By Tony Plohetski
Austin American-Statesman
AUSTIN — A 50-page report by the U.S. Department of Justice released Monday said that the way Austin police classify force incidents allows “far too much gray area in which some serious complaints may be minimized or disposed informally” without enough investigation.
Austin police should further strengthen how they review incidents in which officers use force and create ways to make sure supervisors and others are properly evaluating such encounters, according to numerous federal recommendations to the department.
The document also said the department should change policies to make clear when weapons such as pepper spray and techniques such as choke holds should be used, and it recommends that all officers be trained in de-escalation techniques.
The report doesn’t draw any overarching conclusions about the department, leading readers to reach differing opinions about its content.
“It doesn’t describe a Police Department that has a systemic problem with its performance,” Police Chief Art Acevedo said at a news conference, which also was attended by City Manager Marc Ott and representatives from several community groups, including the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
However, Jim Harrington, director of the Texas Civil Rights Project, who had helped seek the federal inquiry, said, “All I can say is, ‘Wow.’ It is pretty much an indictment of the way things used to be and is a blueprint for what needs to be done yet.
“I don’t think it is as minor as the chief had spelled it out (to be),” Harrington said.
Acevedo said he plans to soon appoint a team of commanders to begin putting the more than 150 recommendations in place, after which he said he hopes to receive a “clean bill of health” from the Justice Department.
The department could have faced more serious federal mandates, in which the department would have been required to put recommendations in place or face a possible federal lawsuit. Such was the case after federal authorities reviewed the Detroit Police Department in 2003 and discovered civil rights violations. That department was required to stop improperly detaining witnesses in murder cases.
The Austin report primarily focuses on use-of-force policies but also discusses matters such as community outreach and how the department should make itself more accessible to residents who want to file complaints against officers.
Federal officials are still reviewing specific high-profile force incidents in recent years, including the June 2007 shooting of Kevin Alexander Brown by Sgt. Michael Olsen, who was later fired for his actions. Officials said they do not know when that portion of the inquiry will be completed.
The report is the result of an 18-month investigation that began in June 2007, nearly three years after the Austin NAACP chapter and the Texas Civil Rights Project filed a federal complaint.
The Justice Department had told the city in a letter informing it of the inquiry that officials would seek “to determine whether APD is systematically violating the Constitution of the United States.”
As part of the inquiry, federal officials reviewed Austin police policies and met with city officials, police union representatives, community leaders and officers of all ranks, according to the report.
The Justice Department report praises Acevedo, who became chief in 2007, for the changes he has brought to the department, which at times were met with resistance among the rank-and-file.
For instance, Acevedo in May revised the department’s use-of-force policy to begin requiring officers to document more actions, including when they point their weapons at suspects, and making front-line supervisors do a more immediate, thorough investigation in nearly all cases when force is used.
“We have been looking at all of these issues,” Acevedo said. “As a team, we came in and made a lot of changes. We made these changes because we recognized the need for process improvement. We did not wait for the Department of Justice to tell us what to do.”
However, the federal recommendations make more suggestions and point out gaps in some of Acevedo’s policies. For instance, federal officials said they noticed “a general lack of consistency” among supervisors on use-of-force reporting and review.
“We were also informed that some of these supervisors (who are to review use of force reports) are not themselves trained in up-to-date, uniform tactics or use of force,” the report said. “If these line-level and mid-level supervisors are not trained in use of force themselves, then they are not equipped to assess or counsel on their subordinates’ use of force.”
The report also gave suggestions to improve the department’s internal affairs division, which investigates some use-of-force incidents.
According to the report, the department should develop selection criteria for officers who want to be in the division, including an evaluation of their performance. The document also suggested that the department develop formal policies for how internal affairs investigators interview subjects, for instance.
Nelson Linder, president of the Austin NAACP, said the report validates many of the community’s concerns about the department.
“I think it gave some very good recommendations that need to be embraced,” Linder said.
Justice Department recommendations
The U.S. Department of Justice has given Austin police more than 150 policy recommendations. Among them:
* Limit strikes to the head with impact weapons, and change polices to permit “choke holds” only in situations in which lethal force is allowed.
* Provide officers with guidance on how much pepper spray to use, how long to use it and anatomical targets.
* Clear up how the department classifies uses of force, which now permits too much “gray area” in which some serious complaints may be minimized.
* Rely on internal affairs investigators to make sure supervisors are adequately reviewing force incidents, and make clear who is in charge of tracking such reports.
* Develop selection criteria for the internal affairs division, and make sure supervisors are trained in unit operations.
Copyright 2009 Austin American-Statesman