Drunk driver plows into Austin EMS vehicles
Three Austin Travis County EMS vehicles were damaged when a drunk driver plowed into them over the weekend. Police say the driver ran into the first unit while it was blocking the road for protesters. Then it crashed into the second unit, which pushed that into the third unit. Fortunately, nobody was hurt, including the driver, but he was arrested and charged with a DWI.
Protests continue while city leaders consider reformations
Thousands more people filed out into the streets over the weekend protesting police misconduct. Crowds were still quite large but did get much smaller by the time the sun had set. A group of pro-police demonstrators did show up at one point at police headquarters with signs in support of the Austin Police Department, prompting boos and jeers from Black Lives Matter protesters.
Mayor Steve Adler is pushing out policies crafted by a group called Campaign Zero to reform policing across the city. Adler says police will be a big focus in their meeting this week.
“I think there are at least four different resolutions from council members and I’m excited to be a sponsor on most of those,” Adler says.
The city will consider a series of initiatives from Campaign Zero. Those include mandating de-escalation training, divesting of the police department, reinvestment into minority communities and a total overhaul of use-of-force tactics. Council member Greg Casar is among those in support to totally overhaul police tactics and policies. The proposal would ban police use of tear gas and impact munitions like rubber bullets against people exercising their First Amendment rights. Austin NAACP President Nelson Linder says he doesn’t think very much of the proposal.
“I think these things are reactions designed to appease people, but it doesn’t change reality,” says Linder.
Linder says policy changes nothing. Instead, both city and police leaders should tell officers directly to use federally recommended best practices and what will and won’t be tolerated.
APD support continues to plummet
Austin Police Chief Brian Manley is seeing rapidly dwindling support from the City Council. Four council members have now voiced support for Manley’s resignation, including Greg Casar out of district four. He has almost exclusively sided with activists since he was elected four years ago.
“For our city to heal, for our community to make progress; I believe the honorable thing would be for you to resign,” says Casar.
Pio Renteria and Natasha Harper-Madison are also calling for Manley to resign. Jimmy Flannigan is recommending Manly resign and instead work as a private consultant regarding police matters.
Austin police were met with ridicule after taking a knee for nearly nine minutes in honor of George Floyd. Things got tense as chants of “photo op” and “fire Manley” grew louder. At one point, APD sergeant Lawrence Davis grabbed a bullhorn from a protester to try to restore order. Chief Manley was among the kneeling officers attempting to show solidarity with a group of about 100 protesters.
The Travis County District Attorney’s office is investigating 10 complaints of police misconduct. District Attorney Margaret Moore says the investigation is in the beginning stages. It comes following numerous injuries that have been reported by protesters over more than a week’s worth of time.
Capital Plaza Target looters are arrested and charged
Charges have been filed against three people accused of breaking into and looting the target in Capital Plaza on May 31st. Lisa Hogan, Samuel Miller and Skye Elder are all said to be known members of Antifa. Their charges range from rioting and burglary to destroying private property.
Austin Mayor receives criticism for attending protests
Austin Mayor Steve Adler caught a bit of flak for attending weekend protests and not following his own COVID-19 orders. In one photo shared on Twitter, Adler appears to be standing far less than six feet from protesters. Although he is wearing a mask, Alder continues to call on people to socially distance and avoid large crowds.
COVID-19 update
Austin Public Health reports 35 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the total this morning up to 3,697. 97 people have died, but no deaths have been reported in more than 24 hours. Almost 3,100 people have made recoveries and 87 are currently hospitalized.
This news and more on News Radio KLBJ:
https://omny.fm/shows/klbjam-flash-briefing-1/am-newscast-6-8-20
