AUSTIN, Texas — Interim City Manager Jesús Garza has responded to concerns over his recent appointment of a director of the Office of Police Oversight (OPO).
In late September, Garza appointed the office's interim director, Gail McCant, to serve in the role permanently – without conducting a national search.
That raised the eyebrows of several members of the Austin City Council, who posted a memo on the council message board. They said that while they weren't against McCant getting the job, they were surprised to hear that she'd been appointed without a wider search.
"Given the significance of this role and the high-profile nature of the office, why was the decision made to forgo a search and instead appoint the OPO director from within the City of Austin?" Councilmembers Zohaib "Zo" Qadri, José "Chito" Vela, José Velásquez, Vanessa Fuentes and Ryan Alter wrote in the memo.
Councilmember Alison Alter added that she agreed with her colleagues and looked forward to Garza's explanation.
Shortly afterward, Garza provided that explanation in a memo sent to the council and Mayor Kirk Watson.
In the memo, Garza stated that since he appointed McCant to serve as interim director in May, there has been a "great deal of attention" focused on the OPO and the implementation of aspects of Proposition A, a voter-approved measure to expand civilian oversight of the Austin Police Department, including allowing more access to investigations and expanding the OPO's role reviewing complaints and disciplinary decision making.
On Sept. 21, the Austin City Council passed a resolution asking Garza to revise and implement policies related to police oversight that came from Prop A. Garza said with that resolution and the desire to move forward with implementing those aspects of Prop A, "it was important to provide stability to the OPO and provide clear direction of where we need to head."
Garza said it was with a sense of urgency in mind and based on McCant's performance with the OPO that he made the decision to appoint her to the director role permanently.
"Had I moved forward with a national search, we would be waiting until next year before being able to name a permanent lead for the Office – a delay that would simply add to the already perceived delay of moving forward with the voters’ will via Prop A," Garza wrote. "I recognize that the announcement came as a surprise to you and for that, I apologize. It was not my intent to catch you off guard with this very important appointment. However, I stand firm in my reasoning for moving forward and hope that you all also recognize the need to bring that stability to the OPO."