Abbott Seeks State Control Of Austin PD After City Funding Cuts

AUSTIN, TX — Gov. Greg Abbott is exploring ways of putting the Austin Police Department under state control after Austin City Council recently stripped the law enforcement department's budget by some $150 million amid calls for police reform.

Abbott aired his legislative proposal in a tweet sent from his personal account on Thursday. His mulled strategy comes after Austin City Council members moved to transfer some police functions into social service agencies — work involving interactions with the homeless and mentally ill, to cite a pair of proposals.

“This proposal for the state to takeover the Austin Police Department is one strategy I'm looking at,” Abbott wrote in his tweet. “We can't let Austin's defunding & disrespect for law enforcement to endanger the public & invite chaos like in Portland and Seattle.”

Austin on Aug. 13 was the first city in Texas to strip its police budget amid growing cries for defunding after a string of civilian deaths at the hands of police. Proponents of the measure point to a more nuanced process that belies the term "defund," including transfer of some duties to more specialized agencies — the aforementioned interactions with the mentally ill and those experiencing homelessness, for example.

Related story: Austin City Council Approves $150M Cut To Police Budget

The defunding movement also calls for deployment of social workers to help victims of domestic and sexual abuse rather than having police handle such calls. Another prong of the movement calls for the demilitarization of police as departments continually acquire arsenals perceived by some as more suitable for war zones.

Abbott's proposed legislation to exert state oversight on the police was sent to him by former Texas House Reps. Terry Keel and Ron Wilson, the Texas Tribune reported. The strategy calls for cities with populations exceeding 1 million and fewer than two police officers per 1,000 residents — metrics under which Austin falls — to consolidate the local force with the Texas Department of Public Safety, according to a letter outlining the proposal that was obtained by the Tribune.

This is a developing story. Patch will update when more details are known.