Thousands of Austin residents protested in May 2020 in response to the death of Minneapolis man George Floyd and Mike Ramos, who was fatally shot by an APD officer in April 2020. Several protesters were injured by police officers who used less-lethal bean bag shotguns, leading to a slew of lawsuits against the department totaling over $14 million in settlements.
“These protests, a direct result of the deaths of George Floyd and Mike Ramos, changed from mostly peaceful crowds into violent gatherings, which escalated into criminal acts and injured protest participants and officers, and destroyed property. The protests outside police headquarters, which led to officers' direct response and mobilization, were unlike any this city or department had seen,” APD said in a press release.
The report analyses how APD responded to the 2020 protests and what areas could be improved upon, including “thorough and regular” de-escalation training, crowd management and tactical response training.
Police Chief Joseph Chacon said the now-prohibited bean bag rounds will be replaced by pepper balls, a non-lethal weapon similar to pepper spray used for crowd control.
Chacon said APD has already implemented some training, mentioning APD was “poised and prepared” during May protests related to overturning Roe v. Wade.
“I can promise you we will never see another response similar to the one in 2020,” Chacon said.
