The Associated Press
Austin, Texas (AP) -- A civil rights group accuses Austin police of using excessive force against minorities and abusing their search powers.
The NAACP filed a complaint with the U.S. Justice Department in an effort to get the Austin Police Department to change the way it uses force against suspect and trains officers. The complaint, filed last week, seeks to block about $3.2 million the department receives until it makes the changes.
The complaint will trigger a federal investigation to determine whether the department has violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Safe Streets Act, which allots money to police departments if they adhere to federal civil rights laws, said Jim Harrington of the Texas Civil Rights Project.
The project filed the complaint against the department and the city of Austin on behalf of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
“The federal government does not give you money to beat up people,” Harrington told the Austin American-Statesman in Monday’s online edition.
Harrington cited minorities in Austin who were killed by white police officers -- including Jesse Owens and Sophia King -- as evidence of police abuse.
He said the complaint’s timing was significant because Juneteenth -- the day in 1865 when Texas slaves learned the Emancipation Proclamation had been issued two years earlier -- marked freedom from oppression by the government.
Nelson Linder, Austin NAACP president, said the complaint’s purpose was to “encourage (the department) to do the right thing, which is . . . get the proper training, discipline your officers and respect the community.”
Police referred questions about the complaint to city officials. A municipal spokesman said officials had not reviewed the complaint and could not comment.