Government
BY BEN THOMPSON
Federal investigation of APD sought by leaders Austin leaders joined Travis County District Attor- ney José Garza on Dec. 4 in asking the Department of Justice to investigate the Austin Police Depart- ment’s response to the city’s social justice and police brutality demonstrations of late May 2020. In addition to requesting the federal review, Garza also announced that 17 APD officers indicted for their actions during the protests will have their charges dismissed. His office’s prosecutions against four other officers will continue. The breakdown Garza, Mayor Kirk Watson and interim Austin City Manager Jesús Garza on Dec. 4 asked the Jus- tice Department’s Civil Rights Division to conduct a formal investigation of “policies, practices and procedures” related to APD use of force during the 2020 protests. In a statement, Watson likened the process to a “performance review.”
New rule limits city parkland gains A state-mandated change to Austin’s regulations requiring new developments to contribute to the city’s parkland expansion efforts will go into effect Jan. 1. The background House Bill 1526, requiring Texas cities with at least 800,000 residents to update their parkland dedication processes, became law this spring. The changes must be in effect by the start of 2024. The details City Council voted to advance new park- land dedication policies imposed by HB 1526 during their Nov. 30 meeting. These changes are expected to significantly reduce the amount of parkland the city acquires this way, city staff and some officials previously said.
A closer look
in settlements issued those injured during May 2020 police demonstrations Over $20 million
will have their charges dismissed 17 indicted officers
are still being prosecuted by the county 4 officers
SOURCE: CITY OF AUSTIN/COMMUNITY IMPACT
The context Dozens of people were injured by police on May 30-31, 2020, in the wake of the killing of Mike Ramos by APD officers and the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police. More than 50 people were arrested, and nearly two dozen APD officers ended up indicted for uses of force as a result—most of whom will now return to duty with no criminal charges pending.
Kits for preparedness Free winter weather toolkits will be offered at Austin Water customer service centers around the city. Distribution events include:
Austin leaders stress emergency response progress
Since then, Austin’s utilities, emergency manage- ment office and other relevant departments have been improving their preparedness policies and beefing up their resiliency, officials said. What else? Preparedness pop-up events for residents are also scheduled to take place across city next year.
Ahead of the winter season, Austin-area elected officials on Dec. 1 provided an update on local governments’ preparedness efforts follow- ing Winter Storm Mara earlier in February. The details The storm brought widespread power outages across Austin alongside complaints of lacking communications and response efforts by the city.
Jan. 10 from 8 a.m.-2 p.m. at 8716 Research Blvd., Ste. 115
Jan. 11 from 8 a.m.-2 p.m. at 800 Webberville Road
Jan. 12 from 8 a.m.-2 p.m. at 1901 W. William Cannon Drive, Ste. 100
SOURCE: CITY OF AUSTIN/COMMUNITY IMPACT
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