Austin Mayor Kirk Watson condemned the downtown street takeover that injured one officer and left several police vehicles damaged over the weekend, but accused the police union of making "false comments" that "wrongly conflate this illegal incident with important community conversations about safety and oversight."
Car clubs blocked off multiple intersections throughout Austin on Saturday evening, drifting in the middle of the street and setting off fireworks as large crowds looked on at the chaos.
One Austin Police Department (APD) officer was injured, while several APD vehicles were damaged. A spokesperson for the Travis County Sheriff's Office told Fox News Digital that two of their patrol vehicles also had to be towed from the scene after the windows were busted out.
The incident came just days after the Austin City Council ditched a four-year contract with APD that officials had been negotiating for several months.
That contract called for hiring 200 officers by the end of 2024, and another 200 officers by the end of 2025, additions that the city's understaffed force desperately needs. Officers would also get a 14% raise over four years under the contract.
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The Austin City Council instead voted 9-2 last Wednesday to pursue a one-year contract extension, eliciting criticism from some law enforcement officials. The Austin Police Association tweeted that Saturday night's street takeover is proof that the city has "failed to make the right decisions & continue to defund, destroy, & demoralize public safety."
Former City Manager Spencer Cronk, fired last week over the city's slow response to a winter ice storm that left hundreds of thousand of residents without power, had warned in a memo earlier this month against a 1-year contract with the police union. Council Member Mackenzie Kelly also warned against the 1-year contract in a February 15 tweet: "Delaying the already agreed to upon four year contract will place additional doubt in our ability to govern the community."
The Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas (CLEAT) also hit the mayor for pushing the one-year extension instead of the new four-year contract.
"Mayor Watson is misguided, and the only path forward is the 4-year contract," a CLEAT spokesperson told Fox News Digital on Monday.
"The incident that occurred on Saturday is a direct result of the Austin City Council’s disrespect and bad faith attempt at establishing a path forward for public safety in Austin, Texas. Officers and citizens were placed in a very dangerous situation, but we are left asking ourselves what would have happened if there had been enough officers to enforce the law."
Mayor Watson said Monday that the city council will vote on an ordinance this week to ensure that officers' wages and benefits are paid even if the two sides can't come to an agreement before the current contract expires on March 31.
"No Austinite should ever accept the false choice between public safety and responsible policing — Austin can, and will, have both," Watson said in a statement. "If the Austin Police Association would like to talk about staffing and other issues, we welcome them back to the negotiating table to discuss a one-year contract."
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The APD's strained relationship with civilian leaders traces back to 2020, when the city council voted to cut the police department's budget by about one-third. APD's funding was restored in 2021 to comply with state law, but multiple cadet classes had been canceled and officers had already left the force in droves, contributing to the department's ongoing vacancy problems.
Two people were arrested and charged with evading arrest during the street takeover on Saturday night. At least four different intersections were blocked off by car clubs between 9:00 p.m. and 1:35 a.m.
One officer was transported to a local hospital and treated for injuries sustained during the takeover. Crowds pointed lasers and threw rocks and lasers at officers, police said.
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While APD's patrol resources have been lacking, the takeovers on Saturday night also highlighted problems with the department's 911 call center.
Council Member Alison Alter told the Austin American-Statesman that she was on hold with 911 for 28 minutes while trying to report the takeover at South Lamar Boulevard and Barton Springs Road.
Mayor Watson said that the 911 call center received four times the normal number of calls on Saturday night, leading to "unacceptably long waits."
"I’ve talked to Interim City Manager Jesús Garza and Chief Chacon about our options for dealing with our ongoing staffing challenges at 911 and hope to have at least a temporary solution soon," Watson said Monday.
