Austin suffers 3 homicides in 24 hours as city council blames cop union for being understaffed

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Texas DPS release video of traffic stop that led city officials to suspend department’s partnership with Austin police

The driver admits to the trooper that he doesn't have proof of insurance or a title for the vehicle

As the Austin Police Department struggles to fill its ranks following the city council gutting its budget by one-third in 2020, three homicide investigations were opened in a 24-hour period Sunday. 

Officers responded to a home in the 7500 block of South Glenn St. around 4:30 p.m. Sunday for a welfare check after a family member reported that he hadn’t heard from a family member for several days. 

An Austin Police Department officer on patrol.  (Nick Tre. Smith/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

After gaining entry, officers found two individuals – a male and a female in their 70s – with gunshot wounds. Preliminary information pointed to a homicide, police said. 

Police responded to a shooting call near East 52nd Street and Cameron Road around 8:30 p.m. A man was discovered with "obvious trauma to the body" and pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators believe the man was shot following a verbal altercation with a man whom he knew. 

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Austin police opened a third homicide investigation at a gas station near the airport around 9:30 p.m. concerning a man killed in a "gun battle."

The violence comes days after the city suspended its partnership with the Texas Department of Public Safety. The partnership began in March after an increase in crime following the city council’s unanimous decision in August 2020 to slash the police department’s budget by about one-third. As of July 2023, the department is down by an estimated 500 officers. 

A Texas State trooper, gun drawn, approaches a vehicle during a traffic stop.  (Texas DPS)

Austin Mayor Kirk Watson suspended the partnership in response to reports of a traffic stop carried out by Texas state troopers. Initial reports said troopers had pointed a gun at a 10-year-old boy. Texas DPS later released body cam footage showing that the trooper had his gun pointed down and had defused the situation with the driver, who did not have a proper license plate, insurance, registration, or a license. 

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. After the APD-DPS suspension, Texas Gov. Greg Abbot said he would send 30 additional state troopers to Austin. 

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City Council Member MacKenzie Kelly said the governor’s move "demonstrates his commitment to ensuring the safety and security of the people who live, work, and visit Austin, especially at a time when our crime rates have been on the rise." 

"As a public safety advocate, I believe in the importance of law and order, protecting our communities, and maintaining the integrity of our law enforcement agencies," Kelly said. 

FILE: Texas DPS trooper exiting vehicle. (Texas DPS)

City Council Member Chito Vela said the city had entered its partnership with DPS in "good faith" but the department’s "tactics and approach to law enforcement were not in line with the type of policing that Austin residents demand." 

"The Austin City Council is a creative and governing body," Vela said. "We will find a way to address our staffing shortages without compromising the civil rights of our residents." 

Other city council members issued a joint statement, pinning the shortage of APD police officers on the Austin Police Association’s alleged unwillingness "to get more APD officers on the street." 

The APD-DPS partnership, they said, "proved to be out of step with what Austinites deserve from their police." 

"It’s time to continue building a police force that reflects the values of Austinites, but that requires APA to join us on this mission," the statement said. "Only together can we fully staff a department that has the best training, believes in meaningful oversight, and knows the community they are serving." 

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"The Austin Police Association spent well over a year, negotiating a contract in good faith with the City of Austin. That contract was never acted on by the same City Council blaming the APA for their problems," Austin Police Association President Thomas Villarreal told Fox News Digital in a statement. 

"As soon as the city is willing to actually negotiate, we will get back to the table and get a contract done."

Fox News' Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.