Interim City Manager Jesús Garza has suspended the City of Austin’s partnership with the Texas Department of Public Safety in consultation with Mayor Kirk Watson.
“From the start of this partnership with DPS, I said I wanted Austinites to feel safe and be safe. Recent events demonstrate we need to suspend the partnership with DPS. The safety of our community is a primary function of City government, and we must keep trying to get it right,” Watson said. “This partnership was an innovative approach to address acute staffing shortages that were years in the making. However, any approach must be in sync with Austin values.”
The partnership was first announced on March 27, originally forged through conversations with Watson, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov Dan Patrick to support Austin Police as the department builds back its ranks. The support has resulted in a decrease in violent and gun crime, fewer traffic fatalities, shorter response times to calls for assistance, and seizures of significant amounts of illicit drugs, including fentanyl and heroin.
“Public safety is at the very core of what we do in city government and this partnership was a practical approach as the Austin Police Department faces serious staffing challenges,” Garza said. “We have heard Mayor and Council’s concerns about recent events and agree that we must have absolute certainty that any solution we put in place maintains the trust and wellbeing of our community members and that all law enforcement officers working to keep our city safe are on the same page when it comes to policing practices.”
The initiative was temporarily paused in mid-May as DPS officers were reassigned to Texas border cities but resumed July 2 with new deployment strategies in response to recommendations from the Mayor and City Council.
