The Associated Press
AUSTIN (AP) - Use-of-force training for Austin police exceeds state requirements but officers should be given more, according to a group hired to review the way officers in the capital city are trained.
A 132-page report by the Police Executive Research Forum released this week was based on six months of interviews with officers and police officials, and other city officials.
Earlier this year, an Austin American-Statesman analysis showed that Austin police use force against minorities at significantly higher rates than they do against whites.
“I was told by someone that there aren’t really any bombshells in the report,” Police Chief Stan Knee told the Austin City Council on Thursday. “But to me, the whole report is a bombshell. It does open our eyes to some areas.”
Knee commissioned the study earlier this year to help respond to community concerns about how police use force in the wake of two high-profile police shootings. The forum is made up of 1,200 U.S. police chiefs, several of whom were appointed to participate in the Austin project, and has conducted similar studies of other major metropolitan departments. Several of the forum’s members conducted the Austin study.
The report said the department’s training already exceeds state requirements but suggests providing “mini-blocks” of use-of-force training spaced over several months and conducted during roll calls, before officers hit the streets. That would provide more frequent training and reinforce rules of when force is appropriate, the report said.
Most of the department’s current use-of-force training occurs for new officers in the police academy.
“The department should continue to take advantage of every opportunity to reinforce verbal and de-escalation skills through scenario-based training,” the report said.
“The academy should ensure cadets can practice their skills in a realistic setting as frequently as possible.”
The report also said the department should work to improve its relationship with the police monitor’s office, where residents file complaints against officers.
Some officers make assumptions about the police monitor’s motives and think the office is soliciting complaints, according to the forum.
“Sometimes when we don’t understand something, we fill in the blanks with information that may not be correct,” Knee said.
According to the forum’s findings, cadets should be trained in a setting with adequate classroom and desk space and with space to learn defensive tactics. Austin lacks that and would benefit from a new facility, it said.
Police officials said they are working to put the recommendations in place by December when the department begins a new cadet class.
“I think there are some concrete ways we can improve what we are doing,” said City Council Member Raul Alvarez. “And hopefully with a quick turnaround.”