Residents in Austin, Texas, are expressing outrage over police staffing shortages and longer response times to 911 calls following the city council's vote to defund the department in 2020.
In February, one area of the city was left without a single police officer for a few hours on a Saturday due to the ongoing shortage.
Austin Police Association President Michael Bullock, who brought attention to the vacancy at X, told Fox News Digital that a steady decline in public safety has put the city on the “brink of disaster.”
“Previous boards and leaders have actively worked against our officers and department, which has now put us in a staffing crisis in free fall,” Bullock warned. “Twice now we've had our contract rejected or allowed to expire. Every year since 2017, we've lost more officers than we hired. We've had to gut our specialized units and force detectives to work as spares. We've had to patrol just to try to respond. to 911 calls.
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Last year, the department was on the brink of a staffing collapse after 40 officers presented withdrawal documents following a 9-2 vote on the city council to scrap a four-year contract that the city had previously agreed to in principle and instead seek a one-year contract that the police union board had rejected.
“As a result,” Bullock continued, “our staff has been set back at least 15 years and at the same time we have faced population growth of more than 250,000 new residents. Combine that with a district attorney who has made it very “Of course, attacking officers and freeing criminals is their priority, not public safety.”
In 2020, in the wake of the Black Lives Matter riots, Austin's city council voted unanimously to cut up to $150 million from its police department's budget (about 34% of its current total) and reinvest the funds in other services. . The following year, the Texas Legislature passed a law essentially forcing Austin to restore funding, but the agent shortage persists.
Longtime Austin resident Lauren Klinefelter told Fox News Digital that the days of knowing she would get help by making a 911 call are “gone” after she was unable to get help following a car accident in 2022 that involved his young children.
“We needed an ambulance and emergency assistance because not only was my car totaled, but my children were bleeding and visibly injured,” she said, adding that her children were only eight and two years old at the time. “I called 911 and, to my surprise, it rang and rang incessantly, only to be redirected to a non-emergency 311 operator.”
Klinefelter said they let her take a Lyft to the nearby hospital after she couldn't get help.
“My kids were bleeding and it had been over an hour, so with no other option, we took a Lyft to the hospital and back home. The police never showed up, no one contacted me to follow up on the incident.”
An aerial shot of Austin, Texas. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
Nick Kantor, whose brother Doug was killed in one of the most high-profile mass shootings in recent Austin history, said his brother would still be alive today if the police department were not defunded.
Twenty-five-year-old Doug was visiting Austin in June 2021 to celebrate earning his master's degree with friends when two rival gangs of teenagers opened fire on each other in the city's crowded Sixth Street entertainment and nightlife hub.
The New York native, who had just bought a new house and was about to marry his high school sweetheart, was killed in the shooting and 13 other innocent bystanders were injured.
“I discovered that the anti-gang task force, along with most of the anti-crime preventative measures, were the ones that were defunded due to prejudicial concerns about the ethnicity of the people targeted by these APD factions,” Nick told Fox. Digital news.
Kantor's family became highly critical of far-left Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza in the two years leading up to the shooter's trial, including his decision not to file charges against the other gang members who were at the scene. . De'ondre White was convicted and sentenced to 30 years for the September 2023 shooting.
Nick said only one city council member, Mackenzie Kelly, has acknowledged his family's grievances.
“I think it's pretty clear that their policies epically failed and ultimately killed my brother along with hundreds of other people. And instead of accepting that they made a mistake and doing everything they can to correct it, they have chosen [to] “Ignore the statistics and continue coming up with more ways to dismantle the Austin Police Department.”
Fraternal Order of Police Vice President Joe Gamaldi said to council members who voted to defund the police, including now-U.S. House Rep. Greg Casary, D-Texas , “they don't give a damn about the people of Austin.”
“What the Austin City Council did was horrible for the community,” he told Fox News Digital. “There is no one left to cover this shortage because the city council treats officers like scum. Responses to emergency calls now take more than 10 minutes. Some districts are left without staff. City hall should learn a lesson about violent crime “2021 was the highest year for murders on record and since then the homicide rate remains near that high and it looks like 2024 will be no better. People are dying because of bad decisions.”
Bullock praised the commitment of law enforcement officers in the face of adversity.
“Our former council members and mayors should be ashamed of themselves for allowing us to go down this path. The more than 1,400 members of the Austin Police Association are here to do everything they can to keep our city safe. No matter what challenges we face, “Austin's finest continue to show up to work to close the gap between those who seek to do evil and innocent Austinites,” he said.
Klinefelter fears what happened to him will continue to happen if the department doesn't get help soon.
“I understand longer response times in certain situations, but no response is scary! Especially when your babies are the ones you're seeking help for. I hope our city can be safe again and the police department can fill the gaps. , Because if not, may God help us all.”
District 6 Councilwoman Mackenzie Kelly, elected to the council after the defunding vote, previously told Fox News Digital that rebuilding the police force will be a “gradual process.”
“Our department's morale is crucial, and as city leaders, it is imperative that we prioritize providing the necessary resources to support recruitment and retention efforts,” Kelly said in a statement. “With 79 cadets currently in the police academy, we are taking steps to strengthen our police department for the future.”
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A city spokesperson told Fox News Digital that APD “faces some of the organization's most pressing departmental concerns, particularly in the area of staffing and training.”
“The need for additional resources for APD remains a top priority and the interim city manager will evaluate what options are available to the city,” the spokesperson said, adding: “The Austin City Council has provided additional support to APD by authorizing investments significant for staffing and specifically retention bonuses, as well as approving additional resources related to cadet classes.
Fox News' Andrew Mark Miller, Greg Wehner and Bradford Betz contributed to this report.
