Formal complaint: Purpose and scope—Community policing and other policy violations

OF
CITY
AUSTIN
OFFICE OF
NOTICE OF FORMAL
POLICE OVERSIGHT
COMPLAINT
ICMS #: 2020-0962
June 10, 2020
Complaint: The Office of Police Oversight received the following email from the 131 signed
complainants listed below:
"Dear Austin's Elected Officials and Leaders,
A message from
Classmates:
who is starting his junior year this upcoming fall in KIPP Austin Brave High
School, is just like any other teenagers. He recently turned 16 on May 26th and was excited to
begin working at Jersey Mikes. With the money he earned, he wanted to save up to buy his first
car, all alone without the help of others. He always talked about wanting to drive his car all around
Austin playing his favorite music DJ Screw, Dr Octagon, Eminem, Pink Floyd and The Killers.
is the student and classmate that truly stands out from everyone else. Since middle school,
he was known to be a free thinker. Always opinionated, independent, extremely intelligent. He
loved to have discussions with teachers whenever his beliefs were different from the ones our
teachers had. That is the
we know, the
we grew up with and love. A person, not just a
name appearing on TV and social media. He is a friend and classmate, a person who has feelings,
opinions, and rights just like everyone else in this country.
is a victim of police brutality
in Austin, Texas.
Anger, frustration and disbelief. These were only 3 of the many emotions we felt when we found
out our fellow classmate was now one of the many people who have gotten injured for being
present at what was supposed to be a "peaceful protest." Many people, his classmates like us
included, have yet to process their emotions about the whole situation. We feel powerless. There
is no justification for harming someone who was not acting violent. Why does this senseless
violence by the police continue? Why can't people be compassionate towards people of color?
They're just fighting for their right to LIVE. Is that SO bad? It is no secret people of color have
been seen as "threats" to the police force for many years, but especially now, many people of color
claim to be scared to step out of their homes because they will not come back due to the increase
of police brutality. There are parents teaching their children of color what to do in case they
encounter a police officer. They are told to keep their hands in eyesight and not to run. But why
should any kid be told they have to protect themselves from the police? The police force is
supposed to be here to "protect and serve us," but it feels as if they are against us, their community.
Everybody has the freedom of expression, the right to peaceful assembly, and the ability to petition
the government, but many people in the Austin community and nationwide prefer to remain silent
and stay away from protests, due to numerous incidents like
was glad to be
working, happy to be independent, like any other 16 year old would be. Like us. Like your sons,
daughters, nephews, nieces, or grandchildren. He wasn't even protesting, yet he still got shot. He
was observing the crowd. He was not a threat to an officer's safety, yet they shot him. This is
unjustifiable. This is police brutality, one of the many diseases in America. We just hoped it would
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.
OF
CHILL
OFFICE OF
NOTICE OF FORMAL
POLICE OVERSIGHT
COMPLAINT
never reach our community, but it did. And what difference would it make if he was protesting?
Would he still have been a target? This was a peaceful protest.
Throughout the last couple of days, we have seen our nation confront the issue of police brutality,
flooding social media and the news. Like many Americans, however, it's hard to understand the
effect of police brutality until it touches your own community. The majority of us were not affected
until
became a victim of it. We want justice for
,
and responsibility to be taken fairly
and collectively. As a community, we have compiled a list of actions to seek justice. First, the
officer, or officers, who shot
must be held accountable for their actions. In order to hold
officers accountable, we believe APD should terminate their role as an officer, and the District
Attorney's office should press appropriate charges. Secondly, moving forward, for the sake of the
community, using weapons such as: bean bags, projectiles, or rubber bullets, should be eliminated.
If this protocol was already in place, people like
who are standing innocently, away from
the crowd, would have never been brutally injured. Lastly, we hope that police officers are trained
to attend to public safety, rather than police with violent authority. If the Austin Police Department
wants reform, they must no longer act as paramilitary enforcers, instead they must seek to help
and heal. It is painful for us to keep seeing our peers seriously injured, then left unattended.
As students, as community members, and as humans, we demand responsibility for these inhumane
actions. The goal of our propositions in the letter are for people and students like us not to be
fearful in the presence of police officers.
story was one of the many regarding police
brutality, and we want to bring progress to all affected and demand change. We, the community,
demand and expect that police officers keep us safe instead of harming innocent people. We are
tired of seeing our peers be brutally injured by officers, who claim to be protecting us. If you, our
leaders, don't make those changes, who will?"
Student Signatures:
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.
OF
AUSTIN
NOTICE OF FORMAL
CITY
OFFICE OF
POLICE OVERSIGHT
COMPLAINT
FOUNDED
1339
A
1839
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.
OF
CITY
QUARTER
OFFICE OF
NOTICE OF FORMAL
POLICE OVERSIGHT
COMPLAINT
FOUNDED
1839
A
21
1839
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.
OF
CITY
AUSTIN
OFFICE OF
NOTICE OF FORMAL
POLICE OVERSIGHT
COMPLAINT
FOUNDED
1839
Teachers, Adults, Community Members in support:
This notice of formal complaint is a request for Internal Affairs to initiate an investigation in
order to determine if the employee conduct is within compliance of APD policy, Civil Service
Rules, and Municipal Civil Service Rules.
Recommended Administrative Policies to Review (to include but not limited to):
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.