Austin family waited hours for police response after crash with suspected drunk driver
Lacey and Dustin Purciful and their attorney Adam Loewy discussed how the understaffed Austin Police Department resulted in an hours-long response to a crash
Special agents from the Texas Department of Public Safety seized 67 pounds of methamphetamine during a traffic stop with the Austin Violent Crimes Task Force last week, just days after the state capital of Texas announced it would partner up with state law enforcement amid a growing staffing crisis at the local level.
Wilfredo Tecum Rodriguez and Ludvid Aroldo Gonzalez-Lopez were arrested during the traffic stop on March 30, when agents seized 30 ziploc bags containing meth, according to an internal memo obtained by Fox News Digital.
On that same day, state law enforcement officials separately arrested a member of the Bloods gang and a member of the Texas Mexican Mafia, according to the memo. Smaller quantities of cocaine, heroin, and marijuana were also seized, while 14 felony and four misdemeanor arrests were made.
FILE PHOTO: An Austin Police Department officer on patrol. (Nick Tre. Smith/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said that the partnership between state law enforcement and local Austin police "is already making a difference."
"Public safety is priority #1 in Texas. Glad to work with the City of Austin to make our state’s capital safer," Abbott tweeted in response to The Texan, which originally reported the news of the meth seizure.
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The Lone Star State's capital has been dealing with a staffing shortage in its police department since the summer of 2020, when the city council voted to cut the force's budget by about a third. The funding was restored the next year to comply with state law, but multiple cadet classes had already been canceled and officers left the department in droves.
FILE PHOTO: Austin Police patrolling 6th Street, one of the busiest nightlife districts in Austin, Texas. (Spencer Selvidge for The Washington Post via Getty Images)
The problems were on full display during street race takeovers in downtown Austin on a Saturday night in February, when responding officers were assaulted by participants and bystanders were left on hold with 911.
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Negotiations also broke down earlier this year between the city and police union for a new contract, which expired at the end of March. A four-year deal had been agreed to, but the city opted for a one-year contract at the last minute. The police union refused to negotiate a shorter deal due to concerns that long-term stability is necessary to attract high-quality recruits.
The city council voted in late February to preserve police pay and benefits in the absence of a contract, with the Interim City Manager Jesús Garza announcing a 4% increase in pay for all officers under the rank of assistant chief, up to a $15,000 signing bonus for new recruits, and other retention incentives.
FILE PHOTO: Police block off an area of 6th Street after two shootings in downtown Austin, Texas. (Drew Anthony Smith/Getty Images)
While city leaders and the police department work to maintain a force for the growing city, officials said that the partnership with Texas DPS will "improve safety, decrease traffic fatalities, improve police response time, and reduce crime" in Austin.
"We’ve moved quickly to address staffing issues - recruit new officers, retain experienced officers, and staff up in our 9-1-1 call centers," Garza, the interim city manager, said in a statement last week. "But those efforts take time, and we can’t wait to make sure Austinites feel safe."
