The city of Austin is facing a lawsuit over its alleged failure to implement a voter-approved policy aimed at increasing police oversight. Equity Action, the nonprofit behind the Austin Police Oversight Act, announced a legal challenge, aiming to compel the city to move forward with the reform that advocates say has been stymied by bureaucratic foot-dragging and legal red tape.
According to the Austin Monitor, the civil suit names interim Austin Police Chief Robin Henderson, interim City Manager Jesús Garza, and Gail McCant, director of the Office of Police Oversight, as defendants. The organization alleges these city officials have neglected their duty by not allowing the Office of Police Oversight access to internal disciplinary records of officers, in direct conflict with the mandate handed down by voters with Proposition A's passage.
Proposition A was overwhelmingly supported by Austin's electorate back in May, securing a four-to-one victory margin. Despite this show of public support, the city has yet to reimplement the policy changes. Officials assert the delay stems from ongoing renegotiations with the police union's contract, which they claim restricts the expansion of the oversight group's powers under the current temporary agreement. As reported by KUT, the police union has expressed concern that such measures would contravene state law.
Public calls for increased police accountability have fueled this standoff, particularly after Proposition B, which would have inhibited civilian oversight, was rejected by 80% of voters. Despite the clear directive from the citizenry, the city and the Austin Police Association appear to be at an impasse. Mayor Kirk Watson acknowledged the difficulty of the situation in a newsletter, expressing a desire to mend "the very broken relationship between City Hall and our police," yet details on how this reconciliation could be achieved remain scant.
The timing of these events could not be more critical, coming on the heels of dismissed charges against 17 officers involved in the 2020 racial justice protests. The District Attorney, alongside Watson and Henderson, offered a joint statement on the dismissals and urged a Department of Justice review of APD's use of force in the protests.
