U.S. Rep. Greg Casar, who previously served a decade on the Austin City Council, recently requested additional patrols in his neighborhood.
The Austin Police Retired Officers Association reacted to the “hypocrisy” as Casar advocated for defunding the police in 2020.
But this seems to us as the height of hypocrisy from the congressman. Maybe he should hire private security like his fellow squad members do. Sure seems like he wants the police in his neighborhood just not yours.
— Austin Police Retired Officers Association (@APROA01) December 19, 2023
Casar spearheaded the city’s 2020 “defund the police” drive and celebrated reducing the Austin Police Department budget.
We did it!! Austin City Council just reduced APD's budget by over $100 million *and* reinvested resources into our community's safety and well-being. Tens of thousands of you have called, emailed, and testified. You made the impossible into a reality. #blacklivesmatter pic.twitter.com/trrYSDEOK6
— Greg Casar (@GregCasar) August 13, 2020
Just last week, Casar requested a Justice Department investigation into the city’s beleaguered police force.
He went so far as to accuse the police department of violating “constitutional and civil rights,” while pursuing “racial discrimination,” and “discrimination against people with mental health conditions.”
Below is Casar’s full statement regarding APD:
I share serious concerns about the practices of the Austin Police Department leading to violations of individuals’ Constitutional and civil rights. The incidents of police misconduct that have occurred in the past two decades are not irregular or happenstance—they indicate the need for systemic reforms to the Department’s policies and practices of excessive and lethal use of force, racial discrimination, and discrimination against people with mental health conditions. Previous attempts at reform have often been met with resistance, so I ask that the Department of Justice intervene to ensure accountability with comprehensive oversight and enforcement. Since the 2007 DOJ investigation of the Austin Police Department, concerns about excessive and lethal force exercised by Austin police officers, particularly against communities of color and persons with mental health conditions, have continued.
Casar represents a safe Democrat district that covers the most liberal parts of Austin, San Marcos, and San Antonio.
