AUSTIN, Texas — A group of local community organizations sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) on Thursday, asking the DOJ to investigate the Austin Police Department (APD) over an alleged “pattern or practice of unlawful conduct violating residents’ constitutional rights.”
The coalition includes the Austin Area Urban League, Austin Community Law Center, Austin Justice Coalition, Austin NAACP, Equity Action and the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas.
The group claims APD’s approach to law enforcement includes an “intentional discrimination on the basis of race,” citing the department’s response to the May 2020 protests against police brutality.
“The impunity that certain officers enjoy in Austin is highlighted by recent turns in the ongoing prosecution of officers who seriously injured community members exercising their constitutional right to protest in May of 2020,” the letter said.
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The letter references a report showing Austin police command knew ammunition used on protestors in 2020 had issues with age and accuracy, as revealed by the KVUE Defenders earlier this month. That report was finalized in late 2023 – more than three-and-a-half years after the protests – just as prosecutors dropped all but four of 21 cases against officers. It indicates that higher-ups in the department, reaching the command level, likely had information about the performance of the munitions, raised by mid-level supervisors. The "less-lethal ammunition" projectiles injured more than a dozen people in the May 2020 protests in Austin.
The group is requesting a pattern-or-practice investigation into APD and asking the general public to upload personal statements regarding their experiences with the department.
The letter comes after the Travis County District Attorney’s Office also renewed a request on Feb. 8 for the DOJ to investigate how Austin police handled the 2020 social justice protests. Travis County District Attorney José Garza, Austin Mayor Kirk Watson and Interim City Manager Jesús Garza initially sent a letter to the DOJ on Dec. 4, 2023, requesting the department investigate. At the same time, Garza announced his office was dropping 17 cases against APD officers who were facing charges for their alleged conduct during those protests.
Congressman Greg Casar (D-Texas), who represents Austin and San Antonio, has echoed the calls for an investigation for what he said is a possible pattern of "excessive and lethal use of force … particularly against communities of color and those with mental health conditions."
KVUE reached out to the city of Austin for a statement in response to the letter. A city spokesperson said, "The City and Office of the District Attorney submitted a joint request to the Department of Justice in December requesting a targeted third-party performance review of the action of the Austin Police Department during the protests of 2020. While the City has implemented numerous policy and procedure changes since that time, we welcome a review by the DOJ."