Austin Police Chief Details Homeless Crackdown

AUSTIN, TX — Austin Police Chief Brian Manley on Thursday outlined how officers would respond to complaints related to the city's homeless population in the wake of the city council's more relaxed rules on their activity.

The council in July moved to decriminalize homelessness, easing rules related to sitting on city sidewalks and setting up camp throughout the city. Since then, Manley said, officers have had to deal with increased complaints and remove obstacles to pedestrians including mattresses for homeless people sleeping in the streets.

Despite the relaxed rules, Manley said his officers have been directed to safeguard public safety in some situations, including if pedestrians are forced to step over a homeless person or their belongings; if homeless people block entrances or exits of buildings; or if people are in the midst of areas closed to traffic access, such as special events or the downtown entertainment district (such as 6th Street) on weekend nights.

Such renewed police efforts came a day after Gov. Greg Abbott — a vocal critic of the city council's relaxed rules — threatened to marshal state resources to upend the local rules. In making the threat, Abbott gave the city until Nov. 1 to address mounting concerns.

"Feces & used needles are piling up & residents are endangered," Abbott wrote in a tweet Wednesday, when he sent a letter to Austin Mayor Steve Adler airing his concerns. "If not fixed by Nov.1, I'll use state authority to protect Texans' health & safety."

Manley was asked Thursday about the governor's comments, but said his department doesn't track defecation or the number of drug syringes found across the city. He suggested the police crackdown was less rooted in politics than public safety.

Abbott has been known to exaggerate the problems caused by the homeless, including one July tweet that shared an unsubstantiated report of a traffic accident supposedly caused by homeless people running into the street. The governor suggested homeless people had sprinted onto the street after being emboldened by the relaxed rules, passed the day before.

Police later debunked Abbott's claims, saying the traffic accident had been caused by a driver running a red light and nary a homeless person was in the vicinity at the time. Adler was quick to call the governor on the carpet after his claim was proven to be inaccurate.

Still, Manley warned residents not to provide homeless people mattresses or furniture lest they risk being cited for illegal dumping. He also said police would dismantle so-called shanty towns — under highway spans or in parks, for example — erected since the council's new rules took effect. Such dismantling seemed to have begun the same day, as illustrated by a Reddit user's post alerting to the removal of a homeless camp across from his office.

Related stories:

• Report Sheds Light On Austin's 'Criminalization' Of The Homeless
• Austin Seeks To Tackle Homelessness Issue
• UT-Austin Police Oppose City Steps To Decriminalize Homelessness
• Austin Mayor, Governor Clash On Homeless Issue
• Abbott Vows State Intervention To Upend Austin Homeless Rules

Manley said officers wouldn't be using measurement tape to determine distances between the right of way and a homeless person's perch to determine violations, but would judge obstructions based on whether such setups prevent pedestrians' freedom of movement on public sidewalks or exacerbate the paths of those pushing strollers or using wheelchairs.

Manley said he plans to ask the council to reinstate the original tighter rules on the homeless until his officers get usee to the new standards. Council members did not immediately respond to the chief's comments.