The Brief: Here’s What Texas Officers Face on Mental Health Calls

The Big Conversation

Confronting an unstable individual is one of the more challenging situations faced by police officers.

The public often questions after a shooting of a mentally ill person by an officer whether it’s possible to cut down on shooting incidents with more training.

The Texas Tribune's Unholstered project analyzed data from the state’s 36 largest cities and found that while training helps, police will shoot when an unstable individual appears to present a real threat to officers or others.

The series also looks for answers to other questions surrounding police use of deadly force, such as whether minorities are more likely to be shot and situations when the individual is unarmed or when the officer is off duty.

Trib Must Reads

Ken Paxton Due Back in Court as Legal Woes Persist, by Patrick Svitek — Lawyers for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton will try to convince a federal judge on Friday to throw out the federal civil fraud case filed against him for allegedly misleading investors in a technology startup. 

Texas Launches Voter Education Campaign Amid Scrutiny of Voter ID Law, by Alex Samuels — Texas on Wednesday kicked off a voter education campaign ahead of the November elections. The state is required to spend $2.5 million to educate voters about its voter ID requirements.

DPS Wants Fewer "Transients," More Security on UT Campus, Matthew Watkins — The Texas Department of Public Safety has listed several ideas for the University of Texas at Austin to make its campus safer. The proposals are in response to the slaying last year of a student whose body was found on campus. 

Tim Kaine Returning to Texas in September to Raise Money, by Patrick Svitek — Tim Kaine, Hillary Clinton's running mate, is returning to Texas this month to raise money for the Democratic presidential nominee.

Texas Drilling Will Cause More Health Problems, Study Predicts, by Jim Malewitz — Within a decade, Texas will lead the nation in sicknesses linked to ozone-forming pollutants from oil and gas activity, according to a new analysis from a pair of environmental groups released Wednesday.  

The Day Ahead

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton will discuss at a morning news conference in San Antonio how the state is combating human trafficking through a joint effort by Truckers Against Trafficking and the trucking industry, the Attorney General’s Human Trafficking and Transnational/Organized Crime section and local and state law enforcement. 

Elsewhere

(Links below lead to outside websites; content might be behind paywall)

Food trucks get their own insurance category, Houston Chronicle 

Bexar Co. DA Nico LaHood goes on anti-vaccination rant on Facebook, 'I've done my own research', San Antonio Express-News

Rick Perry Calls On FBI Director James Comey To Resign Over Clinton Emails, Huffington Post 

Lawyers for Texas 'affluenza' teen seek his release from jail, Reuters 

Trump: 'There will be no amnesty', CNN

Federal judge stays ethics sanctions, mulls providing list of immigrants to DOJ, San Antonio Express-News

July 7 ambush cost Dallas-area law enforcement more than $800,000 in overtime, The Dallas Morning News 

Spring man seeks to postpone his ISIS-related trial, Houston Chronicle

Quote to Note

"We did discuss the wall. We didn’t discuss payment of the wall. That’ll be for a later date. This was a very preliminary meeting."

— Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, on his meeting with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto on Wednesday.

News From Home

•    The Texas Tribune wants you to join our Reddit chat and ask us your questions about police shootings in Texas. Join former police chief Howard Williams and the Tribune for a live Reddit discussion about Texas police shootings this Friday at 1 p.m. CDT.

Today in TribTalk

School finance equity begins by eliminating inefficiency, by Wayne Pierce — Over time, our school finance system has become increasingly complex and inefficient, unreasonably favoring some while detrimental to all others.

Trib Events for the Calendar

•    San Antonio & the Legislature: The Election and Beyond on Sept. 14 at University of Texas at San Antonio – Downtown Campus

•   The Texas Tribune Festival on Sept. 23-25 at the University of Texas at Austin

•   The Washington Post's Politics & Pints with Chris Cillizza: TTF Edition on Sept. 24 at Scholz Garten

•   TribFeast: A Dinner To Support Nonprofit Journalism on Sept. 24 at the University of Texas at Austin's Etter-Harbin Alumni Center

•   A Conversation with state Reps. Four Price and John Smithee on Oct. 4 at Amarillo College in Amarillo

•   A Conversation with state Reps. Andrew Murr and Jason Isaac on Nov. 14 at Schreiner University in Kerrville