The state’s three top elected leaders also fiercely criticized the Austin officials who plan to cut up to one-third of their police department’s budget, largely through reorganizing divisions out from under law enforcement.
Police brutality in Texas
Protesters across Texas have turned out to demonstrate against police brutality after Houston-native George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis police custody. Texas officials have largely condemned the killing of Floyd. The state has its own history of black Texans dying at the hands of police — including Mike Ramos, a 42-year-old black and Hispanic man in Austin who was shot and killed by police in April 2020. Ramos’ name has been invoked alongside Floyd’s during the state’s most recent protests. Read our coverage of the protests and tell us about your experience protesting here.
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Police brutality in Texas
Texas’ largest cities spend more on police than anything else. Activists want more of those funds spent on the social safety net instead.
Austin officials slashed their police department’s budget this week as other Texas cities are rethinking how general fund dollars are spent — and whether spending so much to combat crime addresses the poverty that can cause it.
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Police brutality in Texas
Austin City Council cuts police department budget by one-third, mainly through reorganizing some duties out from law enforcement oversight
Gov. Greg Abbott said Austin officials’ vote “puts the brave men and women of the Austin Police Department and their families at greater risk” — and vowed that the Texas Department of Public Safety will “stand in the gap.”
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Police brutality in Texas
Texas Legislative Black Caucus unveils the George Floyd Act to ban chokeholds and limit police use of force
In a press conference featuring Floyd’s brother, the lawmakers said they hope their bill wins the support of Gov. Greg Abbott.
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Police brutality in Texas
Austin protesters clash with police in the wake of Garrett Foster’s death
Saturday marked another night of demonstrations against police brutality in Austin, but tensions were heightened because of last week’s shooting death of Garrett Foster, a 28-year-old protester, by a man who has not been charged.
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Police brutality in Texas
Austin police release footage showing the killing of Mike Ramos
The release of the video comes two days after armed protester Garrett Foster was shot and killed by an unnamed, armed driver while protesting police brutality in Austin.
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Police brutality in Texas
Texas voters split on police violence protests, open to moving Confederate statues, poll finds
Long-held views on discrimination against Black people and on memorials to the Confederacy are changing in Texas, and voters are open to universal voting by mail, according to polling by the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas.
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Police brutality in Texas
Watch: Texas’ police use-of-force tactics scrutinized after George Floyd protests
The Texas Tribune spoke to criminologists, policy makers and advocates to hear their perspectives on what the current moment means for Texas and what happens next.
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Police brutality in Texas
Houston mayor calls for more funding for social services to take pressure off police officers
During a Houston policing roundtable organized by U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, several local leaders emphasized the need for social services funding.
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Police brutality in Texas
“It was an execution”: Nicolas Chavez was on his knees when Houston police killed him. His father wants answers.
The shooting has sparked more questions about use of force and what many experts call the failed promise of police body cameras.