Photo by David Brendan Hall
From 2011 to 2019, the city of Austin paid $8 million in settlements to victims of police violence, and another $800,000 to private law firms brought in to defend the city and Austin Police Department officers in civil lawsuits stemming from APD s use of force. With at least eight more suits pending, the costs are likely to increase.
Data provided to the
Chronicle by the city shows that 61 lawsuits were filed against the city or an individual officer accused of using excessive force. State law requires that the city provide legal defense to any officers sued for actions taken while on duty. In most cases, in-house attorneys from the city s Law Department take on these cases, but if the department is short-staffed or needs outside expertise, the city will contract with outside counsel.