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Austin mayor blocks state police help for understaffed PD in move that caves to 'defund' activists: critics
By Andrew Miller
Published July 17, 2023
Austin, Texas, leaders are cutting ties with state police who were supplementing the understaffed local department despite crime reduction – in a move critics said cowered to liberal activists.
Austin Mayor Kirk Watson, a Democrat, announced on Wednesday that the city is suspending a partnership with the Texas Department of Safety, when officers responded to emergency calls to assist the defunded and understaffed Austin Police Department.
Watson had praised the partnership two days earlier and explained that crime and response times had gone down as a result – but in announcing the split, he said the partnership does not adhere to "Austin’s values."
The press release alluded to several interactions between DPS and citizens that left wing activists and city council members seized upon as evidence that DPS was acting improperly in the city and unfairly targeting minority communities.
One of those incidents involved a trooper reportedly pointing a gun at the head of a 10-year-old boy and his dad, according to their initial claim, during a traffic stop as the boy tried to exit the car. Bodycam footage released later by DPS contradicted the father’s story and showed the trooper had his gun pointed at the ground while following standard protocol.
A member of the Austin Police Department stands watch during the Gold Cup semifinal match between the United States and Qatar on Thursday, July 29, 2021 at Q2 stadium in Austin, Texas. (Nick Tre. Smith/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The department was down 500 officers while facing mass retirements amid the defund movement in the wake of protests and riots in reaction to the death of George Floyd.
Former Austin law enforcement members told Fox News Digital that the city’s move to end the partnership with the state has put politics in front of public safety and serves as an example of city leaders once again caving to left wing pressure rather than supporting police officers.
"This has gone off the rails," Austin Police Retired Officers Association President Dennis Farris told Fox News Digital. "I think he flipped out without knowing the facts and got some bad advice from his advisers."
"He made this decision and now that he’s made it literally 24 hours after he praised the partnership and said he foresaw it lasting until staffing was back up until we don’t need them, 24 hours later he says ‘Oh we were looking at disbanding the partnership anyway.’ That’s the worst flip-flop since John Kerry in the 2004 election saying I was for the war before I was against it."
Austin Mayor Kirk Watson waives to the crowd after the PGA World Golf Championships Dell Technologies Match Play on March 26, 2023, at Austin County Club in Austin, Texas. (David Buono/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
"He blew this entire thing up over the word of a third-grader" Farris said.
Violent crime was reportedly down 28% in Austin since the start of the partnership between APD and DPS, and 911 response times dropped by 1 minute and 15 seconds.
"He’s trying to pander to the left wing of his base because he knows he’s going to get challenged here in the next mayoral debate," Austin Police Officer Justin Berry told Fox News Digital about Watson’s actions. "He’s playing politics with everyone’s safety."
Berry added that he believes Watson likely wants to tell police critics in Austin to go "sit at the kids table" but is "in over his head" and doesn’t realize how far Democrats have moved to the left.
"The Austin Democrat Party, they're not Democrats, they're Marxists," Berry said. "It’s not the same party as when he was mayor back in the 90s."
Watson’s move to pull DPS troopers means that DPS officers will no longer respond to 911 calls in the city and will not work in close partnership with APD, but DPS jurisdiction still allows them to patrol the streets. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott doubled down on that on this week, announcing he is sending 30 additional DPS officers to the city.
Police enforcement block the streets in order to prevent abortion rights demonstrators from nearing the police station in Austin, Texas. (Suzanne Coredeiro/AFP via Getty Images)
"The City of Austin may not want police, but the residents deserve it & I will provide it," Abbott tweeted. "Crime has gone down in areas patrolled by the Texas Dept. of Public Safety. We will continue deploying state police to keep communities safe."
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Watson's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
https://www.foxnews.com/us/austin-mayor-blocks-state-police-help-for-understaffed-pd-in-move-that-caves-to-defund-activists-critics