Formal complaint: Purpose and scope—Community policing and other policy violations
Complainant alleges that Austin police officers used excessive force, tear gas and less lethal rounds on protesters. They also allege that Austin police officers lied about their use of tear gas on social media. The Office of Police Oversight recommends that this allegation receive an A classification.
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CITY
AUSTIN
OFFICE OF
NOTICE OF FORMAL
POLICE OVERSIGHT
COMPLAINT
ICMS #: 2020-1019
June 17, 2020
Complaint: The Office of Police Oversight received an online complaint from
stating as follows:
"Hi I wanted to file a complaint about a use of excessive force by the Austin Police
Department on predominantly young people who were protesting
as an act of civil
disobedience to object to the current state of affairs between the police and civillians.
Myself, along with nearly 30-40 other protestors on
.
People were kneeling
and non violent. A helicopter warned us of tear gas being used. The police fired the tear
gas, a toxic chemical weapon banned in war, which hurt many of us and was carried by the
wind towards the protestors on the ground who were also affected by it. As we were
heading away from the police, they started unleashing less lethal rounds on the backs of
protestors. They fired from my count listening to the video, nearly 60 rounds. These are
the same bullets which almost killed fellow protestors. This department acted ruthlessly
and potentially threatened the lives of their civilians. To add onto this, the APD Twitter
account publicly lied about using tear gas on us. On their Twitter. Which is why they will
be defunded."
The City of Austin is committed to compliance with the American Disabilities Act.
Reasonable modifications and equal access to communications will be provided upon request.