Austin Suspends Partnership With State Police After Trooper Pulls Gun On 10-Year-Old

By Sneha Dey, CBS Dallas/Fort Worth

July 13, 2023

AUSTIN, Texas - The city of Austin has terminated its widely criticized partnership with the Texas Department of Public Safety in which state troopers helped local police patrol city streets.

Gov. Greg Abbott first sent DPS troopers to Austin in late March, at the request of Austin Mayor Kirk Watson. The move was supposed to support the city's police department, which has been struggling with staffing vacancies and long response times to 911 calls.

But in the weeks after, data showed state troopers were disproportionately arresting Black and Latino residents.

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