Police Shootings Shake Austin

[DaveSZ]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A37599-2004May18.html


Police Shootings Shake Austin
Some See Racism as Three Officers Keep Their Jobs After Killing Blacks
By Karin Brulliard
Special to The Washington Post
Wednesday, May 19, 2004; Page A03


AUSTIN -- Early one morning last June, a white Austin police officer fatally shot an unarmed 20-year-old black man named Jessie Lee Owens as the officer tried to arrest him for driving a stolen car.



Owens was the second of three young black people killed in Austin by white law enforcement officers over a 13-month period in 2002 and 2003. Many community leaders here say the shootings, and the fact that the three officers kept their jobs, reflect a pattern of racism within the police force and throughout the city. Their accusations have roiled the town, put city leaders on the defensive and sparked turmoil among the police. Most of all, they have called into question the city's self-image of tolerance and diversity.

Home to the University of Texas, a thriving music scene and a robust high-tech industry, Austin markets itself as an outdoorsy city of laid-back brotherly love. It is staunchly Democratic and has been noted as one of the nation's best-managed cities. But to some local black leaders, that reputation rings hollow.

"This city is very tolerant of certain alternative lifestyles," said the Rev. Sterling Lands II, head of the Eastside Social Action Committee and pastor of Greater Calvary Baptist Church. "When it comes down to the area of race, that's where the tolerance ends."

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[ugarte]

1. Just a few bad apples?

The problem is systemic. Cops are a law unto themselves, permitted to kill with impunity, and the politicians are happy to leave it that way.

[GOPisEvil]

2. The police dept. here is out of control.

They are poorly trained and managed by an ineffective police chief. Stan Knee has got to go, and he must be replaced by a chief who wants to have a highly trained, quality police force that represents the whole city.

[sonias]

3. I second that call for Stan Knee to go

GOPisEvil and many of us Austinites know the incompetence at APD is only exacerbated by a Police Chief that has no control of his police force.


Their training and moral are very bad. They over react in many non-lethal situations and use lethal force too often. Their racial profiling stats are among the worst in the nation. As Austinites we should all be ashamed of our poor police force.

That said however, the police lobby controls the City Council and not the other way around. The council routinely rubber stamps their police contract and demands very little accountability from them. No one has lost their job and no one will. It reminds me a lot of Donald Rumsfeld's situation right now. It's obvious he has to go, but no one who can make that decision is making that call. The WH seems scared of him. The Austin City Council is definitely scared of the police lobby. They fear for their cushy little jobs.

Sonia