Austin Police Oversight Office Issues Report On Cop Shootings

AUSTIN, TX — The Office of Police Oversight has compiled its inaugural officer-involved shooting report for incidents taking place in 2018, officials revealed on Wednesday.

The Office of Police Oversight reviewed every officer-involved shooting incident involving the Austin Police Department two years ago to identify any recurring factors and highlight areas for improvement. The report, officials said, provides insights into officer-involved shootings with incident summaries, related data, and policy recommendations.

View the OPO's 2018 Officer-Involved Shooting Report HERE.

The Report finds:

• In 2018, there were 12 officer-involved shooting incidents involving the Austin Police Department.
• Most individuals involved in 2018 officer-involved shooting incidents were ethnic minorities, specifically Latinx males.
• Most individuals involved in 2018 officer-involved shooting incidents were between 20-28 years old.
• The highest concentration of officer-involved shooting occurred in City Council District 2, the borders of which closely mirror those of the police department's Frank sector. District 2 and Frank sector cover southeast Austin.
• Almost half of all involved officers had between three to six years of experience at the Austin Police Department, and more than half of all involved officers were between 30 to 39 years old.
• Involved officers used “less-lethal” force before firearms in only one incident.

The report concludes that the 2018 officer-involved shootings highlight many issues that Austin Police Department must acknowledge and address to provide transparency and accountability to the community. Specifically, officers’ failure to use de-escalation tactics in many of the incidents, and failure to use “less-lethal” force options in all but one incident, require further explanation from the police department, officials said.

Related story: Austin Takes Steps To Address Policing Inequities

Moreover, officials said the 2018 data reveal a disparate concentration of officer-involved shootings affecting individuals who are ethnic minorities, as well as areas of Austin that are historically minority-majority. APD must account for these demographic and geographic disparities because doing so will be essential to effectuate the community policing model APD endeavors to achieve.

In light of the findings, among the report's recommendation to the Austin Police Department are:

• Increase continuing education in de-escalation, response to resistance; crisis intervention and mental health response, and community policing.
• Publish annual reports related to any officer-involved shooting incidents involving the police department.
• Increase the Office of Police Oversight’s access to officer-involved shooting incident data.
• Ensure mental health response training, policies and procedures follow best practices and address shortcomings found in the 2018 City Auditor report.

“In the most significant way, officer-involved shootings represent the power that law enforcement officers have over the lives of the civilians they serve," Office of Police Oversight Director Farah Muscadin said in a prepared statement. "As a result, both OPO and APD must critically analyze each officer-involved shooting incident that occurs and must also look at the aggregate data to determine what substantive policy changes can be made to address any recurring issues."

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The report comes amid civil unrest nationwide sparked by the May 25 death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, who died after an officer kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes as he lay on the ground face down. Austin protesters calling for an end to police brutality already were galvanized a month before following the April 24 officer-involved shooting of an unarmed man, Michael Ramos, outside a South Austin apartment complex.

Cell phone video of the local shooting circulating on social media shows Ramos showing his empty waistband in signaling he was unarmed before a beanbag projectile was fired on him followed by lethal rounds from a police rifle as he attempted to drive away. In the background audio, bystanders can be heard pleading with officers not to shoot the unarmed man who died after an officer opened fire, causing him to crash his car.

About the Office of Police Oversight

The mission of the Office of Police Oversight (OPO) is to provide impartial oversight of the Austin Police Department’s conduct, practices, and policies to enhance accountability, inform the public to increase transparency and create sustainable partnerships throughout the community.