Austin News

When Austin City Council voted in August to cut the police department budget by one-third, District 2 candidate David Chincanchan supported the move.

On his campaign's Facebook page, Chincanchan called the vote “historic” and said it would free up funds to help end homelessness, boost early childhood education and mental health services and create an office of violence prevention. He also wrote in a statement regarding the protests in Austin that Police Chief Brian Manley should resign and that "his resignation would allow our community to heal and move forward with the enormous task that now lies ahead of us."

Chincanchan served as City Council Member Pio Renteria’s chief of staff and is taking a leave of absence to run for the District 2 council seat, Community Impact newspaper reported. He told the newspaper he is focusing on helping working families by increasing access to housing and improving transit. 

Meanwhile, another candidate in the District 2 race, Vanessa Fuentes, joined Chincanchan in signing the “no cash from cops” pledge in which they vowed to turn down contributions from the Fraternal Order of Police. Fuentes worked for six years on public policies at the American Heart Association, Community Impact reported.

“Elected officials have a responsibility to hold police accountable for the ongoing violence and abuses of power against Black people,” says the website of the organization pushing candidates to take the pledge. In doing so, they "must act independently from police unions and others determined to stand in the way of common sense solutions that keep communities safe.”

The law enforcement budget cuts come as violent crime is on the rise in Austin, according to the Austin Crime Commission.

“One of the biggest data points on this is that in 2013 Austin was the second safest in violent crimes in the U.S. And now we are fifth and we are trending the wrong way,” Corby Jastrow, president of the Greater Austin Crime Commission, told Fox 7 Austin. “It just doesn’t make sense to have these department-wide cuts when the crime rate is increasing.”

Austin had 23 murders in June, up from 14 during the same month in 2019, a 64.9% increase.

That was the largest percentage increase in the nation, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of 50 cities, the station reported.

A 2016 consultant’s report recommended that the city of Austin hire 152 new officers to implement a community policing.

“Over the last decade, Austin has seen significant growth and expansion throughout the city,” the report said. “This growth has put the Austin Police Department and the city continually in the position to evaluate the resources needed for effective police services and to continually plan for future needs.”

On her Facebook page, Fuentas said cuts to Austin's police budget will allow the city to "reinvest in permanent supportive housing and services, EMS for COVID-19 response, family violence shelter and protection, violence  prevention, workforce development, and a range of other programs."