by Daryl Slusher | May 28, 2025 | Police and Public Safety
Let’s begin by following up on our last story about the Acacia Cliffs apartment complex. That’s where a new City Council-devised development incentive called DB90, supposedly designed to create new affordable housing, instead turned into an incentive for the owner of...
by Daryl Slusher | Mar 11, 2025 | Police and Public Safety
In our last story we talked about how Travis County District Attorney José Garza appeared to say that he knew of no other cases where accused violent criminals had gotten out of jail because his office failed to indict within 90 days as required by state law. It had...
by Daryl Slusher | Feb 27, 2025 | Police and Public Safety
Travis County District Attorney José Garza is off to a really rough start in his second term, which began January 1. He’s embroiled in controversy because two alleged murderers were released on $1 and $100 bonds when Garza’s office failed to indict them within 90...
by Daryl Slusher | Oct 29, 2024 | City Council 2024, Police and Public Safety
Well, love him, hate him, or indifferent, you have to give Kirk Watson credit for getting the police contract over the finish line. It passed on a vote of 10 to 1 (Zo Qadri voting no) after an even more raucous than usual public hearing. It wasn’t just Watson. This...
by Daryl Slusher | Oct 23, 2024 | City Council 2024, Police and Public Safety
Back around the time that I went on summer vacation I watched a forum put on by CBS Austin about public safety in Austin. It basically featured Council Member Chito Vela and Austin Justice Coalition leader/police abolitionist Chas Moore debating Council Member...
by Daryl Slusher | Feb 1, 2024 | District Attorney Race, Police and Public Safety
In our last story I wrote that Council Members and others who opposed the appointment of former Police Chief Art Acevedo as an Assistant City Manager may have had more reasons than they let on to condemn Acevedo. But, I added, “none of them ever let someone convicted...
by Daryl Slusher | Jan 25, 2024 | City Council 2024, Police and Public Safety
Art Acevedo’s return to Austin City government was over before it started. That’s literally true. Last Wednesday there were media reports that Acevedo was leaving his post as Interim Police Chief in Aurora, Colorado to return to Texas. Mysteriously there was no...
by Daryl Slusher | Jan 17, 2024 | Police and Public Safety
Happy New Year and thanks to readers for bearing with us while we took a few weeks off. I was working on several stories to begin the new year, and we’ll get to those. But, that was before the machete attack on the young man near Auditorium Shores. So that will be our... by Daryl Slusher | Jul 7, 2023 | Police and Public Safety
(Wednesday I posted a story about the Statesman’s coverage, or lack thereof, of the May 22 public hearing on the partnership between the Austin Police Department and the Texas Department of Public Safety. I recommend reading that one before reading Part 2 below, but...
by Daryl Slusher | Jul 5, 2023 | Police and Public Safety
It has been a few weeks since the Independent published and so there’s a lot of catching up to do. One thing that happened is that the Austin Police Department (APD) partnership with the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) is back on, as of July 2. The initial...
