Austin Police Oversight unveils officer-involved-shooting dashboard, promises ongoing updates and community outreach

Austin — Austin Police Oversight (APO) presented an interactive officer-involved-shooting (OIS) dashboard to the Community Police Review Commission on a June meeting, describing a centralized platform that compiles incident timelines, demographic information, mapping and officer-level data.

APO’s policy and research manager Crystal Kimbrough said the dashboard brings together data that previously lived in multiple reports and spreadsheets, allowing users to filter incidents by year, city council district, APD sector or ZIP code and to drill into case narratives. "Instead of reviewing data from multiple reports, everything is integrated into one place," Kimbrough said.

The dashboard includes an overview of annual totals and trends, an officer-insight section (years of service, weapon type, demographics), and subject-insight panels (age, race, injury type). Presenters said the tool pulls information from critical incident briefings, Special Investigations Unit spreadsheets and internal affairs files and that the team validated the data for consistency before release. APO launched English and Spanish versions simultaneously and included accessibility features such as high-contrast themes and keyboard tab order, the presenters said.

Commissioners asked about statistical breakdowns shown in the dashboard and how entries with "no weapon" appear in the data. Kimbrough said some incidents (for example, shootings at moving vehicles) may involve no recorded weapon and that the incident narratives often clarify each case. She confirmed the dataset covers 2018 through 2025 and that APO is in the process of adding 2026 incidents; timing for publishing new incidents depends on receiving verified investigative data from APD and can take several months.

Deputy director Kevin Masters, who oversees rollout logistics, said APO previewed the dashboard with APD leadership and the police officers' union and received constructive feedback. "They had overwhelmingly positive feedback," he said, adding that the department and union viewed the consolidated data as useful.

Commissioners suggested adding a dashboard field showing adjudication outcomes — for example, how many incidents were deemed within policy, sustained or referred to internal affairs — to help public understanding. Presenters welcomed the suggestion and said they will consider additional fields based on community feedback. APO staff also announced plans for training materials, tutorials and further demonstrations to community groups and commissioners.

APO emphasized that the dashboard is a tool for transparency and analysis, not a substitute for ongoing investigations. "We want to make sure what we are putting on this dashboard is correct and complete," Kimbrough said. The office intends to update the dashboard as verified information becomes available and to continue outreach to both the public and oversight partners.

The commission received the presentation and asked staff to continue refining the tool and to follow up with additional features where feasible.