Justice

Austin's Police Chief Won't Tolerate Violence in His Ranks

Chief Art Acevedo has lambasted top brass over high-profile incidents of violence in his department. We need more of this.

In this dashcam video from 2015, Breaion King is led by officers during a traffic stop in Austin, Texas. The black Texas teacher was thrown to the ground by a white officer during the stop, then told by another white officer that blacks have “violent tendencies.”Austin Police Department/AP

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By Brentin Mock

October 24, 2016 at 4:31 PM EDT

This special report from the Austin American-Statesman is worth a read for a glimpse into just how difficult it is for a police chief to change the culture of local law enforcement. On October 20, investigative reporter Tony Plohetski released audio of a private meeting that Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo held with police department commanders in August. The chief was miffed about two publicized instances of police violence. One involved police officer Bryan Richter, who was caught on film slamming Breaion King, a 26-year-old African-American teacher onto a parking-lot pavement after a traffic stop. The other involved officer Geoffrey Freeman, who shot and killed David Joseph, a 17-year-old African American. The teenager was not only unarmed, but was completely naked when Freeman shot him.

Acevedo fired Freeman—a move that upset many of his commanders. But, as the audio from the August meeting makes clear, Acevedo was all out of damns to give about the firing. Said Acevedo:

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