Residents in Austin, Texas, are expressing anger over police understaffing and longer response times for 911 calls after the city council voted to cut the department’s budget in 2020.
In February, ongoing staffing shortages left some parts of the city without a single police officer for several hours on Saturdays.
Michael Block, president of the Austin Police Association, called attention to the vacancy in X City, telling FOX News Digital that the city is “on the brink of disaster” due to a steady decline in public safety.
“Previous councils and leadership have been actively working against our officers and departments, and as a result, we are now in the midst of a staff shortage crisis,” Bullock warned. “Twice now, contracts have been rejected or contracts have been allowed to lapse. Every year since 2017, we have lost more police officers than we hired. They had to backfill the area.” They are patrolling only to respond to 911 calls. ”
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Last year, the department was on the brink of collapse with more than 40 people. An officer has submitted a notice of resignation. The documents were filed after the City Council voted 9-2 to scrap a four-year contract that had been agreed in principle and instead pursue a one-year contract that the police union’s board of directors rejected.
“As a result,” Brock continued, “our staffing levels have been set back by at least 15 years while simultaneously managing population growth of more than 250,000 new residents. Combined with the district attorney he left behind, it is clear that targeting police officers and letting criminals go free is his priority, not public safety.”
In 2020 after the Black Lives Matter riots, the Austin City Council unanimously voted to cut up to $150 million from the police budget (about 34% of the current total) and reinvest that money into other services. did. The following year, the Texas Legislature passed a law that essentially forced Austin to restore funding, but the executive shortage persists.
Ever since Lauren Klinefelter, a longtime Austin resident, was unable to get help after a car accident involving her young children in 2022, she knew she could call 911 and get help. He told Fox News Digital that those days are “a long time ago.”
“I needed an ambulance and emergency help because not only was my car badly damaged, but my children were bleeding and had visible injuries,” she said, adding that her children were only eight years old at the time. He added that he was 2 years old. “I called 911 and to my surprise it kept ringing and for non-emergency situations I was transferred to a 311 operator.”
Klinefelter said he was unable to get help and had to take a lift to a nearby hospital.
“My kids were bleeding and it had been over an hour, so I had no other choice and took a Lyft to the hospital and back home. Police never came to follow up on the incident. I haven’t heard from anyone.”
Aerial view of Austin, Texas. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
Nick Canter, whose brother Doug was killed in one of the most high-profile mass shootings in recent Austin history, said his brother would still be alive today if the police hadn’t been defunded. Told.
Doug, 25, was in Austin in June 2021 to celebrate his master’s degree with friends when he was confronted by a hostile teenager on busy 6th Avenue, the city’s entertainment and nightlife hub. Two gangsters fired at each other.
The New York native, who had bought a new home and was planning to marry his high school sweetheart, was killed in the shooting and 13 other innocent bystanders were injured.
“We found that anti-gang units and most crime prevention units were being defunded because of bias against the ethnicity of the people targeted by these factions of APD,” Nick told FOX. Ta. News Digital.
Canter’s family has criticized far-left Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza for the two years leading up to the shooter’s trial, including his decision not to file charges against several other gang members at the scene. became highly critical of. Deondre White was convicted of the shooting in September 2023 and sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Nick said the only person who acknowledged the family’s complaints was City Councilor Mackenzie Kelly.
“I think it’s clear that their policies failed spectacularly and ultimately killed my brother and hundreds of other people. And I think it’s clear that their policies failed spectacularly and ultimately killed my brother and hundreds of other people. And I think it’s important that they admit they made a mistake and make it right. Instead of doing their best to help, they chose.” [to] Ignore the statistics and keep thinking of more ways to dismantle the Austin Police Department. ”
Joe Gamaldi, vice president of the Fraternal Order of Police, said city council members who voted to defund the police, including current U.S. Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas), “don’t care about the people of Austin. I haven’t even kept it in place,” he said.
“What the Austin City Council has done has been horrible for the community,” he told Fox News Digital. “It takes more than 10 minutes to respond to a call,” he said. Some neighborhoods have been left unstaffed and councils should learn lessons from violent crime. 2021 saw a record number of murders, and the murder rate has remained close to that high ever since, and 2024 is unlikely to get any better. People are dying because of bad decisions. ”
Mr. Bullock praised the dedication of law enforcement officers in the face of adversity.
“Our former city council members and mayor should be ashamed of themselves for allowing us to go down this path. The more than 1,400 members of the Austin Police Association are committed to keeping our city safe. No matter the challenges we face, Austin’s best people are here to help bridge the gap between those who would commit fraud and innocent Austin residents. “We continue to work to fill the gap,” he said.
Klinefelter worries that if the department doesn’t get help soon, what happened to her will continue to happen.
“We understand that in some situations it takes a while to respond, but it’s frightening to have no response at all, especially when your baby is calling for help. We hope our streets will be safe again.” I hope the police will fill the vacancies because if they don’t, God help us all. ”
Ward 6 City Councilor Mackenzie Kelly, who was elected to the City Council as a result of the defunding vote, previously told Fox News Digital that rebuilding the police force would be a “gradual process.”
“Morale in our department is critical, and it is imperative that I, as city leader, prioritize the resources needed to support our recruitment and retention efforts,” Kelly said in a statement. “We currently have 79 cadets enrolled in the police academy, and we are working to strengthen our police department for the future.”
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A city spokesperson told Fox News Digital that APD “faces some of the most pressing departmental concerns within our organization, particularly in the areas of staffing and training.”
“The need for additional resources to APD remains a top priority, and the interim city manager will evaluate what options are available to the city,” the spokesperson said, adding, “The Austin City Council “We have provided additional support to APD by approving the investment,” he added. It is intended to authorize staffing, particularly retention bonuses and additional resources related to cadet classes. ”
FOX News’ Andrew Mark Miller, Greg Wenner and Bradford Betts contributed to this report.
