An Austin police union has exposed the “miserable” conditions faced by officers after the Defund movement looted offices and gutted the workforce.
The killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer and the resulting Black Lives Matter riots led to widespread demonization of police forces across the United States.
The Austin Police Department’s budget has been slashed by a $150 million cut approved by the Democratic-run Texas City Council following its own scandal following the shooting of an unarmed black man in April 2020 – just weeks before Floyd’s death.
The Austin Police Association (APA) told that the ongoing impact of the defund movement had torn ranks, leading to officers resigning and making it increasingly difficult to recruit replacement staff.
Since the BLM protests, crime has skyrocketed, homicide rates are booming, and the city ranks 15th nationwide out of 45 with the highest homicide rates, while desperate 911 callers are left on hold for up to half an hour.
An Austin police union has exposed the “miserable” conditions faced by officers after the Defund movement looted offices and gutted the workforce
APA President Thomas Villareal and Cpl. and APA Chairman Christopher Irwin, in a new podcast released by the union, traced the Defund movement back to late 2017, when discussions arose about a “reconfiguration” of the police force
The Austin City Council approved a budget of $443.1 million for APD for the 2021–2022 fiscal year, increasing it from $309.7 million in 2020 after it was cut. The bright city leaders have proposed a budget of $476.5 million for 2023-2024, but adjusted for inflation, that’s about $50 million less than the 2019-2020 budget
APA President Thomas Villareal told the union was shunned after more than two decades of contract negotiations with the city.
In 2017, for the first time in its history, a proposed collective agreement was rejected.
Villareal said by this point calls had already been made to withdraw funds from the police.
“Our officers were working without a contract for the first time in almost 20 years and this downward trend began both in terms of staffing and morale,” Villareal said.
“During 2018, the city initiated a process to “redesign police oversight.” This redesign of the process hurt morale further as officers felt they had no control over how these oversight processes would unfold.
“We eventually worked with the activists to agree on a deal that would achieve their stated goals.”
“This collaboration with the activists was short-lived and the same people who supported the 2018 treaty later came out against us in 2020.”
The state legislature passed legislation in 2021 that forced Austin to restore the cut funding, but by that time the brain drain of cops who were retiring or deciding to leave in large numbers had already begun.
The $150 million cut accounted for a third of the police budget — by far the largest share of any American city that cut funds in the wake of the BLM riots.
The city has proposed a budget of $476.5 million for 2023-2024, but adjusted for inflation, that’s about $50 million less than 2019.
Since 2017, more than 800 officers have left the APD. Villareal attributed much of those figures to defunding and contractual ambiguity. The force currently has around 1,445 officers, but their numbers continue to decline.
“A key theme that comes across in almost all of them is that people are willing to work for a city that they feel doesn’t support them,” he said.
Christopher Taylor of the Austin Police Department is accused of the April 24 shooting of Michael Ramos (pictured)
Footage released of the incident showed that Ramos (pictured) had announced he was unarmed and had his hands above his head before he was shot in Austin
“Both people retiring and people returning to work in the private sector have expressed this opinion.”
This issue has been taken up by both young recruits and those retiring, Villareal said.
“We have young officers who realize that because everyone mourns the loss of officers these days, they have the ability to work in law enforcement anywhere in the country,” he said.
“We have retired officers who recognize that they too can pass on their years of experience to other agencies who value their experience and work in a place where officers feel valued overall.”
Earlier this year, Austin was ranked as the 15th biggest problem in homicide rates, according to a WalletHub study — between 2021 and 2023, the rate rose 10 percent in 45 US cities, and that number is continuing to rise.
It was the third city in Texas, behind Dallas at number 7 and Garland at number 14.
The report compared 45 of the most populous US cities based on homicides per capita in the first quarter of 2023 and then to the first quarters of 2021 and 2022, based on data available as of April 20.
Earlier this year, racers wreaked havoc by throwing firecrackers at police vehicles, sparking a huge roadside fire – while 911 calls were put on hold for nearly half an hour, revealing the marked decline in the department’s workforce.
Several police vehicles were damaged in what officials dubbed a “street race.”
At least one officer was injured and several people caught fire when a vehicle was eating donuts downtown.
Councilman Alison Alter told the Austin American-Statesman at the time that she was on hold for 28 minutes after stumbling upon the takeover.
The average wait time for a 911 call in Austin was two and a half minutes, according to reports in October – due to staff shortages – due to 150 job cuts during the Defund movement that were never reinstated.
The killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer and the resulting Black Lives Matter riots led to widespread demonization of police forces across the United States
Ramos was killed in April 2020 – just before Floyd’s killing in Minneapolis in May
Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin kneels on Floyd’s neck Monday, May 25, 2020, in Minneapolis
The APA blamed local lawmakers for the “chaos” and said they “failed to make the right decisions and continue to deprive, destroy and demoralize public safety.”
APA chairman Christopher Irwin stressed that the staff shortage had a major impact on the police force and claimed the theory that the department “got all the money back” was a common misconception.
He pointed out that whenever funding is cut or contract changes are made, officials and employees are “leaving the company in droves.”
“We keep hearing that the police haven’t been stripped of their funds, they got all the money back, yes and no,” he said.
“Every time that happens, if we get out of contract or if the department just gets turned on its head, people leave in droves.
“People who are entitled to retirement.” [or] “People who are just fed up with activists controlling the city council and losing out on grants.”
Irwin gives an example of working for the parks department in 2017, saying he saw a “fairly large number of people leave” when negotiations for the annual contract seemed to falter.
“Rather than lose a large sum of money that they thought they would never get back because we didn’t have a contract, they decided to leave,” he explained.
“It keeps happening, every time we’re out of contract or when those funds are withdrawn, those entities get eliminated.”
“There are a lot of people in these units that are, well, the only place they’ve ever wanted to work.
“They’ve spent their time on patrol and now they’re where their hearts have drawn them, whether it was part of park patrol, whether it was part of road patrol, motor vehicles, or county officials.”
Irwin also points out that many of these units specialize in people who are “willing to give their time and energy wholeheartedly.”
According to the Pew Research Center, as of October 2021, support for cutting police funds had dipped somewhat from 25 percent in 2020 to 15 percent in 2021
In one clip, street takeover participants can be seen ablaze after a vehicle made donuts, setting bystanders on fire
Irwin was among 19 Austin police officers charged with allegedly using excessive force during the BLM protests in May 2020. A case has been filed against Irwin as of February 22, 2022, but it is unclear when he will appear in court.
Speaking on his Safer America Plan in Pennsylvania around this time last year, US President Joe Biden said, “It’s based on a simple idea: When it comes to public safety in this country, the answer isn’t ‘withdraw funds for the police’.” ‘It’s about funding the police.
“We expect them to do everything, we expect them to protect us, to be psychologists and sociologists,” he told more than 500 people at Wilkes University.
“It is disgusting to see the new attacks on the FBI threatening the lives of law enforcement officials and their families for simply following the law and doing their job.”
Despite the nation’s change of heart, Irwin and Villareal, who interviewed service members in Austin, said the damage was “truly done.”
They noted the significant changes they had seen in their own department after Michael Ramos was fatally shot by APD officer Christopher Taylor, who is due to appear in court October 16.
Taylor was scheduled to appear in court in May, but allegations of possible jury rigging and inability to fill a jury resulted in a mistrial.
The 31-year-old shot an unarmed Ramos in April 2020 – shortly before Floyd’s killing in Minneapolis in May.
This is the first of two murder charges against Taylor, who was charged with another officer in connection with the death of Dr. Mauris Desilva was charged in July 2019.
“The problems that started in 2017/2018 put us in a downward spiral,” said Villareal.
“We’re losing more people than we can recruit, hire and train.” It doesn’t matter if an authorized position has been funded if there is literally no person in that position who could fill the position.
“What has happened here is that we are working with very understaffed patrol shifts who rely on officers to come by and volunteer overtime just to be able to answer 911 calls.”
Onlookers frantically ran from the burning streets of Austin over the weekend. According to police, one officer was injured in the ordeal
For those who have left, Irwin said, “So far we’ve lost five units to the Defunding movement and two other units have been drastically downsized” — in the wake of the movement
The most significant change was seen in Austin, where a third of the department’s total $434 million was cut
“The City Council’s decision to halt APD academies in 2020 will resonate with Austin citizens for well over a decade.”
More than 20 major cities have cut their police budgets in some way in the wake of the Defund police movement.
Advocacy groups have raked in over $840 million in direct cuts and at least $160 million in community service investments, according to a report published by Interrupting Criminalisation.
The most significant change was seen in Austin, where about $21.5 million was cut immediately.
Another $80 million would come from a reallocation of forensic science, support services, and victim services from the police department to other parts of the city government.
Around $50 million would come from the reallocation of funds into the “Reimagine Safety Fund” to redirect funds to “alternative forms of public safety and community support as part of the year-long redesign process.”
For those who have left, Irwin said, “So far we’ve lost five units to the defunding movement and two other units have been drastically downsized.”
“Officials feel it every day when elected officials from the city of Austin refuse to support them and provide them with the long-term stability and job security they deserve.”
“The only voices the city council hears are those of anti-police activists, who openly state that the police should not exist.”
“Officials have left because they feel they cannot serve in the many units that existed in this department five years ago.”
But cutting tolls isn’t just affecting workers. Irwin and Villareal both stated that there was also psychological stress, which was maintained by working for years under sometimes hostile conditions.
“We’ve absolutely seen an increase in the number of officers dealing with mental health issues as a result of the riots in 2020,” Villareal said.
President Biden urged “funding the police” and pledged to enforce an assault weapons ban during a public address in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
“It’s absolutely inevitable to put officers in a situation like ours without believing that some of them might have long-term problems stemming from having rocks, bottles, urine and feces thrown at them.”
“Being labeled a murderer, being told that you’re worthless and that someone is hoping you’ll die is a terrible thing for our officials.”
Irwin added, “And our officers went out there, stayed professional and did their jobs to the best of their ability.”
“We have lost 100 percent people to the riots and the outspoken support that some of our councilors and other elected officials gave to the rioters.”
“Many department officials who have joined this honorable profession feel that the actions of the Travis County City Council and District Attorney’s Office have left them unable to serve and protect the citizens of this community.”
“They feel so limited in their abilities that they’ve lost the initial fire that made them want to become cops in the first place.”