN RECORDS OF THE INVESTIGATION OPPOSED TO, AS, LIKE YOU SAID, ASKING FOR THINGS.

AND WE HAVE DIRECT ACCESS TO EVERY ONE OF APDS DATABASES.

SO IF WE WANNA LOOK UP BODY CAM, WE WANNA LOOK AT DASHBOARD CAM.

IF WE WANNA SEE THE DISPATCH SYSTEM CALLED VERSADEX, WE CAN LOOK IT UP OURSELVES.

WE'RE NOT ASKING FOR ANYTHING.

SO IN TERMS OF OUR ABILITY TO INVESTIGATE A COMPLAINT COMPLETELY INDEPENDENTLY, WE ARE ABLE TO DO THAT.

UM, HOWEVER, LIKE I SAID, OUR AUTHORITY IS RECOMMENDATIONS, SO WE DO INVESTIGATE SOMETHING AND WE MAKE A RECOMMENDATION BASED ON THAT.

YEAH, RIGHT, RIGHT.

I I PRESUME THAT YOU'RE NOT, THAT YOU'RE NOT THE DISCIPLINARY AUTHORITY, YOU JUST MAKE THE RECOMMENDATIONS.

RIGHT.

AND, UM, DO YOU TRACK THE, HOW OFTEN THE A PD FOLLOWS YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS VERSUS DEVIATES AND, OR, YOU KNOW, WHAT IF THEY PARTIALLY ADOPT IT? YES.

WHEN WE, UM, DISAGREE ON THE LEVEL, UH, DISCIPLINE ISSUED, WE PUBLISH THOSE, UM, THOSE DOCUMENTS ON OUR WEBSITE, AND THE CHIEF OF POLICE HAS TO REPLY TO US IN WRITING.

SO WHEN WE, UH, OBJECT OR, UM, HAVE A RECOMMENDATION THAT SHE DOES NOT TAKE, SHE HAS TO REPLY IN WRITING.

UM, SO THAT IS ALSO A NEW AUTHORITY THAT CAME UNDER THE AWESOME POLICE OVERSIGHT ACT.

SO WE ARE PUBLISHING THOSE AND WORKING THROUGH OUR BACKLOG TO GET CAUGHT UP.

GOT IT.

THANK YOU.

THANK YOU.

DO WE HAVE ANY MORE QUESTIONS FROM THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS? ALRIGHT, WELL, THANKS SO MUCH FOR JOINING US TODAY.

WE REALLY APPRECIATE IT AND APPRECIATE ALL YOUR EFFORTS FOR THE COMMUNITY.

THANK YOU.

THANK YOU.

ALRIGHT, OUR NEXT ITEM IS

[3. Presentation regarding instant ASL Access by Joseph Tsai, CONVO.]

HELLO EVERYONE, THIS IS JOSEPH.

UM, YEAH, I'M VERY HONORED TO BE HERE.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

HAPPY TO PRESENT TO YOU.

UM, SORRY, WE NEED TO SWITCH INTERPRETERS.

JUST A MOMENT.

MY NAME IS JOSEPH.

S UM, I'M SORRY, WE'RE A LITTLE BIT, UH, FUNKY USING WEBEX.

WE DON'T REALLY USE THAT WHERE I WORK,

[00:30:01]

AND SO, UH, LOOKING THROUGH THIS IN MY PRESENTATION, JUST, UH, TO INTRODUCE A, A FANTASTIC NEW CONCEPT IN INTERPRETING SOLUTIONS, UH, IS SOMETHING WE CALL CONVO ACCESS.

UH, AND I'LL EXPLAIN A LITTLE BIT AS TO HOW THIS CAN BENEFIT THE DEAF AND HEART OF HEARING COMMUNITY LIVING IN AUSTIN.

UM, AS YOU MAY KNOW, AUSTIN HAS ONE OF THE LARGEST DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING COMMUNITIES IN THE UNITED STATES.

UM, AND YOU KNOW, IT, IT RANGES FROM INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE SOME, UH, YOU KNOW, RESIDUAL HEARING TO THOSE WHO CANNOT HEAR AT ALL, WHO HAVE SEVERE, UH, HEARING LOSS, BUT IT IS ONE OF THE LARGEST DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING COMMUNITIES IN THE UNITED STATES.

LET ME JUST GET TO THE NEXT SLIDE OF MY POWERPOINT.

UH, CAN SOMEBODY, UH, THERE WE GO.

UH, SO YEAH, JUST, I'LL LET YOU KNOW WHO WE ARE.

CONVO IS ONE OF THE LARGEST DEAF OWNED COMPANIES IN THE WORLD.

UH, WE SERVE CURRENTLY FIVE DIFFERENT COUNTRIES.

SO WE'RE NOT ONLY IN THE UNITED STATES, UH, WE SERVE 10 DIFFERENT LANGUAGES IN THOSE FIVE COUNTRIES.

AND THOSE FIVE COUNTRIES ARE THE UNITED STATES, CANADA, UNITED KINGDOM, AUSTRALIA, AND SOUTH AFRICA.

AND WE ARE CONTINUING TO LOOK TO EXPAND GLOBALLY.

OUR GOAL IS TO ENSURE AN IMPACT ON THE LIVES OF EACH DEAF INDIVIDUAL IN THE WORLD.

YOU KNOW, WHEN WE LOOK AT THE WORLD, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT 70 MILLION DEAF PEOPLE GLOBALLY WHO USE ASSIGNED LANGUAGE.

AND WE ARE TRYING TO MAKE AN IMPACT ON EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THOSE LIVES BY PROVIDING ACCESS TO COMMUNICATION.

SO IN SPEAKING TO SOME OF THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN AUSTIN, AND NOT JUST IN AUSTIN, BUT THE OUTLYING COMMUNITIES, UM, IN INCLUDING INDIVIDUALS LIKE MYSELF, WE TALKED ABOUT THEIR FRUSTRATIONS AND THEIR PROBLEMS. AND ONE OF THE BIGGEST PROBLEMS, UH, YOU CAN SEE, UH, ON THIS SLOT.

SO FOR AN EXAMPLE, YOU KNOW, IN, IN, IN MY EXPERIENCE, YOU KNOW, HAVING TO GO TO THE POLICE STATION, UM, THE REASON BEING WAS, UM, YOU KNOW, I WAS CALLED IN TO MEET WITH AN OFFICER.

UM, THE REASON FOR THAT WAS MY EX-WIFE HAD A DOG, AND IT JUST HAPPENED FOR SOME REASON THAT THE DOG ESCAPED, UH, FROM MY EX-WIFE'S HOME.

AND SO THE OFFICER GOT IN, IN, GOT IN TOUCH WITH ME AND ASKED, YOU KNOW, WELL, HOW DO I COMMUNICATE? AND SO WE HAD TO GET A PIECE OF PAPER AND PEN TO WRITE.

AND TO BE QUITE HONEST, THE OFFICER HAD NO PATIENCE, RIGHT? HAD NO PATIENCE IN WRITING BACK AND FORTH WITH ME.

UM, YOU KNOW, HE ASSUMED THAT I WAS HEARING AND WAS TRYING TO SPEAK TO ME, AND I EXPLAINED TO HIM THAT I WAS DEAF, AND WE, YOU KNOW, WE NEEDED TO WRITE AND JUST, HE DID NOT HAVE THE PATIENCE AND WANTED TO GET THROUGH THIS AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.

AND SO I HAD NO UNDERSTANDING AS TO WHAT WAS HAPPENING.

EVENTUALLY I FOUND OUT, OH, IT WAS THE DOG THAT ESCAPED, UH, THE DOG HAD A CHIP THAT WAS IMPLANTED.

AND AT THE TIME THAT, YOU KNOW, WE HAD GOTTEN THE DOG, WE WERE STILL MARRIED, AND MY NAME WAS STILL CONNECTED TO THE CHIP, AND THAT'S HOW THEY FOUND IT, THAT'S HOW THEY FOUND ME.

AND SO, GOING THROUGH THAT EXPERIENCE, IT WAS JUST WE, THERE WAS A, JUST A LACK OF COMMUNICATION ACCESS, AND IT WAS SUCH A STRUGGLE.

AND THOSE ARE THE TYPES OF SITUATIONS THAT DEAF PEOPLE TRIED TO AVOID, RIGHT? YOU KNOW, WE, WE NEED TO COMMUNICATE, BUT COMMUNICATING THROUGH PAPER AND PEN FRUSTRATED THE OFFICER, WHICH IN TURN FRUSTRATED ME, AND IT CAUSED THIS KIND OF TENSION, RIGHT? AND I'M NOT THE ONLY DEAF PERSON WHO EXPERIENCES THIS, RIGHT? THERE IS THIS EXPERIENCE HAPPENS ALL OVER THE PLACE.

CITY HALL, POLICE DEPARTMENTS, YOU KNOW, I'VE HEARD A NUMBER OF STORIES FROM THE DEAF COMMUNITY THAT HAVE STRUGGLED WITH THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT, MAYBE THE POLICE OFFICERS COMING TO THEIR HOME TRYING TO COMMUNICATE, AND THEN FINDING OUT THEIR DEAF AND NOT KNOWING HOW TO COMMUNICATE.

AND THEN THE TENSIONS ARISE.

AND THIS IS A BIG ISSUE IN OUR COMMUNITY.

UH, ANOTHER ISSUE IS JUST TRYING TO ACCESS THE LIBRARY.

AS, AS A DEAF PERSON, I MAY WANT TO JUST ASK A SIMPLE QUESTION ON HOW TO FIND A SPECIFIC BOOK, A SPECIFIC RESOURCE, AND JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT WHEN EVERY DEAF PERSON COMES IN, THE CITY HAS THE RESOURCES TO FIND WHAT THEY, TO, TO GET WHAT THEY NEED QUICKLY AND, AND TO REALLY RESOLVE THAT COMMUNICATION BARRIER.

AND THAT'S WHERE CONVO ACCESS COMES IN.

WITH CONVO ACCESS, IT REALLY DOES SAVE A HUGE AMOUNT OF COST.

AND WE UNDERSTAND THAT COMMUNICATION SOMETIMES TAKES FIVE MINUTES, 10 MINUTES.

AND WITH TRADITIONAL INTERPRETING MODELS, WHAT HAPPENS IS YOU SEEK OUT AN INTERPRETING AGENCY AND YOU'RE REQUIRED TO PAY AN, AN HOURLY MINIMUM.

IT'S SOMETIMES TWO HOUR MINIMUM FOR ONLY

[00:35:01]

SO, WHAT COMBO ACCESS LOOKS LIKE REALLY IS QUITE SIMPLE.

YOU CAN SEE THE IMAGE ON THE SCREEN.

IT'S A QR CODE.

WE'VE PARTNERED WITH THE MTA, THE SUBWAY SYSTEM IN NEW YORK CITY, AND IT'S AS SIMPLE AS A QR CODE THAT, THAT GETS SCANNED, THAT THESE COULD BE PUT ALL OVER THE COMMUNITY.

YOU CAN PUT THEM IN YOUR POLICE STATIONS, IN YOUR LIBRARIES, CITY HALL IN A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT AREAS.

AND IF A DEAF PERSON ENTERS THAT STATION, ENTERS THAT LIBRARY, THEY COULD SCAN THE QR CODE, PULL UP A VIRTUAL INTERPRETER BY USING THEIR OWN DEVICE, AND HAVE THAT QUICK, EASY ACCESS TO COMMUNICATION.

THEY DON'T NEED TO DOWNLOAD ANY APPLICATIONS.

THEY DON'T NEED TO LOG INTO ANY SOFTWARES OR SYSTEMS. THEY JUST NEED A SMARTPHONE TO SCAN THE QR CODE AND ACCESS THE SERVICE.

IT TRULY IS THAT EASY.

NEXT SLIDE.

SO, UH, THIS IS JUST AN EXAMPLE, UH, OF WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE.

THE DEAF PERSON ENCOUNTERS ONE OF YOUR, UH, HEARING STAFF MEMBERS.

IT, IT REALLY IS THIS SIMPLE.

SO WITH CONVO, OUR PHILOSOPHY IS TO MAKE SURE THAT THE DEAF INDIVIDUAL HAS FULL AUTONOMY IN CONTROLLING WHEN OR WHEN THEY, WHEN THEY DO, OR WHEN THEY DO NOT WANT THE INTERPRETER.

SO, FOR EXAMPLE, IF I'M GOING TO A DOCTOR'S OFFICE AND MAYBE I DON'T WANT TO USE AN INTERPRETER, MAYBE I PREFER TO USE MY PHONE TO TEXT BACK AND FORTH WITH THE DOCTOR, IT IS MY DECISION TO MAKE THAT RIGHT.

YOU KNOW, AND, AND OFTENTIMES IN DOCTORS OFFICES, THE DOCTOR WILL WHEEL IN SOME VRI EQUIPMENT TO HAVE A VIRTUAL INTERPRETER, BUT THAT'S NOT, THAT WASN'T DECIDED BY THE DEAF PERSON.

SO CONVO EMPOWERS THE DEAF INDIVIDUAL TO DECIDE WHETHER OR NOT THEY WANT TO USE THE INTERPRETER JUST BY ALLOWING THEM TO USE THE QR CODE TO SCAN AND PULL UP AN INTERPRETER.

UM, SO YEAH, THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I WAS MENTIONING.

NEXT SLIDE.

SO, THE BENEFITS TO THE CITY OF AUSTIN, YOU KNOW, WE CAN SEE THEM HERE.

THE MAIN POINT IS YOU ARE PROVIDING ALL ACCESS 24 7 FOR ANY OF YOUR DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING CITIZENS TO USE CONVO ACCESS.

THERE ARE NO, UH, LIMITATIONS.

IT COULD BE AN OVERNIGHT EMERGENCY, SOMETHING THAT THEY HAVE TO USE IN THE ER, THEY CAN HAVE THAT CONVERSATION AT ANY TIME.

AND AS I MENTIONED, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT SAVES A, A GREAT AMOUNT OF TIME FOR INDIVIDUALS.

IF A HEARING PERSON REALIZES THAT THE DEAF INDIVIDUAL IS DEAF AND NEEDS AN INTERPRETER, THEY HAVE TO SEEK OUT THE AGENCY WORK EVERYTHING OUT WITH CONVO ACCESS, ALL THEY NEED TO DO IS SHOW THEM THE QR CODE, THE DEAF PERSON SCANS IT, AND IT SAVES SUCH A LARGE AMOUNT OF TIME, ESPECIALLY IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.

THIS IS AADA A COMPLIANT, YOU KNOW, OUR, OUR INTERPRETERS ARE, YOU KNOW, STRICTLY ADHERE TO THE A DA AS DOES OUR PLATFORM.

ONE OF THE, THE COOLEST THINGS ABOUT CONVO ACCESS IS IF YOU WANNA KNOW HOW MUCH, HOW MUCH USE IS HAPPENING, WHAT AREAS HAVE HAVE THE HIGHEST USAGE.

WE HAVE USAGE REPORTS ON THE PLATFORM THAT CAN BE SHARED WITH THE CITY, AND YOU COULD SEE WHICH OF YOUR DEPARTMENTS, UH, WHICH OF THEIR LOCATIONS HAVE THE HIGHEST USAGE.

AND THAT WAY YOU WON'T KNOW HOW MUCH IS BEING USED, WHERE IT'S BEING USED, AND YOU HAVE ACCESS TO ALL OF THAT DATA.

NEXT SLIDE.

SO, AS I MENTIONED, CONVO STRONGLY BELIEVES IN EMPOWERING THE DEAF COMMUNITY, ALLOWING THEM TO HAVE FULL AUTONOMY OVER THEIR CONVERSATIONS.

RIGHT.

NEXT SLIDE.

AND I DO JUST WANNA MENTION, UH, A CASE STUDY.

UH, YOU MAY REMEMBER I MENTIONED EARLIER, WE HAVE A PARTNERSHIP WITH THE MTA IN NEW YORK CITY, THE LARGEST SUBWAY SYSTEM IN THE WORLD.

YOU KNOW, THEIR RESULTS HAVE BEEN EXTREMELY SUCCESSFUL.

YOU COULD SEE SOME OF THOSE STATISTICS HERE.

[00:40:01]

THE REASON WHY IT TOOK THREE MONTHS WAS IT TOOK TIME TO GET THE WORD OUT TO THE DEAF COMMUNITY FOR THEM TO KNOW ABOUT CONVO ACCESS AND THE QR CODES ALL THROUGHOUT THE SYSTEM.

YOU KNOW, NEW YORK CITY IS OBVIOUSLY A LARGE METROPOLITAN AREA, YOU KNOW, SO TAKE TO TAKE THREE MONTHS TO GET TO 94% USAGE, UH, IS, IS FANTASTIC.

THERE WAS A 40% REDUCTION IN COMMUNICATION RELATED TRENDS, UH, TRANSACTION TIME, WHETHER THAT BE WRITING BACK AND FORTH, LOOKING FOR AN INTERPRETER, UH, WHATEVER THE CASE MAY BE, IT WAS A HUGE SAVE IN TIME.

NEXT SLIDE.

SO IF THIS IS SOMETHING THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN WOULD WANNA MOVE FORWARD WITH, WE WOULD BE MORE THAN WILLING TO WORK WITH YOU TO SIT DOWN WITH THE CITY TO TALK ABOUT CO-BRANDING, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE MARKETING ON OUR END AS WELL AS THE CITY OF AUSTIN MARKETING.

ON YOUR END, WE CAN TALK ABOUT WHERE DEPLOYMENT CAN BE IN SOME OF THE KEY AREAS OF THE CITY.

FOR EXAMPLE, CITY HALL, YOU KNOW, THE COURTHOUSES, UH, FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO NEED TO, UH, SPEAK WITH THE CLERKS, UM, YOUR POLICE STATIONS AND THOSE FRONT DESKS FOR THE DEAF INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE GOING THERE TO SPEAK WITH AN OFFICER, YOU CAN PUT PLACE THESE QR CODES ALL OVER THESE LOCATIONS, INCLUDING YOUR LIBRARIES.

YEAH, WE WILL PROVIDE ALL OF THE ONBOARDING AND TRAINING THAT WOULD BE NECESSARY AND PROVIDE ALL OF THE SUPPORT YOU NEED, INCLUDING 24 7 INTERPRETATION.

NEXT SLIDE.

SO, IF YOU WERE INTERESTED IN DEPLOYING, THIS IS WHAT THE DEPLOYMENT LOOKS LIKE.

ONE OF THE GREAT THINGS ABOUT COMBO ACCESS IS THAT IT DOESN'T REQUIRE ANY HARDWARE OR SOFTWARE TO BE AS, TO BE IMPLEMENTED IN YOUR SYSTEMS. IT REALLY IS AS EASY AS A STICKER, A POSTER, A LANYARD, UH, UH, A PAPER, A PIECE OF PAPER ON THE DESK, RIGHT? IT REALLY IS THAT EASY.

IT'S JUST THE QR CODE THAT NEEDS TO BE SCANNED AND THE DEAF INDIVIDUAL CAN START INTERACTING WITH YOUR STAFF MEMBERS ON THE SPOT.

NEXT SLIDE.

SO, WE WOULD LOVE TO PARTNER WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN.

WE CAN START BY DOING A PILOT IN THAT PILOT PROGRAM.

WE CAN GET YOU SET UP IN JUST A FEW KEY AREAS THAT YOU IDENTIFY TO PILOT AND SEE HOW THINGS ARE GOING, HOW USAGE IS GOING.

OUR GOAL IS TO ENSURE THAT EVERY DEAF RESIDENT IN AUSTIN HAS COMPLETE ACCESS TO COMMUNICATION REGARDLESS OF THE SITUATION FROM COMMUNICATIONS, THAT COULD BE MINOR TO COMMUNICATIONS, THAT COULD BE RELATED TO AN EMERGENCY, BUT TO RUN THAT SPECTRUM AND HAVE FULL ACCESS, HOPEFULLY CONVO AND THE CITY OF AUSTIN CAN PARTNER TOGETHER SOON.

NEXT SLIDE.

NOW IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, I'M MORE THAN HAPPY TO ANSWER THOSE.

AND, AND IF YOU WANT, YOU CAN STOP SHARING THE SCREEN, UH, THAT WAY I COULD JUST SEE EVERYONE A LITTLE BIT BETTER.

, THANK YOU SO MUCH, JOSEPH.

DOES ANYONE WANNA START OFF WITH QUESTIONS? COMMISSIONER MURPHY? I HAVE A COUPLE QUESTIONS.

UH, FIRST OF ALL, THIS IS, IT'S, TO ME, I THINK IT'S REALLY EXCITING, WOULD BE A REALLY EXCITING OPPORTUNITY FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN.

UM, YOU MENTIONED MTA, UM, WHEN, WHEN DID THAT PARTNERSHIP START? SO TWO SPECIFIC QUESTIONS.

WHEN DID THAT PARTNERSHIP START AND THEN, UM, THAT 94% ACTIVATION RATE THAT YOU SPOKE OF.

CAN YOU TALK ABOUT, UM, HOW YOU MEASURED THAT RATE, HOW YOU GOT TO THAT RATE OF USAGE? SURE.

THIS IS JOSEPH HERE AGAIN.

UM, SO WE STARTED OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH THE MTA, UH, IN FEBRUARY, UH, MARCH, FEBRUARY.

UM, AND YOU KNOW, IT, IT'S BEEN QUITE SUCCESSFUL.

THE ACTIVATION RATE IS DEFINED AS, YOU KNOW, SETTING UP THE QR CODE AND KNOWING THAT PEOPLE ARE ACTUALLY GONNA APPROACH IT AND SCAN IT.

THAT'S CONSIDERED ACTIVATION, AND WE'VE SEEN THAT ON THE RISE, UH, FROM ZERO ALL THE WAY UP TO 94% PRETTY QUICKLY.

AND OF COURSE, THOSE ARE ACROSS THE LOCATIONS OVER THE 20 DIFFERENT LOCATIONS.

SO

[00:45:01]

THAT'S 94% USAGE IN ALL THOSE LOCATIONS.

THANK YOU, JOSEPH.

I HAD A QUESTION.

SO WHAT IS THE ANTICIPATED ANNUAL COST OF THIS SERVICE FOR A CITY OF AUSTIN SIZE ? SURE.

UH, GREAT QUESTION.

THANK YOU FOR THAT.

UH, SO WHAT WE DO IS WE SET UP A FEE THAT, UM, IS TAILORED.

SO BASICALLY WE, UH, WORK WITH, UH, WE DON'T HAVE, WE, WE USE HARD DATA TO GO IN AND IDENTIFY WHAT USAGE MIGHT LOOK LIKE.

UM, I COULD SUGGEST THAT WE WOULD START AGAIN WITH A PILOT FIRST BEFORE WE, UM, SIT DOWN AND HAVE TALKS ABOUT ANNUAL PRICING.

UM, SO WHAT WE COULD DO IS PRICE OUT EACH DEPARTMENT SEPARATELY, OR WE COULD GIVE YOU AN ALL-IN-ONE FEE.

THAT WOULD BE THE ENTIRE CITY NOT BROKEN DOWN BY DEPARTMENT.

THAT WOULD REQUIRE SOME FURTHER DISCUSSION FROM US.

BUT AGAIN, I WOULD SUGGEST WE RUN A PILOT FIRST.

SO THERE'S NO SET RATE OR ANYTHING.

IT'S SUBJECT TO CONTRACTUAL NEGOTIATIONS.

IT IS, YES.

GOT IT.

THANK YOU.

I HAVE A QUESTION.

I WAS WONDERING, I WAS GONNA ASK ABOUT THE COST ALSO, BUT I WAS WONDERING IF YOU HAVE ANY PARTNERSHIPS WITH HOSPITALS, BECAUSE I'M THINKING WHEN INDIVIDUALS CAN'T NECESSARILY COMMUNICATE WITH SOMEONE, IF YOU HAD ANY PARTNERSHIPS AND, AND IF YOU'VE GOTTEN ANY FEEDBACK ABOUT WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.

YES.

SO, UH, WE DO HAVE PARTNERSHIPS WITH SEVERAL HOSPITALS.

A LOT OF THEIR FEEDBACK HAS BEEN EXTREMELY POSITIVE.

THERE HAVE BEEN, UH, THERE HAVE BEEN SITUATIONS WHERE, FOR EXAMPLE, UH, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE OVERWHELMED.

THEIR, THEIR, THEIR ER IS OVERWHELMED AND THEY DON'T REMEMBER ABOUT THE, THE QR CODE OR THEY CAN'T FIND THE QR CODE.

AND SO THEY NEED TO KIND OF SEEK IT OUT AND MAKE SURE THEY GET IT.

SO THAT'S WHAT ONE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS WE HAVE IS TO HAVE A STICKER THAT, UH, IS AT YOUR FRONT DESK, YOUR, YOUR BOOTH.