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Texas governor vows to deploy state troopers after Austin cuts police budget

The move comes after Austin City Council voted to cut the agency’s budget by $150 million

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Texas Governor Greg Abbott speaks at a conference in this photo dated April 28, 2020.

Photo/Greg Abbott via Facebook

By Hojun Choi
Austin American-Statesman

AUSTIN, Texas. — Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday said he would be deploying Texas Department of Public Safety troopers in Austin in response to the city council’s decision to remove $150 million from the Austin Police Department’s budget.

Austin City Council members voted earlier in the day to reinvest funding from the Police Department to various social programs, including mental health response and violence prevention.

Abbott, in a written statement on Thursday, suggested that the city put political agendas ahead of public safety.

“Austin’s decision puts the brave men and women of the Austin Police Department and their families at greater risk, and paves the way for lawlessness. Public safety is job one, and Austin has abandoned that duty,” Abbott said. “The legislature will take this issue up next session, but in the meantime, the Texas Department of Public Safety will stand in the gap to protect our capital city.”

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton also offered his view of the situation in a Thursday press release, calling the decision an “unwarranted attack” on the Police Department’s budget.

He also said the decision was motivated by “cancel culture.”

“Unfortunately, the targets of this ‘cancelling’ are the brave men and women who selflessly put their lives on the line to keep our families safe,” Paxton said. “The city council’s action to slash funding disregards the safety of our capital city, its citizens, and the many guests who frequent it.”

©2020 Austin American-Statesman, Texas

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