Austin Police Department Chief Brian Manley announced his resignation from the department during a Feb. 12 press conference at APD HQ. (Photo by John Anderson) Austin police Chief Brian Manley announced Friday that he will retire on March 28, following a year in which criminal justice activists and community members have called for him to resign. That call began over how Manley handled revelations that a former assistant chief regularly used racist language, then accelerated following the violent response to Black Lives Matter protesters his officers engaged in over the summer. Born and raised in Austin, Manley began his career as an APD patrol officer in 1991. He steadily moved up the chain, serving as lieutenant, commander, assistant chief, and, finally, chief of staff to Art Acevedo before being named interim chief when Acevedo departed to lead the Houston Police Department in 2016. He rose to national prominence for his handling of the three-week bombing spree that gripped Austin in 2018 and was promoted to chief in the wake of that tragedy.