City News

City leaders unveil ambitious agenda to overhaul Austin Police Department

City leaders vote this week on items that will radically change Austin's police department.

Austin, Texas - Your CIty Government/Facebook

Update: The Austin City Council unanimously passed all four of the items below following a 12-hour-long meeting on June 11. Item 95 did pass with an amendment, which, in part, expanded the ban on impact munitions. Read the full amendment here.

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Following 10 days of protests and one emotional, hours-long meeting last Thursday, Austin City Council unveiled its ambitious agenda to overhaul the Austin Police Department. The resolutions include items that would stop APD's use of chokeholds, eliminate tear gas and impact munitions during protests, and stop the use of lethal force in non-life threatening situations.

During a June 8 press conference, Mayor Steve Adler and Mayor Pro Tem Delia Garza were joined by city council members Natasha Harper-Madison, Greg Casar, and Jimmy Flannigan to unveil the items, which will be voted on during the council's June 11 meeting.

The following four resolutions are among those on the agenda:

Creating a public safety committee and declaring an emergency (Item 93) — This item includes, in part, the creation of a Public Safety committee that "may review the municipal court, the Downtown Austin Community Court, policing issues, criminal justice, emergency medical services, fire services, emergency management, code compliance, and related matters." Declaring an emergency would allow this ordinance to take effect immediately.
Changing tenant guidelines for formerly incarcerated people (Item 94)—Change rules to make it easier for formerly incarcerated people — a population that disproportionately includes people of color and is over represented among the homeless — to secure housing.
Changing Austin Police Department's use of lethal and "less lethal" force (Item 95) — Eliminate use of tear gas or impact munitions during protests; eliminate the use of deadly force for people fleeing or who otherwise do not pose an imminent deadly threat; eliminate the chokehold as an APD tactic; reduce the use, stockpile, and purchase of military-grade equipment to the greatest extent possible; eliminate facial recognition; and restrict no-knock warrants.
Austin Police Department oversight and budget (Item 96) — Arguably the most ambitious — and damning — resolution, this seeks to overhaul the police department and budget.

"We have the opportunity to set a nationwide trend [and show] that one tiny, slave-trading town on the Colorado can overcome its racist history," said Harper-Madison during the press conference. Harper-Madison, who represents District 1, was applauded by her fellow council members and the mayor for her leadership on the new agenda items.

When asked if the council would be asking City Manager Spencer Crock to remove Austin Police Chief Brian Manley, both Garza and Casar pointed to Item 9 of the Austin City Charter, which prevents council from asking the city manager to appoint or dismiss city personnel.

Manley's job has been in question ever since protests on May 29 through June 1 saw APD officers repeatedly firing tear gas and bean-bag bullets into crowds of demonstrators. Two of those bullets struck 20-year-old Justin Howell and 16-year-old Levi Ayala, both of whom suffered severe injuries.

The charter, however, did not stop the majority of city council members from making their positions known during that emotional meeting on June 5. Speaking to the dais and the police chief last Thursday, Pro Tem Garza said her "faith in police leadership has been shaken." And during a particularly tense moment, Harper-Madison blasted the chief for being the only participant to have his video off while council members addressed him.

It also did not stop them from including the following statement in resolution 96: "The elected members of City Council have no confidence that current Austin Police Department leadership intends to implement the policy and culture changes required to end the disproportionate impact of police violence on Black Americans, Latinx Americans, other nonwhite ethnic communities, and returning and low-income residents," the resolution says.

The City Council will reconvene again on June 11 to discuss these items and dozens more, the results of which are likely to reverberate across the nation. As for Cronk's decision about the police chief's future, that remains to be seen.

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Study This

Austin is the No. 7 most educated city in the country, says Forbes

Photo by Dan Dennis on Unsplash

UT Austin gets a lot of praise, but this study includes degrees from everywhere — as long as the recipient lives in Texas.

Austin and San Antonio don't get all the same opportunities as the even larger cities in Texas, but in a recent study they prove they're prepared. Both made the top 10 in Forbes Advisor's "Most Educated Cities In The U.S." list: San Antonio was No. 4, and Austin was No. 7.

Other Texas cities made the list of 100, but some fell surprisingly far behind. Dallas made No. 20, followed by Houston at No. 79 and Fort Worth at No. 93. In some even more surprising twists, the smaller city of Garland was the fourth in Texas at No. 26, and El Paso, Corpus Christi, and Laredo all beat Houston.

This study compared the 100 largest cities in the country as of the 2021 census, using metrics like high school dropout rate, percentage of adults age 25 and older with some college, but no degree, undergraduate college completion rate, and percentage of adults age 25 and older with an advanced degree. There were also some lower-weighted metrics about equity, studying racial and gender college completion gaps.

Although many education studies fall into praising the University of Texas, this one considers education as a whole — while still mentioning the university once.

In San Antonio, the bachelor’s completion rate for people 25 and up was 67.30 percent, and 29.56 percent of people in that age group have advanced degrees. The study doesn't have much to say about educational opportunities in the city, focusing instead of its tourist potential. But it did note that the city had one of the smallest racial gaps for higher ed, which was only -5.49 percent. Its gender gap was 0.97 percent, and its high school dropout rate was 4.53 percent.

San Antonio's Trinity University did great in a Niche study that came out in early September. It was the No. 18 best small college in America, and topped the list entirely in Texas. Among bigger fish, it was also the No. 20 best liberal arts college in the country (and again the best in Texas), and made No. 4 in general for best colleges in Texas.

In Austin, 59.89 of people 25 or older completed Bachelor's degrees, and 22.76 percent completed advanced degrees. The racial gap was much worse at -10.87 percent. Its gender gap was a bit less than San Antonio's, at 0.69 percent, and its high school dropout rate was more at 7.56 percent.

Of course, this is where the study mentions UT, which is based in Austin. It made WalletHub's 2024 ranking of the best colleges and universities in Texas and earned the No. 2 spot; clinched the No. 6 spot in Niche's ranking of the best public universities in the country; and earned No. 2 in a list of best undergraduate programs for entrepreneurs by the Princeton Review, among other accolades.

Just breaking into the top 20, Dallas' Bachelor's degree completion rate was 57.05 percent, with 21.37 percent attaining advanced degrees. The racial and gender gaps were −14.99 percent and 1.64 percent, respectively. Much further down the list, Houston's Bachelor's degree completion rate was only 32.99 percent, and only 10.97% achieved advanced degrees. High school dropouts were at 8.90 percent, and the racial and gender gaps were −4.99 and 2.10 percent respectively.

Here are all the Texas cities on the list of 100, in order from most to least educated:

4. San Antonio
7. Austin
20. Dallas
26. Garland
49. El Paso
59. Corpus Christi
76. Laredo
79. Houston
81. Arlington
83. Irving

More information on the study by Forbes advisor, including full city rankings and expanded methodology, is available at forbes.com.

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Study This

Austin is the No. 7 most educated city in the country, says Forbes