Recent reports say that the police force in Austin, Texas, is so short on staff that detectives have to pitch in to answer 911 calls. Thomas Villarreal, the president of the Austin Police Association, made the claim.
FOX News reports:
Austin PD hundreds of officers short as crime cripples city; union warns: ‘Don’t have the resources’Austin, Texas, residents are feeling the aftershocks of the “defund the police” movement as staff shortages reportedly are leaving 911 callers on hold and crime continues to spiral out of control.Thomas Villarreal, president of the Austin Police Association, blamed the city council for neglecting local law enforcement, telling “Fox & Friends” on Monday that the alleged missteps have concocted a larger problem.”We just continue to have a city council that doesn’t show its police officers that [it] cares about them,” he said…”I’ve got about 1,475 officers in our police department and, you know, we’re moving in the wrong direction. There’s less and less and less resources to go out and do the job. I’ve got detectives who are pulled away from their caseload to just help answer 911 calls because we just don’t have the resources to adequately police the city.”
Just as this hit the news on Monday, Austin Police Chief Joseph Chacon announced his resignation. Chacon became chief just after the riots in the spring of 2020.
This comes just days after the entire police force of Goodhue, Minnesota, quit their jobs.
CBS News in Austin reports:
Austin Police Chief Joseph Chacon stepping down after 25 years with APDAustin Police Chief Joseph Chacon is stepping down and has announced his retirement from APD after 25 years with the department.The announcement was made early Monday morning in a press release from the City of Austin.“The role of Chief is not an easy one.” Mayor Kirk Watson said. “Chief Chacon approached the job with an obvious desire to support his team and to protect our community.”Chacon was named interim chief in the spring of 2021 following the retirement of Chief Brian Manley and appointed to the position six months later.
Watch this video report from KVUE News in Austin. It tells you so much about what is really happening here. Almost every aspect of the story is told from a progressive point of view.
What happens when blue cities can no longer hire police officers?
Are the social workers going to step up and start answering 911 calls?
Featured image via YouTube.
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