Austin police department in crisis amid shortages, 'defund the police' measures
https://thepostmillennial.com/austin-police-department-in-crisis-amid-shortages-defund-the-police-measuresThe city of Austin, Texas is facing massive repercussions following the disastrous "defund the police" movement of 2020.
The Austin Police Department is dealing with a significant staffing shortage, which resulted in an entire neighborhood going unpoliced during a period of time in February. The 911 response times have grown lengthy and residents are outraged.
Michael Bullock, President of the Austin Police Association, told Fox News that the city is on the "brink of a disaster."
"Previous councils and leadership have actively worked against our officers and department, which has now put us in a free-falling staffing crisis," said Bullock. "Twice now we’ve had our contract voted down or it has been allowed to expire. Each year since 2017, we’ve lost more officers than we’ve hired. We had to gut our specialized units and force detectives to work backfill on patrol just to try and respond to 911 calls."
Austin resident Lauren Klinefelter slammed the longer 911 response times and told the network that after she had been involved in a significant car accident in 2022 with her two young children ages 8 and 2, she couldn't get through to a dispatcher.
They voted for it and now they are asking for it.
