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The Austin Police Association has launched a podcast detailing the impact of the push to close the department.
The “Defunded” series features interviews with officers and detectives from units that have had funding cuts or been disbanded altogether.
A member of the Austin, Texas Police Department stands guard during the Gold Cup Semifinal between the United States and Qatar on Thursday, July 29, 2021 at Q2 Stadium in Austin, TX. ((Photo by Nick Tre. Smith/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images))
“I just wanted to sit down and talk about the history of the last six years, and how we got into the situation where we as an agency have canceled and disbanded several units,” APA president Thomas Villareal says in the debut episode.
Villareal traces the rise of the “defund” movement to late 2017-early 2018, when discussions arose about “reimagining” the police force. The City Council eventually voted unanimously to cut APD’s budget by about a third, or $150 million, during the 2020 riots. The state legislature passed a law the following year forcing Austin to reinstate the cut funding, but by then police officers had either retired or chosen to leave in large numbers—and the cancellation of the police academy’s classes prevented the department from replacing them.
“There was a deep dive into ‘what is policing?'” says Villareal. “What’s that supposed to look like? What’s that going to look like?”
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The podcast comes in the wake of the city’s suspension of cooperation with the Texas Department of Public Safety. The partnership began in March following an increase in crime following the city council’s unanimous decision in August 2020 to cut the police’s budget by about a third. As of July 2023, the department is down by an estimated 500 officers.
FILE: Texas DPS trooper exits vehicle. (Texas DPS)
Podcast co-host Cpl. and APA Chairman Christopher Irwin challenged the idea that the department “got all this money back”. He noted that officers and staff are “leaving in droves” every time the department is turned upside down.
“Eligible or retiring people, people who are just fed up with activists controlling the city council…instead of losing a large sum of money that in their minds they might never get back because they didn’t have a contract, they decided to leave,” says Irwin. “That happens over and over again, every time we go out of contract or every time this defunding happens or these units are eliminated.”
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Austin Mayor Kirk Watson suspended the APD-DPS partnership in response to reports of a traffic stop conducted by Texas State Troopers. According to initial reports, officers pointed a gun at a 10-year-old boy. Texas DPS later released bodycam footage showing the trooper pointing his gun down and defusing the situation with the driver, who did not have a proper license plate, insurance, registration or driver’s license.
Bradford Betz is a Fox News Digital breaking reporter covering crime, political issues and much more.
