Austin City Council to vote on resuming APD cadet classes
Council to vote on resuming APD cadet classes
Last summer, the Austin City Council voted to temporarily stop cadet classes until the Austin Police Department examined its training curriculum.
AUSTIN, Texas - It s no secret that the Austin Police Department is short officers. The police department has 130 vacancies, at least six more expected in May, and that s on top of the 150 police positions that were cut by city council, said Cary Roberts, executive director of the Greater Austin Crime Commission.
In response to public outcry over the murder of George Floyd and calls for police reform, the Austin City Council canceled cadet classes for APD.
Image by Kate Baucherel from Pixabay
Austin Mayor Steve Adler announced that he wanted to “reimagine” public safety in the city. If the use of the word “reimagine” pinged your “I’ve got a bad feeling about this” radar, you will soon know how right you are.
Thus far, “reimagining” public safety has gravely damaged it in Austin. It has amounted to cutting about $150 million from the Austin Police Department’s budget and standing idly by while violent crime rates have soared in the once peaceful and slightly weird city. Two APD cadet classes were also canceled.
Breaking Bad has come to Austin. By my last count, Austin police officers have been shot on duty four times already in 2021, and there have been 22 homicides, all while officers cannot leave the force fast enough. They’re retiring and resigning at a pace that would take about 10% off an already undermanned police department by the end of 2021. Travis County DA Jose Garza is focused more on prosecuting po
Tuesday afternoon update: The man accused of shooting a gun at an Austin police officer on Christmas Eve was arrested Tuesday morning in Leander, according to authorities.
Police said 41-year-old Louis Rhyne was arrested around 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday near the intersection of Crystal Falls Parkway and Horizon Park Boulevard in Leander.
Anonymous tips provided to Crime Stoppers helped authorities find and arrest Rhyne, according to police.
No other information was made available Tuesday afternoon.
Original: A combined $11,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to the arrest of a man who authorities say fired shots at an officer on Christmas Eve.