Austin Crime Commission Calls For More Cops, Naming Manley Chief

AUSTIN, TX — The Greater Austin Crime Commission on Thursday will announce its support of a proposed Austin City Council resolution directing development of a five-year plan for Austin Police Department officer and civilian training — an issue suffused with added resonance in the wake of the serial bombings that terrorized the city.

The proposed resolution also expedites police officer position vacancies left unfunded in the 2017-18 budget, Greater Austin Crime Commission officials said. The plan would direct the city manager to implement the five-year plan, officials added.

In what is now becoming a groundswell of support, commission officials said they also will make a statement calling for naming Interim Police Chief Brian Manley the permanent police chief. In the three weeks since the serial bomber began his campaign of terror in Austin and surrounding areas, those calling for Manley to be named permanent chief are now legion.

In addition to working tirelessly with his force and federal agents helping track the suspect in the recent bombings, Manley emerged as a calming force during the violence in keeping anxious residents continually informed while offering safety guidelines to prevent being victimized.

Austin City Council member Delia Garza, a former firefighter, is among those calling for Manley to be tapped as the city's next chief. “Our community has been through what is arguably the biggest public safety crisis we have experienced,” Garza wrote on the council’s online message board. “While many watched the news safely from home, but on edge, the men and women of law enforcement ran to the bombs and explosions.”

Her colleague on the council dais, Leslie Dais, echoed the sentiment: "I support formalizing the selection of Interim Chief Manley as Austin’s Chief of Police. He is eminently qualified and has done a superb job since assuming those responsibilities when Chief Acevedo left for Houston. Manley has my full support, and I hope City Manager [Spencer] Cronk will decide that appointment very soon."

Manley has served as interim chief since the departure of former chief Art Acevedo, who took the top cop job in Houston. Acevedo served nine years as police chief before starting his job as the Houston police chief in November 2016.

Members of the Greater Austin Crime Commission have scheduled a presentation on Thursday, March 22, at Austin City Hall, 301 W. 2nd St., at 9:30 a.m. The group's president, David Roche, and past president, Pam Wileford, are scheduled to make remarks.

The Greater Austin Crime Commission is a nonprofit organization established in 1997 to support Central Texas first responders and promote public safety planning. For more information, visit austincrime.org.

>>> Photo of Interim Police Chief Brian Manley via City of Austin