by The left-led city of Austin, Texas, is facing a shortage of police officers, with current and former officers citing hostility towards law enforcement and conservatives as a driving force New York Post reported on Friday.
Multiple sources shared this post The city reportedly has more than 300 job openings and officials are quitting “because they don’t feel respected,” according to the report. The Austin Police Association said 77 more officers are expected to retire before the end of March. Lt. Brian Moon, who retired last month after 23 years of service, said Austin has become like Portland, Seattle and San Francisco “where, if you’re at all conservative or in law enforcement, it’s become a hostile place.”
The lack of staff leads to delayed response times and 911 calls are diverted to the non-emergency number “because there are not enough police officers to solve the crimes,” the report said. Chief Police Officer Justin Berry told the publication that the department had withdrawn detectives from cases to serve as patrol officers.
“If you come home and find that your house has been broken into, calls like that now go to 311,” police union president Thomas Villarreal said. “Many property crimes don’t get a police response unless the crime is violent.”
People hold up signs in front of the Austin Police Department after a vigil for Garrett Foster on July 26, 2020 in downtown Austin, Texas. (Photo by Sergio Flores/Getty Images)
A former guard commander surnamed “Moody” said the Austin Police Department has changed dramatically since its inception in 1999, especially in 2021 when the city saw a record 88 homicides and a spike in violent crime. Moody said he’s seen the city’s attitude toward the police force “shift” and he doesn’t feel the city “truly values ​​us the way it used to.”
Notably, the Austin City Council caved in to the leftist “defund the police” crusade in 2020, cutting the budget by $150 million following the death of George Floyd in Minnesota and the resulting protests and riots. Officials also cut 150 civil servant posts from the budget, according to the report.
Last year, the local district attorney indicted 19 police officers accused of using “excessive force” against demonstrators of the 2020 protests
“It almost felt like there was a target — like the prosecution and the city were looking for an opportunity to harm you, prosecute you, or fire you whether you did it right or wrong,” specified.
Members of the Austin Police Department kneel in front of demonstrators who gathered in Austin, Texas on Saturday, June 6, 2020 to protest the death of George Floyd, a black man who was in police custody in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
The city council eventually paid back the police force in 2021, although the police union still claims the city has far too few officers for a city of its size.
The report notes that “entire areas of the city are temporarily left unguarded” when a major incident occurs.
“We’ve pretty much admitted that we’re going to stop showing up on certain calls,” Moody said. “Eventually it gets so bad that everyone realizes something needs to be done.”
Democratic Mayor Kirk Watson did not respond post‘s request for comment, but previously told the publication that the city was experiencing “unacceptably long wait times” for police. The Austin Police Department declined to comment on the pension figures, but said the department works hard every day to “create a safer environment with the resources we have.”
