Austin residents who want to know more about when police pull the trigger now have a new way to look under the hood. The city's civilian police-oversight office has rolled out an interactive officer-involved shooting dashboard that charts every shooting on record since 2018, complete with maps, narratives and breakdowns of who was involved and what kind of force was used. The launch is tied to a public demo and feedback session set for June 6 at Conley-Guerrero Senior Activity Center.
According to the Austin Police Oversight landing page, the dashboard is organized into four main sections: Overview, Officer Insights, Subject Insights and Incident Details. Users can search by year, council district, Austin Police Department sector and ZIP code. The Incident Details tab lays out timelines, reasons for contact and whether a case ended in a fatal or non-fatal shooting, along with officer age, race and years of service. The office also released a Spanish-language version and a set of FAQs to guide residents through the maps and charts.
What the dashboard shows
The interactive data traces roughly 60 officer-involved shootings between 2018 and 2025, with about 36 ending in fatalities, the Austin Current reported. The outlet found that Hispanic men made up about 44% of those killed and that about 151 officers were involved altogether, with roughly 70% identifying as white and an average officer age just over 30. The reporting also notes that less-lethal tools, such as tasers and pepper-ball launchers, appeared in about 17% of incidents.
Criminologists and advocates quoted in the coverage say the numbers are a starting point, not the final word. Texas State University professor Brian Withrow told the Austin Current that newer officers often end up in higher-call areas, which can skew who shows up most in the data. He also said that comparing the demographics of people shot by police to the makeup of APD's patrol force is key before anyone tries to draw firm conclusions.
Public demo and next steps
Austin Police Oversight plans to walk residents through the dashboard and collect feedback at the Police Oversight Implementation Work Group meeting on Saturday, June 6, at Conley-Guerrero Senior Activity Center, according to the city's event listing on PublicInput. Organizers say the session will include translation services, ASL interpretation and a light breakfast for anyone who shows up ready to sift through the numbers.
The rollout also featured a public statement from APO Director Gail McCant, who said the tool is intended to make officer-involved shooting data more accessible so residents can better understand what is happening, spot trends and build public trust, as reported by KXAN.
The dashboard is already live on the office's website and includes a Spanish-language version and FAQs that walk users through how to explore the dataset, per Austin Police Oversight. Visitors can filter incidents by year or neighborhood, then click into specific cases to read narrative summaries and view maps. APO says the data will be updated as new cases are closed and reviewed.
Advocates and oversight commissioners say the dashboard's real test will be whether the city uses it to shape training, discipline and policy, and whether the oversight office keeps the information current and clearly explained. The Community Police Review Commission's recent minutes highlight the office's push for accessible reporting and shared case files, a step the commission has called critical to public trust, per the Community Police Review Commission meeting minutes.
