In a contentious email exchange with Council Member
Alison Alter, Austin Police Department Chief
Brian Manley declined to "proactively investigate" to determine if anyone from the department participated in the Jan. 6
Capitol insurrection in Washington, D.C.
In emails obtained by the
Chronicle, the CM also asked the chief to send a message to his officers condemning the participation of law enforcement in the uprising that led to at least five deaths. As of Jan. 16, according to reporting by progressive legal news site The Appeal, 32 people from 15 states who took part in the Jan. 6 "
Stop the Steal" Trump rally have been outed as law enforcement officers. "I suggest that you make clear to every officer and staff member where our department leadership stands," Alter wrote in an email copied to her staff, City Manager