Live Stream: Brian Manley Makes His Case For Permanent Chief Post

AUSTIN, TX — The public is invited to attend a community forum Thursday evening to listen to interim Police Chief Brian Manley make his case in pursuing the role of permanent chief for the Austin Police Department.

Manley has been serving as interim police chief since November 2016 when former chief Art Acevedo accepted the top cop job in Houston. He's scheduled to give a talk at tonight's forum as well as listen to questions and comments from attendees.

Tonight's forum is the second, and final, one to occur as Manley pursues the permanent top cop job after an earlier gathering at the Turner-Roberts Recreation Center in East Austin. Tonight's forum will be staged from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. May 17 at KLRU Studio, 2504 Whitis Ave. B, Austin.

WATCH LIVE ON ATXN OR FACEBOOK LIVE STREAM AT facebook.com/decibelatx/.

Manley has gotten high marks during his interim role, particularly during the Austin serial bombings ordeal in March, during which he proved to be a calm, reassuring presence at press conferences while offering safety tips to the public. A serial bomber who mailed explosive devices disguised as benign packages — killing two and injuring others — threw the city into panic until he ended up killing himself while police closed in.

But during the same period of time, Manley garnered the most strident critiques of his leadership style by speaking of the dead bomber in tones many interpreted as empathetic of the 23-year-old bomber. After listening to an audio recording left behind by the bomber, on which he described challenges he had faced in his young life, Manley spoke of him not as a domestic terrorist but as a troubled and frustrated young man who was challenged by life.

Making matters worse, the chief agreed with a preliminary assessment later proved erroneous that the first bombing killing an African American man likely was self-inflicted or related to neighborhood drug dealing. Manley later apologized on both fronts.

Also under his tenure, incidences of officer-involved shootings in Austin haven't shown any signs of slowing down in a city where many view police as too trigger-happy. At least four officer-involved shootings were logged by mid-March of this year alone — including two in less than a week.

The continued level of such incidents has come despite a Manley-led effort at deescalating police confrontations through less-than-lethal means. The new policy came by virtue of a revamped edition of the 755-page Austin Police Department General Orders, containing new requirements for officers to compel them to first attempt to tamp down volatile situations before using their police-issued weapons — guns, batons, Tasers and the like.

The Austin Police Department have long been the target of citizens' complaints for perceived excesses in the use of force. On May 31, 2007, the Austin chapter of the NAACP and Texas Civil Rights Project filed a complaint against APD with the U.S. Department of Justice alleging systemic police misconduct. In a span of a five-year period between 1999 and 2003, the complainants argued, 11 people died in police encounters locally. Of those killed, only one was Caucasian while the others were either Hispanic or black. As result, the DOJ later made 160 recommendations to improve the police department's policies and procedures, most of which were implemented by APD during the investigation period.

Local civil rights, labor rights, and immigrant rights organizations issued statements on Friday ahead of the forum airing concerns on various fronts related to the police chief hiring. Austin City Manager Spencer Cronk in April announced that interim Police Chief Brian Manley was the sole finalist to permanently take the position pending a one-month community engagement process.

As a result of that single-candidate status, Grassroots Leadership, United We Dream, and Workers Defense Project said that, at minimum, Manley should make clear where he stands on "...the most important policing issues facing the Austin community," according to a press advisory. One of those issues to which advocates seek answers is related to reducing arrests and keeping residents safe from deportation, Grassroots Leadership officials said.

“Interim Police Chief Manley must commit to a plan to reduce the number of arrests for low-level offenses that could otherwise result in citation,” Holly Kirby, criminal justice programs director at Grassroots Leadership, said in a prepared statement. “This is already in line with current state law and there is much more that our progressive city can do.”

Jose P. Garza, executive director of Workers Defense Project, agreed: “As Texas families feel the effects of SB 4, we are asking local officials to take actions to defend their communities. Austin’s next police chief should commit local solutions that keep people out of jail for minor offenses and ensure public safety for all.”

Julieta Garibay, co-founder and Texas Director with United We Dream, echoed the sentiments: “As extremist politicians in Texas put lives at risk in order to spread their poisonous anti-brown and anti- black agendas, law enforcement and elected officials must be held accountable to the communities they serve. Austin Police Department should not play into the arrest to deportation pipeline that Abbott and Trump have created to criminalize, incarcerate and deport immigrants. We call on the APD to commit to informing people of their rights. Local officials are at the front lines of the attacks on immigrants across the country. It is time for bold leadership to protect immigrants in Texas and those who do not act are complicit. When we are under attack, we rise up and fight back, because we are here to stay.”

Representatives from those advocacy groups have scheduled a 6 p.m. press conference outside the forum venue ahead of Manley's presentation.

The forum co-hosted by the City of Austin will be broadcast live on ATXN, and streamed on Facebook Live at facebook.com/decibelatx/. Members of the community can ask questions during the meeting or provide them in advance through email at OurNextChief@austintexas.gov or by Tweeting their question with the hashtag #OurNextChief. Residents who may need access to languages other than English or Spanish should contact 3-1-1 in advance.

After the forum, City Manager Spencer Cronk will begin using feedback from a number of panels and public events – as well as comments provided via text and email – to help decide whether to appoint Manley or widen the pool of candidates through a national search, city officials said.

Thursday evening's event on a first-come, first-served basis. Doors will open at 6.30 p.m. The event is scheduled to be broadcast on KLRU-TV on Sunday, May 20 at 5.30 p.m. Community members who are unable to attend or engage with Thursday's event can still share their thoughts in a variety of ways:

• Online at speakupaustin.org/OurNextChief or in Spanish at speakupaustin.org/proximojefe

• Via text by sending the word “Chief” or, for Spanish, “Jefe” to (512) 580-8850

• By email at OurNextChief@austintexas.gov.

• Via phone by calling 3-1-1 (language services available).

So far more than 150 comments have been received via text, email or online, city officials noted. The cut-off point for feedback will be 5 p.m. Monday, May 21, officials added.

For parking information visit klru.org/about/map-and-directions-to-KLRU. The venue is serviced by the following bus routes: 1, 3, 5, 19, 20, 21, 22, 103, 105, 410, 481, 640, 642, 682, 801, 803, 980, 981, 982, 987, and 990.

>>> Photo of Brian Manley (with City Manager Spencer Cronk standing behind him) courtesy of Austin Justice Coalition