Confronting Police Violence in Austin, Texas
Austin branch president Nelson Linder on Fox news
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The shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed black man shot by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, in August of 2014, has brought global attention the issue of deadly force by police officers in the U.S. Young Black males are 21 times more likely to be shot by police than their white counterparts, according to a ProPublica analysis of federally collected data on fatal police shootings. Overall, Blacks are being killed at disturbing rates when set against the rest of the American population.
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The Austin Branch of the NAACP has been confronting these issues at a both a local and federal level for over a decade.
The following is a timeline of the Austin Branch NAACP’s efforts to address police misconduct in Austin, Texas:
The following is a timeline of the Austin Branch NAACP’s efforts to address police misconduct in Austin, Texas:
1990’s-2000’s:
Increase in African American Deaths by White Officers
Beginning in the mid-nineties, Austin, Texas began to experience a rash of deaths of African Americans involving white police officers.
2004:
The Austin Branch NAACP and The Texas Civil Rights Project File a Complaint with the Department of Justice
The Austin NAACP and Texas Civil Rights Project filed a complaint with the Department of Justice (DOJ) invoking Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, against the Austin Police Department. The NAACP asked the federal government to withhold nearly 3 million dollars in federal funds until the city eliminated its racial disparities.
The complaint included many details of systemic police misconduct, including the fact that between 1999 and 2003, eleven people died from encounters with Austin police. Only one of the people who died was Caucasian, the rest were either Hispanic or African American.
The purpose of the Title VI complaint was to establish an orderly and systematic way of monitoring police misconduct and to ensure that our approach to eradicating police brutality would be organized and include a legal premise.
May 27, 2011:
The Department of Justice ends its investigation of the Austin Police Department
In a confusing statement, the Department of Justice declared that while the Austin Police Department did not violate the constitutional rights of African Americans, they did identify concerns that could lead to violations of law. They issued the Austin Police Department a technical assistance letter, which included 165 recommendations for improvement.
June 27, 2012:
The Austin NAACP and Texas Civil Rights Project files a new complaint with the DOJ against the Austin Police Department and the City of Austin
This very detailed and powerful document against both the Austin Police Department and the City of Austin again invoked Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. The Title VI complaint was updated on June 27, 2012, to reflect our concerns that use of force was increasing again after the DOJ completed its investigations. The revised filing also updated shootings by police and other data that reflected our concerns about excessive force against African Americans and Latinos.
Increase in African American Deaths by White Officers
Beginning in the mid-nineties, Austin, Texas began to experience a rash of deaths of African Americans involving white police officers.
2004:
The Austin Branch NAACP and The Texas Civil Rights Project File a Complaint with the Department of Justice
The Austin NAACP and Texas Civil Rights Project filed a complaint with the Department of Justice (DOJ) invoking Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, against the Austin Police Department. The NAACP asked the federal government to withhold nearly 3 million dollars in federal funds until the city eliminated its racial disparities.
The complaint included many details of systemic police misconduct, including the fact that between 1999 and 2003, eleven people died from encounters with Austin police. Only one of the people who died was Caucasian, the rest were either Hispanic or African American.
The purpose of the Title VI complaint was to establish an orderly and systematic way of monitoring police misconduct and to ensure that our approach to eradicating police brutality would be organized and include a legal premise.
May 27, 2011:
The Department of Justice ends its investigation of the Austin Police Department
In a confusing statement, the Department of Justice declared that while the Austin Police Department did not violate the constitutional rights of African Americans, they did identify concerns that could lead to violations of law. They issued the Austin Police Department a technical assistance letter, which included 165 recommendations for improvement.
June 27, 2012:
The Austin NAACP and Texas Civil Rights Project files a new complaint with the DOJ against the Austin Police Department and the City of Austin
This very detailed and powerful document against both the Austin Police Department and the City of Austin again invoked Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. The Title VI complaint was updated on June 27, 2012, to reflect our concerns that use of force was increasing again after the DOJ completed its investigations. The revised filing also updated shootings by police and other data that reflected our concerns about excessive force against African Americans and Latinos.