Copwatch ATX

09/12/2020

https://www.kxan.com/news/local/austin/austin-police-officer-arrested-on-sexual-assault-charge/?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=socialflow&fbclid=IwAR2aE9ruLnA4exKEGZpbVD4GURGtInLSbqNpADAnCR8bCG9WGbyTR0bSe_8

34-year-old Walter Dodds, who was accused of sexual misconduct in April, was arrested Thursday on a second-degree sexual assault charge.

09/10/2020

09/10/2020

He said "back the blue".

He's also threatened to take over Austin's police department and freeze property tax revenue levels of cities who tried to defund their police.

09/09/2020

Woooow

Two billboards along I-35 read ‘Warning! Austin police defunding – Enter at your own risk!’ accompanied by the TMPA logo and the social media hashtag .

09/04/2020

We're hoping this is an empty threat due to budget reasons, but they could deploy/utilize DPS troops. This is dangerous as they are allowed to use less lethal weapons on civilians. We will be keeping an eye out on this one.

"The director of DPS would control operations of the new department, and the state’s Public Safety Commission, a five-member board that oversees DPS and is appointed by the governor, would decide its budget, said Keel, who is also a former Travis County sheriff. The money would then be taken from state sales revenue taxes usually sent to the city."

https://www.texastribune.org/2020/09/03/texas-greg-abbott-austin-police/?utm_source=Greg+Casar+Contacts&utm_campaign=3fa92421ec-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_05_03_06_42_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_2d049d87f1-3fa92421ec-539457750

09/04/2020

👀

If passed, the legislative proposal could consolidate Austin's police department under the Texas Department of Public Safety.

09/03/2020

"Project Safe Neighborhoods provides resources for federal, state and local law enforcement to investigate, prosecute and prevent organized crime and gun violence in cities nationwide. City of Austin Grant Manager Kyran Fitzgerald said the program had been operating in Austin for roughly a year, focusing on downtown Austin and the Riverside neighborhood."

Ahead of Thursday’s city council meeting, $128,019 in funding for the Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative was taken off the agenda altogether, but not because of the grant review process.

09/01/2020

https://www.statesman.com/news/20200831/protester-sues-accuses-austin-police-of-abuse-in-i-35-encounter

One of the first lawsuits to come out of Austin’s racial injustice protests was filed late last week, as a protester accused three Austin police

08/31/2020

"AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin council members voted to accept several state grants for the Austin Police Department on Thursday. Most of these items were passed on the council’s consent agenda, however, on item was postponed until September 3. The postponed item would authorize $128,000 in grant funding from the state for APD to use in a program called Project Safe Neighborhoods in the Downtown and Riverside areas.

The handouts were scrutinized closely by city leaders earlier in the week at a time when Austin and many other U.S. cities are reforming their police budgets.

Among the items council approved Thursday: a platform for the police helicopter and a first responder mental health program. However, while the contract to for a multifunctional seating platform and rappel attachment for the police helicopter was approved, Council Members Jimmy Flannigan, Natasha Harper-Madison, and Paige Ellis abstained from the vote and Mayor Pro Tem Delia Garza voted no on that item."

Among the items up for vote Thursday: money aimed at crime prevention in the Downtown and Riverside areas, a platform for the police helicopter and a first responder mental health program.

08/30/2020

https://www.reddit.com/r/Austin/comments/ije26t/829_a_female_journalist_gets_thrown_to_the_ground/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share

Posted in r/Austin by u/_Slaymetra_ • 1,101 points and 417 comments

08/24/2020

"Condon wrote that after Griffin had been struck once or twice, he threw down the weapon, which the footage shows skidding toward the officers. At that point, "rather than arresting him and giving him a chance at his life," Condon's letter continues, "the officers then fired somewhere in the order of 25 to 30 additional shots at [Griffin] – with his back to them, lying face down on the ground, and disarmed."

No footage from the incident has been released to the public, and the D.A.'s Office continues its review of the case. The eight officers were placed on paid administrative leave at the time, as is standard procedure, but it is unclear when they returned to regular duty. At least one returned to active duty: Joseph Cast went on to be one of three officers involved in the fatal shooting of Mauris DeSilva, who was undergoing a mental health crisis, in July 2019. (Another of those three, Christopher Taylor, went on to fire the shots that killed Mike Ramos this past April.)"

Ajay Griffin did not point a gun at officers, attorneys claim