AUSTIN -- Austin Police Chief Brian Manley is making adjustments to the department’s training academy that will help shift it from a program in which cadets are frequently treated as military recruits to a more adult-based learning center.
Manley said the facility will continue to train officers on how to remain safe while performing a sometimes dangerous job by keeping many of the same physical combat training exercises. However, he said he wants to address issues relating to the tone and atmosphere of the training environment.
For instance, Manley said he wants cadets to stop wearing camouflage uniforms, which are similar to those of military personnel, and will remove a tradition that they salute instructors or other commanders they encounter in hallways.
“I think these are simple fixes that can impact the overall culture,” he said.
The shifts come after a KVUE Defenders and Austin American-Statesman report in late April in which a group of former cadets alleged that they were shocked by the department’s training culture. They sent the city a letter addressing their concerns, which they said included objectionable language and prompted a confrontational, aggressive tone of policing.
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At the time, Manley defended the academy’s instruction. However, he said he learned more about the expectations of the community during a 30-day period in May as part of the vetting to become chief.
Manley said he has asked the academy training staff to provide other suggestions about cultural changes, but that it also is possible he will seek an outside review.
The next cadet class is scheduled to begin in October.