The Austin Justice Coalition, Grassroots Leadership and other advocacy groups are asking city leaders to fire Austin Police Chief Brian Manley, Chief of Staff Troy Gay and Assistant City Manager Ray Arellano.
The call to fire the city鈥檚 highest-ranking police officer comes after 42-year-old when police shot at his vehicle as he drove away from them in Southeast Austin on Friday. But advocates for police reform say concerns over Manley鈥檚 leadership have been building for some time.
In a letter sent to Austin City Manager Spencer Cronk, Mayor Steve Adler and council members Monday, the groups said they felt hopeful nearly two years ago. The department and the City Council asked police .
But then, the groups wrote in their letter, the department stopped being responsive to change.
鈥淸I]t has become clear to us that actual change 鈥� as opposed to words about change or promises of future change 鈥� is not a priority for the current leadership of the Austin Police Department.鈥�
Cronk, who has the authority to remove the police chief, did not respond to a request for comment.
Manley announced Monday that the Texas Rangers would be assisting in the investigation. In an emailed statement, he said he was aware groups were calling for his removal.
鈥淲e are currently still handling the COVID19 pandemic, the Tatum Law Report, and the officer involved shooting from last week. My focus remains on these priority public safety issues,鈥� he wrote.
Gay and Arellano also did not respond to a request for comment.
Last year, Manley and his department came under fire after state auditors found they over a three-month period, meaning some cases had been cleared without police arresting an offender.
Then in November, the city ordered an outside investigation into complaints alleging former Assistant Chief Justin Newsom had used a racist term for black people numerous times over the last decade. While investigators said in a that they could not find text messages corroborating that claim, they did note 鈥渞acist and sexist behavior鈥� within the department and a fear of retaliation for speaking out.
A , this one more expansive, has been delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. When council members voted in favor of it, Mayor Pro Tem Delia Garza said she had been let down by Manley鈥檚 leadership.
鈥淚 was an early supporter of Chief [Brian] Manley,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd I鈥檝e been incredibly disappointed.鈥�
In a virtual press conference Monday, Meme Styles of the nonprofit MEASURE said she felt tired.
鈥淭ired of marching, tired of fighting, tired of saying the same things over and over," she said. "Tired of standing in front of City Council asking for a resolution, getting it passed and not getting the results from it."
Got a tip? Email Audrey McGlinchy at audrey@kut.org. Follow her on Twitter .
If you found the reporting above valuable, please to support it. Your gift pays for everything you find on KUT.org. Thanks for donating today.
Copyright 2020 KUT 90.5. To see more, visit . 9(MDAxODQzOTgwMDEyMTcyNjI4MTAxYWQyMw004))