Austin Police Accountability Coalition (APAC) Needs Your Help
Submitted by Ann del Llano on Thu, 2010-07-22 23:46
APAC invites all concerned citizens to join the movement whether online or in person. This message is from APAC to all residents of Austin:
We are a group of organizations and individuals who are dedicated to common principles of meaningful police transparency and accountability for the Austin Police Department. We want to see APD provide safety for all residents of Austin.
Problem
- In 2001 the people of Austin made our police officers the highest paid in the nation.
- In return, we were promised meaningful police accountability and transparency.
- Over the past ten years, APD has continued to treat people on the East side with a disproportionate share of excessive force and to take human life under questionable circumstances.
- Austin's city attorney was forced to resign after covering up an independent investigation from the public because it criticized the officer.
- The people of Austin still lack meaningful police accountability or transparency and our city leaders remain silent.
Solutions APAC Brings to the Table
- City ordinance. Move the main part of our civilian oversight system out of the police union contract and into a city ordinance so the people of Austin have a say in how it operates.
- Subpoena power so that the officer must reveal his side of the story.
- Open police civilian oversight meetings to the public or allow complainants to choose whether to have their meeting open to the public.
- Allow public access to police misconduct files to the same extent the public has access for all other city employees, Travis County Sheriff deputies, and police in 90% of the other cities and towns in Texas.
- Policy recommendations. Expand use of the civilian oversight panel to make policy recommendations to the City Council, City Manager and APD Chief.
Additional Recommendations
- Place the Police Monitor's Office (PMO)/Citizens Review Panel (CRP) under the City Auditor as opposed to the City Manager, whereby the Auditor answers to the Mayor and Council, who answer to the community OR make the Police Monitor an elected representative.
- Require an independent entity to train the CRP instead of the APD internal affairs division. The people who the CRP is reviewing should not be the same people who train them how to review them - it is a conflict of interest.
- Grant the PMO/CRP its own legal counsel or grant independent legal counsel to the City Auditor that would be at their disposal...whether on staff or as an independent contracted entity.
- Increase the CRP to have 9 members who each represent a different APD geographic sector.
- Require regular random drug testing police officers, as authorized but not required in the current police contract, and institute automatic testing in force & accident situations.
THE REAL SOLUTION involves you and me, all of us, continuing to call for meaningful change until these problems are solved.
Join Us On Facebook
Click here to join our facebook group.
Join Us In Person
APAC meets every other Tuesday from 6:30-8:00pm at an East Austin library near you! Next meeting: Tuesday, August 31, 2010, at the Terrazos Library on Cesar Chavez.
Become a Member of APAC
If you and/or your organization agree with APAC principles and would like to join, give us your contact information and we will be sure that you are included in meeting notices and outreach materials.
Please send this information to Debbie Russell at debmocracy@yahoo.com
- name
- organization name if membership is for your organization
- voice mail number
- texting number
- facebook name
- website if you want your site to be a resource link to other APAC member sites:
- address/city/zip
Read more:
What will Austin council members do about police accountability on July 29?
Austin Community Meeting, May 19, 2010
Long ago concessions by city contract negotiators delayed release of report on police shooting
