Austin leaders joined Travis County District Attorney José Garza in asking the Department of Justice to investigate the Austin Police Department'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.
“No parent should fear that if their child chooses to voice their First Amendment right to assemble peacefully, they will walk away with serious bodily injury caused by the very person called upon to protect them,” Garza said in a statement. “We expect the Department of Justice will take our request seriously, and we look forward to working with Mayor [Kirk] Watson, interim APD Chief Robin Henderson and City Council to ensure full cooperation with the DOJ investigation. We will also continue to hold law enforcement who break the law accountable.”
The breakdown
Garza, Watson and interim Austin City Manager Jesús Garza on Dec. 4 asked the Justice 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."
"The parties seek DOJ review to help provide transparent closure for the community, to ensure that justice is done, and that any response to similar protests in the future will not result in unnecessary or unlawful use of force," the trio wrote in their request.
City and county officials asked for a "pattern or practice investigation," a type of federal review used to determine whether local governments or law enforcement officers are depriving residents of their constitutional rights. Pattern or practice investigations into the cities and police departments of Trenton, New Jersey, and Lexington, Mississippi, were launched this fall.
A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment on the investigation request Dec. 4. The APD did not respond to a request for comment.
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.
Outside of those proceedings, Austin has so far paid millions of dollars to people injured by police officers, with individual settlements reaching as high as $8 million.Additional payments are still expected on top of the more than $20 million already agreed to, representing a large portion of the city's continued spending to cover the costs of police misconduct.
The city's Office of Police Oversight also tracked a spike in complaints against police officers that year, likely stemming from the protests.
The APD's crowd control tactics in spring 2020 drew quick scrutiny and eventually led to changes, such as the phasing out of "less lethal" beanbag shotgun rounds for such situations.
In the summer of 2020, City Council committed to a suite of public safety reforms, including a historic police budget reduction that was quickly rolled back by state lawmakers.
Last year, the APD completed its own internal report on its officers' actions during the 2020 protests that found room for improvement in areas such as de-escalation training and crowd response. That report also cites difficulties with bean bag rounds that led to "unintended injuries," while crediting officers' performance while facing tough conditions, including "substantial abuse" from the crowds.
Quotes of note
“This has been a difficult chapter for Austin. I look forward to turning the page. These announcements will allow police officers, whose lives were upended by the indictments, to return to their services to our community,” Watson said in a statement. “And the request for a targeted third-party performance review is meant to enhance transparency for our community and inform future actions as we continue our focus on building respect and trust for our police.”
“I believe it important to note that since the time of the 2020 protests, the city has implemented numerous policy and procedure changes,” Jesús Garza said. “We welcome a review by the DOJ in that regard to ensure we are moving forward as a community and as a police department in the right direction.”
Austin and Travis County leaders' Dec. 4 letter to the Justice Department can be viewed below.
