Anthony Mireles
Interim city manager Jesús Garza and Mayor Kirk Watson announced that a partnership between the Austin Police Department and the Texas Department of Public Safety is again suspended after its reinstatement earlier this month.
Initially created to address staffing shortages at APD and increase community safety, the partnership garnered much controversy following reports that most of those arrested were Black and Latino.
The suspension was prompted by a DPS trooper reportedly pointing a gun at a father and his son on July 9 and another trooper reportedly shooting a man in the arm on the morning of July 10 after a car chase.
“We have heard Mayor and Council’s concerns about recent events and agree that we must have absolute certainty that any solution we put in place maintains the trust and well-being of our community members and that all law enforcement officers working to keep our city safe are on the same page when it comes to policing practices,” Garza said in a press release.
Vanessa Fuentes, District 2 city council member who represents many people feeling targeted by the partnership, said she hopes the partnership is not only suspended but also ceased.
“We’ve been raising the flag that many in our community didn’t feel safe, and the disproportionate impact this ‘partnership’ was having on our east side communities,” Fuentes said in a Tweet. “It’s unfortunate it took comprising the safety of a child for this to happen.