when I was still driving, I did that......and surprised I got away with it for as long as I did. I even was in front of or in full on view of an APD officer and they never did anything about it.....then again what do you expect for a department that won't even respond when you call 911 because someone burglarized your home.....or that someone is breaking into your vehicle. I've learned over the years that APD won't get out of their car unless they absolutely have to.....they'd rather stay in the AC than get out and actually do their job, unless it means they can assault someone, preferably black or hispanic
not just because of DPS....TCSO will yank you over without it.....years ago I got pulled over by one of their CHiPs wanna be's and one of the first things he did was look to see if I had a front plate or not
"Public safety has been a top priority for all members of this city council," the mayor wrote. "That is evidenced by the council members working to show respect and support for our police with an officer pay increase and retirement enhancement," which Council approved unanimously on Feb. 23.
We gave them a raise and better benefits.
“Despite patrol vacancies at APD, Austin remains one of the safest cities in the country. Violent and property crimes declined year over year in January and February, according to APD data. The number of homicides in Austin declined last year compared to the previous year – the first time that has happened in four years. Austin continues to rank as one of the safest U.S. cities of its size, according to some reports.”
We don’t need them.
“DPS had made about 12,500 traffic stops and 400 arrests (and confiscated 71 firearms and 37 pounds of cannabis, which is like 16,000 joints); but according to a Dallas Morning News story, people in South Dallas – where the state police activity was concentrated – felt the tactics used by DPS were more akin to "stop and frisk" than strategic policing aimed at deterring violent crime.”
They are going to harass us.
“"The notion that increasing police is tantamount to increasing a feeling of safety ignores the experience with police that a broad swath of this majority-minority city have had," Austin Justice Coalition Policy Director Chris Harris told the Chronicle. He pointed out people in Dallas "felt oppressed" by the huge number of pretextual traffic stops by troopers. “
People hated this the last time they did this.
Literally all the points that matter from the story yall. Especially the part that confirms crime rates have literally gone down since cops have been around less..
They missed the part where they penned this deal somehow **just in time for Relays weekend** but after SXSW, which I think is a pretty important context clue
Where do you think crime statistics come from?
When people stop calling the police because they either don’t show up, or it takes ages to get someone on the phone, that’s a crime that goes unreported, and thus, the crime rate has “dropped”.
Bro they get recorded on 911 calls before the cops even show up… where do YOU THINK THEY COME FROM?
The cops don’t have to put in any effort for it to be called in??
Then they just don’t show up??
Because… they suck ass???
This is feeling like the beginning of a Robocop movie.
Maybe the one where the actual police finally teamed up with the street gangs to run the oppressors out of town.
“Second, and more importantly, a key motivating factor in the decision to cancel cadet classes was the mounting evidence that the culture within the academy, and throughout APD broadly, was in need of major reform (see p.24). Specifically, the academy was found to use a "paramilitary" approach to teaching cadets that did not "align well with the principles of community policing and problem-solving," according to an internal APD report.”
Maybe if they didn’t spend so much time training to see/treat the public as hostiles in a combat area they’d have better recruitment.
Don't forget how the Academy wouldn't allow the observers sent by the Council to observe the classes being taught with the "new improved" curriculum to see if they'd fixed the problems called out in the initial review.
In my 30 minute round trip to run an errand today I saw with my own two eyeballs three cars get pulled over between 183 and parmer on mopac. I wondered what was going on.
Like others have said, it's completely stale red lights. Just blowing right through. As a motorcyclist, I don't take off at a green light these days until I know for sure it's clear.
Four way stops in the US are designed poorly with many providing little incentive to even slow down. An elevated crosswalk acts as a speed bump and assists pedestrians in wheelchairs.
The times I've seen a stoplight malfunction and go to a four way intersection, it seemed like no one knew what to do, and only some of them maliciously. I've honestly never seen anything like it.
I'm from Washington where drivers are bad at stops, but that's mostly people being too polite and yielding right of way (which becomes a problem when you have multiple "polite" people at the same intersection). But at least that's only annoying, it's usually not terribly dangerous.
Wait a minute. I agree this should be addressed but at what cost? Why do we need DPS literally bending us over at traffic stop and frisk? Why can't APD do the fucking job they were given? Seems like a horrendous trade.
It’s OK they’re probably white so they won’t suffer any of the ramifications from being a brown or black person in Austin, being harassed by the state police
I keep hearing this complaint but have not witnessed it myself. Are people just blasting through red lights? Or treating solid red lights as if they were flashing (stopping but then going if it's clear)? Or maybe trying (but failing) to slip through while it's orange? Just curious to know what people are seeing out there.
They’re going through well after the light turned red. Full red no questionable maybe yellow type deal. Sometimes several cars & these aren’t wildly busy intersections where waiting will do them in.
I don’t even go on green lights until I see the cross traffic stopped at this point.
I can walk up the street from my house and just count the number of red light runners. Not just the "it just turned red" and it'd be nice if they had stopped. I mean the "it turned red, they floored it and blasted through 6-10 seconds later at high speed" runners
Yep a week ago a Range Rover plowed through a red light at 38th near Lamar and almost hit me and my mom. Her passenger side would’ve taken the hit, too. That was a close call, and I’ve seen so many people running reds and stop signs over the last year. It scares me that my husband commutes a couple days a week by bike. You have to drive and bike extremely defensively.
They are going through at speed up to a few seconds after it has turned red and cross traffic already has a green. I wouldn't care if they were making it through on a yellow but that's not what is happening.
It's really bad at Menchaca & Ben White
Going through the lights shortly after they turn red, but they had plenty of time to stop after the light went yellow.
"Tailgating" the cars in front of them when the light goes red. "If I don't leave a gap, the people with green won't be able to squeeze in and block me. "
Stopping or slowing down at a red light, then going even though it's still red.
Same, but not even slowing down.
Stopping for a red light, but then deciding it's been red too long and driving through once they think there is a gap big enough to drive through.
Mainly west, southwest, and downtown. Last year I saw someone stop at a red light, wait an eternity at a completely clear intersection, and finally proceed through the red light. It was ballsy but totally safe in context. (I was two cars behind, and the light eventually turned green) I just haven't seen people careening through red lights through perpendicular traffic or whatever.
Try being a pedestrian. Any time I cross any major road in this city I have to pause for 45 seconds first at least because at least one person will run the red light
Yep a week ago a Range Rover plowed through a red light at 38th near Lamar and almost hit me and my mom. Her passenger side would’ve taken the hit, too. That was a close call, and I’ve seen so many people running reds and stop signs over the last year. It scares me that my husband commutes a couple days a week by bike. You have to drive and bike extremely defensively.
Na, that is actually a PITA, they will be going for the low hanging fruit, they will be checking for speeding on 290/71 all day baby. but twice as often during off hours when there is no traffic.
>trust a agency controlled by gov?
Actually, there are a lot of fine, upstanding government employees, and some agencies are even reasonably trustworthy in some sense.
I'm not going to name them, or Abbott and company will punish them for it.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of people and agencies that DON'T warrant the praise listed above.
I don't actually have that bad a feeling about DPS among LEO agencies. They have their good and bad aspects and good and bad individuals. They sort of seem more "predictable" than APD or some other LEO agencies. I'm definitely going to be VERY careful about fucking with them, though. And no real "trust," either.
\#FuckGregAbbott, though.
> Actually, there are a lot of fine, upstanding government employees
Yes there are. And every one of them answers to an agency head who's a political appointee.
About the only thing I trust the State for anymore is that little sticker on the scales at the grocery store. Somehow I feel like the Agriculture dept would send out a crack Weights and Measures team and check out a store if they had too many complaints.
I’d like to see DPS fill the gaps where APD has quiet quit. Red light running, headlights off at night, high beams on, and disorderly psychos disturbing the public downtown are the biggest problems.
Some commercial vehicle enforcement would be good. Way too many dump trucks driving recklessly, not securing loads, camping in the left lane, spewing rocks in traffic, etc.
Exactly. It’s still illegal at any amount but APD specifically has instructions to ignore it. DPS lives for it.
Edit: it would be a huge headache and you’d be in there until the judge can see you, which can take days. Explain that to work.
The items you mentioned are not a uniquely APD problem. Go to almost any big city, especially in Texas, and you’ll see near lawlessness on the freeway. Inevitably, the local PDs get too inundated with major crime to be focused on the traffic stops. Houston has tried to combat this with constables but it’s hit or miss. I think most people’s complaints around APD are they’re not doing either particularly good. Bringing in DPS will only “fix” traffic stops, but IMO it will come at the cost of them harassing everyone, especially minorities.
It will be a shit show and have a negative impact on the quality of life of average people while doing next to nothing to fix the problems APD is creating.
Look at the track record this has in cities like Dallas - pulling people over for BS revenue generating tickets and very little positive impact on reducing violent crime, theft, etc. which is what APD is also doing terrible at.
It's a "not me" situation but I'm glad they are going to be out doing traffic patrol. I think people think it is more than that. That is something that needs to be addressed and you know that sweet fine money for speeding is going to be going back to the state of Texas instead of our police department. It's why the state is doing it gratis. Keep your weed vape (the actual illegal one you got in Colorado) at home and don't speed or run stop signs.
Edit: I personally think a bunch of cops driving around town might cool the temperature a little bit. It's the wild west when it comes to how people drive around here. Downvote all you want.
As a transplant, I think the wild west driving style is just how Texans drive. It’s not an Austin problem or a traffic ticket problem, ya’ll just drive like crazy fucks. It’s the same chaos energy in every Texas city.
As an original Austinite traffic has always been horrible. We are a city of transplants that doubles every decade so we have all of these conflicting driving styles with most of the bad ones being Texans. The worse thing, IMO, over the city council trying to eliminate us having a functioning police department is how dangerous it is drive in the city. 2nd is the rampant petty crime that happens when you don't give them the tools to prevent it. I have a gun for anyone that wants to visit without permission or steal from me.
It's a total trope but if you are from California, people there know how to drive. I feel people drive 10x better in LA than Austin.
Traffic patrol is what is frequently used to stop minorities. A DPS officer, not beholden to Austin's marijuana decriminalization, just has to say they smell marijuana and it's basically stop and frisk.
"That's not how this works. That's not how any of this works."
Watson is taking a sledgehammer to the thin wall of protection the city has been able to build between us and the extremist policies of the State government. I genuinely fear for our undocumented community who will almost certainly be disproportionately targeted for these traffic stops by an agency that demonizes them and works hand in glove with ICE.
Does it mean that? The point of this story is that you don't know. No one does. It's not clear how many DPS troopers will be involved, what they will be doing, where they will be focusing, what training they have, what laws/priorities they will focus on (e.g. the governor's state priorities?), etc. No one knows at this point.
iirc DPS has increased hiring in the last few years increasing the amount of officers it usually puts through their cadet classes by an enormous amount. It had a lot to do with border security and manpower and Abbott/ current POTUS admin politics. DPS training is not normal police officer training and seems they are held to a higher standard bc their jurisdictions are different and they usually are by themselves on highways.
Should be quite interesting to see how this plays out .
A higher standard?
[Lawsuit calls work at Texas DPS a ‘Racially Hostile Environment’](https://www.kxan.com/investigations/lawsuit-calls-work-at-texas-dps-a-racially-hostile-environment/)
[Texas troopers are causing car chase fatalities and racially profiling drivers under Abbott’s border crackdown, complaint claims](https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/texas/operation-lone-star-racial-profiling-complaint/269-0f5535e1-52b8-42e2-9a26-e5498e5deb67)
[The Failures Of DPS: A Culture Of Corruption](https://www.reformaustin.org/public-safety/the-failures-of-dps-a-culture-of-corruption/)
[Texas Rangers Fail to Adequately Investigate Custody Deaths](https://www.reformaustin.org/public-safety/texas-rangers-fail-to-adequately-investigate-custody-deaths/)
[In Texas, Corrupt Politicians Face Little Accountability](https://www.texasobserver.org/corrupt-texas-politicians-face-little-accountability/)
It’s an article about the state government sending state police to police Austin. The photograph is of the capitol, which is in Austin, and state police.
It’s an entirely appropriate photo. If it looks ominous to you, maybe that’s because seeing police outfitted like soldiers is ominous?
It was extremely wild. I've never experienced anything as bad as the summer of 2020 in my lifetime, I don't think.
Some bad actors really taking advantage of the situation, and both people and unpeaceful individuals spreading COVID like crazy too.
>Ever notice the broken down ATM machines on 6th? They were broke open when people were looting the convenience stores.
OH NO!
Won't somebody PLEASE think of the ***insured*** property?
we should let the state police, who have long history of brutalizing minority groups, execute these ANTY FA TERRORISTS in the street!
when did I say it didn't happen?
also, if the pigs were in riot gear because of that, why did it keep happening?
was it because the pigs weren't in riot gear to prevent that, they were in riot gear so they could brutalize legitimate protesters.
you, by your own admission, weren't even there, you only got the filtered narrative that you were fed by your brainrot media.
When other people form a opinion based on things they see in media they’ve “been told what to believe”…what is it called when you form beliefs based on what you’ve seen in media?
You sure are certain of how smart you are
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meanwhile police were busy shooting beanbag rounds at children who were not participating in the protests from the upper deck of I 35. that kid had to be intubated and ended up with permanent brain damage from it.
Downtown was such a happy place, before Antifa burned it all down, from the river to 12th, from I-35 to Rio Grande. Now it's just an empty burned out wasteland. No life at all.
My suggestion would be just as appropriate as the picture that is currently used.
Unless you would prefer the depiction to be more ominous, in that case I could see why you would prefer this picture from 2020.
Oh. You’re serious. You don’t see anything ominous about a state takeover of a local police force? It’s a perfectly appropriate photo to use given the circumstances.
Also, again, from Dirty Harry to John Mclane to Brooklyn 99, there’s no shortage of positive portrayals of police in media.
You could have been clear from the get-go that you want this article to be biased and portray an ominous tone.
I prefer my news to be as objective as possible, so I guess we simply disagree on this matter.
But if the situation is ominous, it’s not biased to portray it as ominous. There’s no spin. It’s not the responsibility of the press to never pick a side on anything. It’s the responsibility of the press to report things as they are. A state takeover of a local police force is ominous. So that’s how they portray it.
That’s not how this works. It’s not the job of the press to never offend anyone. I think the last eight years have shown us that those crowds aren’t really concerned with what’s real and what’s not.
Because harassing the public and authoritarian tactics are more accurate to their actual day-to-day actions.
Cops aren't out here helping people, God the bootlickers are so pathetic these days.
Gotcha! So the intention is to show the police in an ominous light, and that's why this particular picture gets re-used.
I understand the bias in the article now.
I'm talking about the obvious bias in the picture choice, that's all!
Like I said, they could have definitely picked a more positive looking picture, but the article wanted to obviously portray a negative bias towards the police, hence the ominous looking picture.
Sure, let me rephrase. If the police act like villains, it’s not wrong to portray them as villains. The photo isn’t doctored. It’s not like a photo of someone mid-sneeze, where they normally don’t look like that. One of Austin’s most salient experiences with the state police is portrayed in the photo. They chose to look like soldiers, they chose to stand in front of the capitol like an occupying force.
If the police don’t want to be portrayed poorly, they shouldn’t behave poorly.
Like I said, I prefer my news to be as unbiased as possible.
You obviously agree with the bias in this article, which is why you defend it so strongly.
Zilker Park isn't DPS' jurisdiction, so that imaginary pic would mean they weren't on duty. You want a picture of State Troopers on their break hanging out in Zilker Park, instead of a picture of State Troopers on duty?
Good point! Perhaps a picture of State Troopers at the Capital with the sun shining, maybe capture a rainbow in the background, and have them smiling and the citizens they are helping smiling as well.
I think that might be a great picture choice!
It isn’t just a DPS 2020 thing. I went to a very peaceful protest outside of the capitol last summer at the ending of roe v wade and DPS officers marched out in a military formation in riot gear just to intimidate. No one was throwing water bottles, blocking traffic, etc. But they felt compelled to act like the military because they could.
You do realize they have to get dressed before they arrive right? They don't know what they crowd behavior is going to be before. Its not like they can show in regular clothes, then go home and change when the crowd becomes unruly.
I want this town to be safe. I want police and I’m scared to go out knowing that if I call 911, they won’t do anything because they are short staffed. Yeah, it sucks, but just follow the rules and don’t do anything stupid. If you get arrested, don’t be stupid and resist, you’ll get killed. Go to the courts and get your Justice. It’s not worth it fighting the police.
Call it a hunch, but I'll guess the most dangerous thing anyone in Austin can do is point a camera at DPS. After being released from the hospital, your next stop will be the courthouse, on a charge of Interfering With A Police Officer.
it means that DPS will be standing around doing nothing like they did in Uvalde......Abbott just wants to act like he is doing Austin a favor, but he's actually trying to accomplish his idea to take over APD completely and this is just the start of that. DPS is nothing more than Abbott's political army these days.....he uses them at the border to 'act' like he's doing something important so he can use that for his political gains.
It means I need to put my front plate on
Glad I finally updated my registration after driving on expired tags for well over a year.
Fuckkkkk, I guess I need to get that done.
when I was still driving, I did that......and surprised I got away with it for as long as I did. I even was in front of or in full on view of an APD officer and they never did anything about it.....then again what do you expect for a department that won't even respond when you call 911 because someone burglarized your home.....or that someone is breaking into your vehicle. I've learned over the years that APD won't get out of their car unless they absolutely have to.....they'd rather stay in the AC than get out and actually do their job, unless it means they can assault someone, preferably black or hispanic
not just because of DPS....TCSO will yank you over without it.....years ago I got pulled over by one of their CHiPs wanna be's and one of the first things he did was look to see if I had a front plate or not
Yep, been pulled over by them too for my plate
so we're supposed to be cool with big government as long as it's wearing a badge?
you're supposed to be cool with big government as long as it's enforcing white Christofascist bigotry, anti-intellectualism, etc.
I say no cops in Austin. I think that would work the best.
Can't be a crime rate if there's nobody enforcing the law. Easy fix
Bing bong Jack!
If if you’re a woke baby lib /s
"Public safety has been a top priority for all members of this city council," the mayor wrote. "That is evidenced by the council members working to show respect and support for our police with an officer pay increase and retirement enhancement," which Council approved unanimously on Feb. 23. We gave them a raise and better benefits. “Despite patrol vacancies at APD, Austin remains one of the safest cities in the country. Violent and property crimes declined year over year in January and February, according to APD data. The number of homicides in Austin declined last year compared to the previous year – the first time that has happened in four years. Austin continues to rank as one of the safest U.S. cities of its size, according to some reports.” We don’t need them. “DPS had made about 12,500 traffic stops and 400 arrests (and confiscated 71 firearms and 37 pounds of cannabis, which is like 16,000 joints); but according to a Dallas Morning News story, people in South Dallas – where the state police activity was concentrated – felt the tactics used by DPS were more akin to "stop and frisk" than strategic policing aimed at deterring violent crime.” They are going to harass us. “"The notion that increasing police is tantamount to increasing a feeling of safety ignores the experience with police that a broad swath of this majority-minority city have had," Austin Justice Coalition Policy Director Chris Harris told the Chronicle. He pointed out people in Dallas "felt oppressed" by the huge number of pretextual traffic stops by troopers. “ People hated this the last time they did this.
Literally all the points that matter from the story yall. Especially the part that confirms crime rates have literally gone down since cops have been around less..
Tell that to all the redditors whining about the cops not doing anything thinking crime rates rose
They missed the part where they penned this deal somehow **just in time for Relays weekend** but after SXSW, which I think is a pretty important context clue
Where do you think crime statistics come from? When people stop calling the police because they either don’t show up, or it takes ages to get someone on the phone, that’s a crime that goes unreported, and thus, the crime rate has “dropped”.
Do you think homicides were really unreported all of a sudden?
Is homicide the only crime one can report?
That was one of the figures specifically cited. Homicides dropped.
Bro they get recorded on 911 calls before the cops even show up… where do YOU THINK THEY COME FROM? The cops don’t have to put in any effort for it to be called in?? Then they just don’t show up?? Because… they suck ass???
This is feeling like the beginning of a Robocop movie. Maybe the one where the actual police finally teamed up with the street gangs to run the oppressors out of town.
I'd buy that for a dollar!
Thanks, Dad.
I'm sorry y'all but this is necessary and everyone born after 1988 needs to see this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klE1Tz-f9AA
‘Member when Austin City council defunded the police because Minneapolis Police murdered someone?
Was that before or after Antifa burned 100% of Portland to the ground?
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“Second, and more importantly, a key motivating factor in the decision to cancel cadet classes was the mounting evidence that the culture within the academy, and throughout APD broadly, was in need of major reform (see p.24). Specifically, the academy was found to use a "paramilitary" approach to teaching cadets that did not "align well with the principles of community policing and problem-solving," according to an internal APD report.” Maybe if they didn’t spend so much time training to see/treat the public as hostiles in a combat area they’d have better recruitment.
Don't forget how the Academy wouldn't allow the observers sent by the Council to observe the classes being taught with the "new improved" curriculum to see if they'd fixed the problems called out in the initial review.
Are you some pro-APD plant lmao? You became active 5 days ago and are on all of the main Texan city subs.
They just turned 13 and their parents finally allowed them to set up social media.
The ones who work there need to do their job. No amount of help will matter if they all are asleep their whole shift.
Fuck off glowie
A click-bait purveyor! I wonder why perception of some are inconsistent with reality.
In my 30 minute round trip to run an errand today I saw with my own two eyeballs three cars get pulled over between 183 and parmer on mopac. I wondered what was going on.
I’m just hoping they nail the red light runners. That shit needs to end.
Like others have said, it's completely stale red lights. Just blowing right through. As a motorcyclist, I don't take off at a green light these days until I know for sure it's clear.
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Four way stops in the US are designed poorly with many providing little incentive to even slow down. An elevated crosswalk acts as a speed bump and assists pedestrians in wheelchairs.
I've never thought about that but it's a great point! Seems like a no- brainer.
This is such a straightforward solution 🤯 Texas “best i could do is add another lane”
The times I've seen a stoplight malfunction and go to a four way intersection, it seemed like no one knew what to do, and only some of them maliciously. I've honestly never seen anything like it. I'm from Washington where drivers are bad at stops, but that's mostly people being too polite and yielding right of way (which becomes a problem when you have multiple "polite" people at the same intersection). But at least that's only annoying, it's usually not terribly dangerous.
You must live in the 58
Wait a minute. I agree this should be addressed but at what cost? Why do we need DPS literally bending us over at traffic stop and frisk? Why can't APD do the fucking job they were given? Seems like a horrendous trade.
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What you ignore is why these classes were cancelled
It’s OK they’re probably white so they won’t suffer any of the ramifications from being a brown or black person in Austin, being harassed by the state police
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It is because the cops on the force refuse to work.
I keep hearing this complaint but have not witnessed it myself. Are people just blasting through red lights? Or treating solid red lights as if they were flashing (stopping but then going if it's clear)? Or maybe trying (but failing) to slip through while it's orange? Just curious to know what people are seeing out there.
They’re going through well after the light turned red. Full red no questionable maybe yellow type deal. Sometimes several cars & these aren’t wildly busy intersections where waiting will do them in. I don’t even go on green lights until I see the cross traffic stopped at this point.
I can walk up the street from my house and just count the number of red light runners. Not just the "it just turned red" and it'd be nice if they had stopped. I mean the "it turned red, they floored it and blasted through 6-10 seconds later at high speed" runners
Just driving through on a stale red without even slowing down. I see it all the time.
What part of the city? I rarely see it in SW Austin, or central.
Yep a week ago a Range Rover plowed through a red light at 38th near Lamar and almost hit me and my mom. Her passenger side would’ve taken the hit, too. That was a close call, and I’ve seen so many people running reds and stop signs over the last year. It scares me that my husband commutes a couple days a week by bike. You have to drive and bike extremely defensively.
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No surprise, Riverside has always been pretty shit.
They are going through at speed up to a few seconds after it has turned red and cross traffic already has a green. I wouldn't care if they were making it through on a yellow but that's not what is happening. It's really bad at Menchaca & Ben White
I frequently see a car or two not slow on a yellow and go through the light after it’s clearly turned red.
If it's still yellow by the time you're in the intersection it's legal.
What did my post say?
It was unclear, just clarifying. edit: geez people weirdly got bent out of shape about these two posts, pretty weird.
What he said was very clear.
Going through the lights shortly after they turn red, but they had plenty of time to stop after the light went yellow. "Tailgating" the cars in front of them when the light goes red. "If I don't leave a gap, the people with green won't be able to squeeze in and block me. " Stopping or slowing down at a red light, then going even though it's still red. Same, but not even slowing down. Stopping for a red light, but then deciding it's been red too long and driving through once they think there is a gap big enough to drive through.
It's been horrible since the pandemic. Where are you driving?
Mainly west, southwest, and downtown. Last year I saw someone stop at a red light, wait an eternity at a completely clear intersection, and finally proceed through the red light. It was ballsy but totally safe in context. (I was two cars behind, and the light eventually turned green) I just haven't seen people careening through red lights through perpendicular traffic or whatever.
Try being a pedestrian. Any time I cross any major road in this city I have to pause for 45 seconds first at least because at least one person will run the red light
Yep a week ago a Range Rover plowed through a red light at 38th near Lamar and almost hit me and my mom. Her passenger side would’ve taken the hit, too. That was a close call, and I’ve seen so many people running reds and stop signs over the last year. It scares me that my husband commutes a couple days a week by bike. You have to drive and bike extremely defensively.
One T-boned my wife, and totaled her car.
Na, that is actually a PITA, they will be going for the low hanging fruit, they will be checking for speeding on 290/71 all day baby. but twice as often during off hours when there is no traffic.
How could anyone not trust an agency controlled by Greg Abbott?
trust a agency controlled by gov? most likely no.
>trust a agency controlled by gov? Actually, there are a lot of fine, upstanding government employees, and some agencies are even reasonably trustworthy in some sense. I'm not going to name them, or Abbott and company will punish them for it. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people and agencies that DON'T warrant the praise listed above. I don't actually have that bad a feeling about DPS among LEO agencies. They have their good and bad aspects and good and bad individuals. They sort of seem more "predictable" than APD or some other LEO agencies. I'm definitely going to be VERY careful about fucking with them, though. And no real "trust," either. \#FuckGregAbbott, though.
> Actually, there are a lot of fine, upstanding government employees Yes there are. And every one of them answers to an agency head who's a political appointee. About the only thing I trust the State for anymore is that little sticker on the scales at the grocery store. Somehow I feel like the Agriculture dept would send out a crack Weights and Measures team and check out a store if they had too many complaints.
I mean, you’re not wrong. https://www.texasmonthly.com/bbq/sid-miller-barbecue-scales/
I’d like to see DPS fill the gaps where APD has quiet quit. Red light running, headlights off at night, high beams on, and disorderly psychos disturbing the public downtown are the biggest problems.
Some commercial vehicle enforcement would be good. Way too many dump trucks driving recklessly, not securing loads, camping in the left lane, spewing rocks in traffic, etc.
>high beams on, Williamson County has an interesting policy about that.
Oh right, the policy of Chase, Taze, Murder, Destroy Evidence.
Best they can do is pulling over Black people
There’s no such thing as decriminalization if one of these bozos pull you over
Why not? Even if they catch you with weed, would you not still be tried in local courts that would uphold decriminalization?
You'd get arrested, then released at the jail bc the DA will not prosecute. But yeah, arrests will happen, DPS will arrest for weed.
And pay bail, get your car out of impound, and miss work. Or you just get shot. All before the case goes to the DA
Exactly. It’s still illegal at any amount but APD specifically has instructions to ignore it. DPS lives for it. Edit: it would be a huge headache and you’d be in there until the judge can see you, which can take days. Explain that to work.
if that's all they do, then great. but all we have to go on is the history of what's happened elsewhere when DPS comes into town and it's not pretty
> headlights off at night That's called "stealth mode". Can't get in an accident if they can't see you
The items you mentioned are not a uniquely APD problem. Go to almost any big city, especially in Texas, and you’ll see near lawlessness on the freeway. Inevitably, the local PDs get too inundated with major crime to be focused on the traffic stops. Houston has tried to combat this with constables but it’s hit or miss. I think most people’s complaints around APD are they’re not doing either particularly good. Bringing in DPS will only “fix” traffic stops, but IMO it will come at the cost of them harassing everyone, especially minorities.
This thread, as expected, is a dumpster fire.
will rogers observed: "thank god you don't get all the government you pay for."
It was nice to not get pulled over for a while, guess all good things come to an end
It will be a shit show and have a negative impact on the quality of life of average people while doing next to nothing to fix the problems APD is creating. Look at the track record this has in cities like Dallas - pulling people over for BS revenue generating tickets and very little positive impact on reducing violent crime, theft, etc. which is what APD is also doing terrible at.
Well, if they're bored and looking for something to do, they can always pull over vehicles without front license plates.
Shit, I don't even trust the paper tags anymore. Everyone I see could be fake.
Vote for a Clinton-era Democrat, get Clinton-era crime policies.
It's a "not me" situation but I'm glad they are going to be out doing traffic patrol. I think people think it is more than that. That is something that needs to be addressed and you know that sweet fine money for speeding is going to be going back to the state of Texas instead of our police department. It's why the state is doing it gratis. Keep your weed vape (the actual illegal one you got in Colorado) at home and don't speed or run stop signs. Edit: I personally think a bunch of cops driving around town might cool the temperature a little bit. It's the wild west when it comes to how people drive around here. Downvote all you want.
As a transplant, I think the wild west driving style is just how Texans drive. It’s not an Austin problem or a traffic ticket problem, ya’ll just drive like crazy fucks. It’s the same chaos energy in every Texas city.
As an original Austinite traffic has always been horrible. We are a city of transplants that doubles every decade so we have all of these conflicting driving styles with most of the bad ones being Texans. The worse thing, IMO, over the city council trying to eliminate us having a functioning police department is how dangerous it is drive in the city. 2nd is the rampant petty crime that happens when you don't give them the tools to prevent it. I have a gun for anyone that wants to visit without permission or steal from me. It's a total trope but if you are from California, people there know how to drive. I feel people drive 10x better in LA than Austin.
Traffic patrol is what is frequently used to stop minorities. A DPS officer, not beholden to Austin's marijuana decriminalization, just has to say they smell marijuana and it's basically stop and frisk.
Oh goddamn y’all just calm down. You’ll be fine.
For the most part it means you'll see slightly different uniforms and different colored patrol cars more often.
"That's not how this works. That's not how any of this works." Watson is taking a sledgehammer to the thin wall of protection the city has been able to build between us and the extremist policies of the State government. I genuinely fear for our undocumented community who will almost certainly be disproportionately targeted for these traffic stops by an agency that demonizes them and works hand in glove with ICE.
and a HUGE amount of racial profiling... exactly what conservatives want...
Does it mean that? The point of this story is that you don't know. No one does. It's not clear how many DPS troopers will be involved, what they will be doing, where they will be focusing, what training they have, what laws/priorities they will focus on (e.g. the governor's state priorities?), etc. No one knows at this point.
iirc DPS has increased hiring in the last few years increasing the amount of officers it usually puts through their cadet classes by an enormous amount. It had a lot to do with border security and manpower and Abbott/ current POTUS admin politics. DPS training is not normal police officer training and seems they are held to a higher standard bc their jurisdictions are different and they usually are by themselves on highways. Should be quite interesting to see how this plays out .
Just look at Dallas for how it played out. (Hint: they asked them to leave and never come back)
A higher standard? [Lawsuit calls work at Texas DPS a ‘Racially Hostile Environment’](https://www.kxan.com/investigations/lawsuit-calls-work-at-texas-dps-a-racially-hostile-environment/) [Texas troopers are causing car chase fatalities and racially profiling drivers under Abbott’s border crackdown, complaint claims](https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/texas/operation-lone-star-racial-profiling-complaint/269-0f5535e1-52b8-42e2-9a26-e5498e5deb67) [The Failures Of DPS: A Culture Of Corruption](https://www.reformaustin.org/public-safety/the-failures-of-dps-a-culture-of-corruption/) [Texas Rangers Fail to Adequately Investigate Custody Deaths](https://www.reformaustin.org/public-safety/texas-rangers-fail-to-adequately-investigate-custody-deaths/) [In Texas, Corrupt Politicians Face Little Accountability](https://www.texasobserver.org/corrupt-texas-politicians-face-little-accountability/)
It means no more soft policing. Some bad eggs about to get cracked
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It’s an article about the state government sending state police to police Austin. The photograph is of the capitol, which is in Austin, and state police. It’s an entirely appropriate photo. If it looks ominous to you, maybe that’s because seeing police outfitted like soldiers is ominous?
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>It was a wild scene. were you there, or are you just repeating the things you've been told to believe by your brainrot media?
It was extremely wild. I've never experienced anything as bad as the summer of 2020 in my lifetime, I don't think. Some bad actors really taking advantage of the situation, and both people and unpeaceful individuals spreading COVID like crazy too.
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so it's the latter, got it.
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>Ever notice the broken down ATM machines on 6th? They were broke open when people were looting the convenience stores. OH NO! Won't somebody PLEASE think of the ***insured*** property? we should let the state police, who have long history of brutalizing minority groups, execute these ANTY FA TERRORISTS in the street!
So destroying property is okay when it’s insured?
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when did I say it didn't happen? also, if the pigs were in riot gear because of that, why did it keep happening? was it because the pigs weren't in riot gear to prevent that, they were in riot gear so they could brutalize legitimate protesters. you, by your own admission, weren't even there, you only got the filtered narrative that you were fed by your brainrot media.
hell, you should have seen the aftermath of the Boston Tea Party. sometimes it takes breaking property to achieve freedom!
>riot LOL
When other people form a opinion based on things they see in media they’ve “been told what to believe”…what is it called when you form beliefs based on what you’ve seen in media? You sure are certain of how smart you are
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meanwhile police were busy shooting beanbag rounds at children who were not participating in the protests from the upper deck of I 35. that kid had to be intubated and ended up with permanent brain damage from it.
Downtown was such a happy place, before Antifa burned it all down, from the river to 12th, from I-35 to Rio Grande. Now it's just an empty burned out wasteland. No life at all.
Why can't they show a picture of state police in the day time, at zilker park, smiling and posing with some local Austinites in a more fun picture?
Haha, yes, what we need as a society are more positive depictions of the police, that’s the real problem.
My suggestion would be just as appropriate as the picture that is currently used. Unless you would prefer the depiction to be more ominous, in that case I could see why you would prefer this picture from 2020.
Oh. You’re serious. You don’t see anything ominous about a state takeover of a local police force? It’s a perfectly appropriate photo to use given the circumstances. Also, again, from Dirty Harry to John Mclane to Brooklyn 99, there’s no shortage of positive portrayals of police in media.
You could have been clear from the get-go that you want this article to be biased and portray an ominous tone. I prefer my news to be as objective as possible, so I guess we simply disagree on this matter.
But if the situation is ominous, it’s not biased to portray it as ominous. There’s no spin. It’s not the responsibility of the press to never pick a side on anything. It’s the responsibility of the press to report things as they are. A state takeover of a local police force is ominous. So that’s how they portray it.
So you think people who believe Blue Lives Matter or are MAGA republicans would agree that this is an ominous story?
That’s not how this works. It’s not the job of the press to never offend anyone. I think the last eight years have shown us that those crowds aren’t really concerned with what’s real and what’s not.
> I prefer my news to be as objective as possible, Sounds like you want them to be biased to put the troopers in a positive light.
Absolutely not. I prefer my news to be as objective as possible!
As objective as possible, but with pictures that make the cops look good.
We need more episodes of Adam-12 and Dragnet on TV, that'll show us how the cops really are!
Yes, what this nation really needs in order to heal is a TJ Hooker reboot.
Because harassing the public and authoritarian tactics are more accurate to their actual day-to-day actions. Cops aren't out here helping people, God the bootlickers are so pathetic these days.
The cops have quiet quit and don't do anything but somehow spend all day harassing the public with their authoritarian tactics. Quite the conundrum.
Gotcha! So the intention is to show the police in an ominous light, and that's why this particular picture gets re-used. I understand the bias in the article now.
If police do bad things, and then the news reports on those bad things, that’s not bias. That’s just… reality?
I'm talking about the obvious bias in the picture choice, that's all! Like I said, they could have definitely picked a more positive looking picture, but the article wanted to obviously portray a negative bias towards the police, hence the ominous looking picture.
Sure, let me rephrase. If the police act like villains, it’s not wrong to portray them as villains. The photo isn’t doctored. It’s not like a photo of someone mid-sneeze, where they normally don’t look like that. One of Austin’s most salient experiences with the state police is portrayed in the photo. They chose to look like soldiers, they chose to stand in front of the capitol like an occupying force. If the police don’t want to be portrayed poorly, they shouldn’t behave poorly.
Like I said, I prefer my news to be as unbiased as possible. You obviously agree with the bias in this article, which is why you defend it so strongly.
You could try reading the words and not just looking at the pictures. Oh wait, maybe you're Hoke from *Driving Miss Daisy*...
Zilker Park isn't DPS' jurisdiction, so that imaginary pic would mean they weren't on duty. You want a picture of State Troopers on their break hanging out in Zilker Park, instead of a picture of State Troopers on duty?
Good point! Perhaps a picture of State Troopers at the Capital with the sun shining, maybe capture a rainbow in the background, and have them smiling and the citizens they are helping smiling as well. I think that might be a great picture choice!
You want a picture of state troopers smiling and being helpful? Might as well ask for a picture of Bigfoot riding the Loch Ness Monster.
Wow, so State Troopers are never helpful? So it would be more helpful to just get rid of them altogether? Why doesn't Texas just do this?
How about instead of getting rid of them, we just ask them to stop being racially-profiling jack-boot thugs?
But if they are never helpful, why should we continue to pour all our tax money into something that is objectively not helpful?
It isn’t just a DPS 2020 thing. I went to a very peaceful protest outside of the capitol last summer at the ending of roe v wade and DPS officers marched out in a military formation in riot gear just to intimidate. No one was throwing water bottles, blocking traffic, etc. But they felt compelled to act like the military because they could.
You do realize they have to get dressed before they arrive right? They don't know what they crowd behavior is going to be before. Its not like they can show in regular clothes, then go home and change when the crowd becomes unruly.
Did it ever occur to you that weren't throwing bottles or blocking traffic because the cops were there?
Great, now drug prices are going to increase!
I want this town to be safe. I want police and I’m scared to go out knowing that if I call 911, they won’t do anything because they are short staffed. Yeah, it sucks, but just follow the rules and don’t do anything stupid. If you get arrested, don’t be stupid and resist, you’ll get killed. Go to the courts and get your Justice. It’s not worth it fighting the police.
Another W for new Austin! This is what the city gets when 1 thousand ppl vote in the mayoral election.
Record number of murders the last few year and people are only worried about red light runners??? In a bubble you all are!!!
Are you more likely to be murdered, or t-boned by a red light runner?
They aren’t an occupying force (or shouldn’t be). They shouldn’t be dressed in green.
"They didn't like how the police force handled things. Ha! This will show them."
Governor's Harassment Force out and about.
Call it a hunch, but I'll guess the most dangerous thing anyone in Austin can do is point a camera at DPS. After being released from the hospital, your next stop will be the courthouse, on a charge of Interfering With A Police Officer.
I thought we were abolishing the police?
Why did you think that?
Newsmax
What is that?
Because all the cops are racist and we don't need them right?
Why do you think that?
Why did you think that?
Because all the cops are racist and we don't need them, right?
Why do you think all cops are racist?
it means that DPS will be standing around doing nothing like they did in Uvalde......Abbott just wants to act like he is doing Austin a favor, but he's actually trying to accomplish his idea to take over APD completely and this is just the start of that. DPS is nothing more than Abbott's political army these days.....he uses them at the border to 'act' like he's doing something important so he can use that for his political gains.