Police arrest more Gaza protesters at University of Texas-Austin

Posted on April 29, 2024 by Admin

Republican governor says on social media ‘no encampments will be allowed’ as videos show police using pepper spray

Protesters who returned to the University of Texas at Austin on Monday were greeted by dozens of law enforcement officers, many in riot gear. At least 43 protesters were arrested as police and campus security used pepper spray and flash-bang charges on the crowd.

The Republican governor, Greg Abbott, on social media reposted video of troopers arriving on the 50,000-student campus. “No encampments will be allowed. Instead, arrests are being made,” Abbott posted.

Texas police arrest suspect after six people killed in spree of violence

Posted on December 6, 2023 by Admin

Shane James, 34, charged with two counts of murder over series of shootings that also left three injured including two police officers

Police in Austin have arrested a man after a series of shootings that left six people dead and three people injured, including two police officers and a bicyclist, over the course of eight hours.

Austin’s interim police chief, Robin Henderson, said at a news conference early on Wednesday that the violence occurred in two separate incidents across two central Texas communities. He said police were not aware the incidents were connected until after they arrested the man, named as 34-year-old Shane James.

Texas’s impeached attorney general acquitted by fellow Republicans

Posted on September 16, 2023 by Admin

Ken Paxton, impeached in May, has been found not guilty of bribery and dereliction of duty and may resume office

After a dramatic impeachment trial that lasted more than a week, Ken Paxton, the ultraconservative Texas attorney general, has been acquitted and will be able to resume his work in elected office.

Paxton, who faced 16 articles of impeachment against him in this trial – involving bribery, dereliction of duty and disregard for official duty – and four more separately, avoided becoming Texas’s highest-ranking elected official to be removed from state office. He quickly issued a statement boasting that, in his case, “the truth prevailed”.

US army sergeant found guilty of murdering BLM protester in Austin

Posted on April 8, 2023 by Admin

Texas governor moves to pardon Daniel Perry, who was convicted of shooting Garrett Foster during rally in 2020

A US army sergeant and ride-share service driver has been found guilty of the murder of a protester during a Black Lives Matter rally in 2020 in Austin, Texas.

After an eight-day trial and two days of verdict deliberations, a jury in Travis county, Texas, found 33-year-old Daniel Perry guilty of murdering air force veteran Garrett Foster, 28. Perry is white, as was Foster.

Southern US battles winter freeze as thousands suffer power outage in Texas

Posted on February 2, 2023 by Admin

Slick roads have caused at least 10 deaths with thousands of flights canceled since frigid weather set in on Monday

A mess of ice, sleet and snow lingered across much of the southern US on Thursday, as thousands in Texas endured freezing temperatures with no power, including many in the state capital, Austin.

Treacherous driving conditions had resulted in at least 10 deaths on slick roads since Monday, including seven in Texas, two in Oklahoma, and one in Arkansas. The Republican Texas governor, Greg Abbott, urged people not to drive.

Austin resolution aims to ‘decriminalize’ abortion if Roe v Wade is overturned

Posted on May 31, 2022 by Admin

Group of city council members seeks to protect patients from criminal prosecution if supreme court ends abortion rights

A group of Austin, Texas city council members is preparing a resolution to “decriminalize” abortion there in the event the US Supreme Court overturns Roe v Wade, a landmark case decided nearly five decades ago that protects the federal right to terminate a pregnancy.

An unprecedented leaked supreme court draft decision showed a conservative majority of the nine justices are open to reversing Roe v Wade entirely. If that happened, 26 states would be certain or likely to ban abortion, including in Texas. The state has a “trigger” ban that would almost immediately ban abortion.

Austin: 19 officers charged with aggravated assault over 2020 protests

Posted on February 19, 2022 by Admin

Police tactics used against protesters following murder of George Floyd widely condemned

A Texas grand jury has indicted 19 Austin police officers on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, for actions during 2020 protests over racial injustice following the murder of George Floyd.

The president of the Austin Police Association, Ken Casaday, confirmed 19 officers faced charges.

Three people dead in ‘active shooting incident’ in Austin, Texas

Posted on April 18, 2021 by Admin

Police urged residents in the vicinity to stay inside while a manhunt was under way

Three people were shot dead in Austin on Sunday, authorities in Texas said. No suspects were in custody.

Law enforcement officials closed off roadways in the Great Hills Trail and Rain Creek Parkway area of the city for an “active shooting incident”, according to a tweet from the city’s police department.

These US cities defunded police: ‘We’re transferring money to the community’

Posted on March 7, 2021 by Admin

More than 20 major cities have reduced police budgets in some form, and activists are fighting to ensure that is only the start

After “defund the police” became the rallying cry of protests last summer, Democratic leaders spent months criticizing the slogan and worrying about its impact on elections. While party infighting was dominating headlines, local activists were campaigning to make the catchphrase a reality in cities across the US.

Since the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor prompted unprecedented uprisings, some racial justice groups have successfully pressured municipal lawmakers to cut police funds and reinvest the money in services. And with reformed 2021 budgets coming into effect, cities are slowly beginning to redistribute law enforcement money to housing, mental health programs, food access and other programs.