CPRC presses APD on Chapter 2-15 compliance, votes to invite police chief to April meeting

Commissioners at a special December Community Police Review Commission meeting focused extensive discussion on how City Code Chapter 2-15 should operate in practice and on APDprocesses for responding to Austin Police Oversight reports.

The chair opened an item about APD compliance with the ordinance's timing and notification provisions and asked what safeguards exist to ensure the chief of police is aware when APO or CPRC is reviewing a case. A commissioner proposed multiple transparency measures: publishing APD responses in a searchable public-facing database with timestamps, adding a quarterly CPRC agenda item to review the chief's responses, commissioning an annual compliance audit, and creating a grievance or notification process for alleged 90-day noncompliance.

Chief of Staff Robin Henderson, representing APD's internal affairs oversight, said APD was drafting its response to APO's Dec. 9 annual report and that the department intends to meet the 90-day window. "APO is involved in every single one of our investigations that are conducted by internal affairs," Henderson said, describing APO's role in interviews and tracking. She agreed to follow up with the commission about where prior APD responses are posted publicly.

Professional Standards Commander Michael Bergerson told commissioners the department currently has about 132 active cases under review, most from the current year but with some going back to 2020 tied to protest-era incidents and district attorney review. "Most of them are related to this year, some from the previous year, but we still have some going back all the way to 2020," Bergerson said.

After discussion, a commissioner moved and another seconded a motion to invite the police chief to a future meeting to discuss APD's response to the APO report and other matters relevant to the CPRC. The chair called for a show of hands and reported the motion passed with six in favor.

Next steps: APD staff will finish the department's response within the 90-day period, APO will continue posting APD responses on its public website, and the CPRC will schedule the police chief for its April agenda.