CITY HALL

Austin City Council sets emergency hearing to review police tactics during protests

Ryan Autullo / and Mark D. Wilson /
Austin police officers line up along Interstate 35 before using tear gas and clearing the area during a protest in Austin on Sunday.

Austin City Council members said Monday that they will hold an emergency hearing this week to address concerns about officers’ response to racial injustice protests over the weekend and to address what they see as little cooperation from Austin police leadership to transform policing policies.

Council members scheduled the hearing for Thursday afternoon, after the regular council meeting.

The emergency hearing follows a weekend of protests and unrest in Austin and other U.S. cities following the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died after a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for several minutes while he was handcuffed on the ground, saying he couldn't breathe and pleading for help

Floyd’s killing, which led to a murder charge against officer Derek Chauvin, continued a disturbing trend nationwide of unarmed black men dying in police custody or being shot by officers. That list includes the April death of 42-year-old Michael Ramos, who was seen on a bystander video fleeing in a vehicle when he was fatally shot by Austin officer Christopher Taylor. The shooting is scheduled to be reviewed by a Travis County grand jury.

Among the issues expected to be addressed at the emergency hearing is officers’ use of tear gas and rubber bullets against people who appeared to have been protesting peacefully.

“The bottom line is it’s up to us as governments to step up and to change the way we do things to show we’re listening to people’s really real concerns and to show we care about black lives,” Council Member Greg Casar said Monday.

Council Member Natasha Harper-Madison, who led the effort to launch an investigation into allegations of racism within the Austin Police Department this year, said there is deep rage building in Austin and throughout the country.

“The deaths of people like George Floyd, Mike Ramos, Breonna Taylor, David Joseph, Sandra Bland, Larry Jackson Jr., Philando Castile, Tamir Rice, Eric Garner and too many other unarmed black men and women continue to highlight the racism embedded in our criminal justice system,” she said.

Harper-Madison said those who protested over the weekend are justifiably furious and said the community cannot ignore the issue.

“When talking about meaningful change, all options should be on the table. That means we should look at accountability measures, training policies, crowd control tactics, how we equip our officers, community policing, staffing and budgets,” she said. “The time for talk is over. We hear the collective voice of agony calling for justice, and we are ready to respond.”

Council Member Delia Garza, who watched live feeds of the protests, said she was concerned that officers set up a wall with bicycles and advanced toward a crowd that was moving toward City Hall on Sunday afternoon.

Garza said she relayed her concerns to Police Chief Brian Manley. She said Manley told her the officers needed to move protesters to clear room for cars and city buses that were blocked.

“The reason I don't understand that explanation, and I expressed this to him, was that there were cars stuck everywhere,” Garza said.

Garza also expressed frustration over what she views as little cooperation from the department in reforming policies. “It doesn’t feel like we're making progress, even though we keep trying,” she said.

City laws generally prevent council members from discussing personnel, so it’s unlikely anyone on the 11-member panel will press for the dismissal of Manley, whose employment status has come under question over the shooting of Ramos and the findings of a racism investigation that recommended a major shift in the department’s culture.

A determination on Manley’s employment can be made only by City Manager Spencer Cronk.

Council Member Paige Ellis said she was also concerned about the treatment of protesters and released a statement saying, “I stand with my colleagues who continue to call for meaningful change at APD and in our community.”

Ellis added: “We must be allowed to exercise our First Amendment right to free speech without the threat of bodily harm. The vast majority of the people who came out over the weekend were protesting peacefully.”

Austin Police Association President Ken Casady said he thought the officers responding to protesters did “an excellent job.” He said some protesters were throwing rocks, bricks and bags filled with urine.

“You have to respond to that,” he said. “You can’t let officers get hurt, and you can’t let citizens who are peacefully protesting get hurt.”