After first year, Acevedo receives praise, critique

Several Austin groups are pleased with Austin police Chief Art Acevedo's accomplishments during his first year on the job, but leaders of these groups say there is still room for improvement in the years to come.

Representatives from the Central Texas chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, Austin NAACP and police associations said Acevedo has reached out to the community better than his predecessors and has held the department and its officers more accountable, but added that some problems with Acevedo's disciplinary plans still remain to be fixed.

Austin Police Association president Lt. George Vanderhule said he would like to see Acevedo stick to the disciplinary system he created to give specific punishments for certain offenses. Acevedo's firing of Commander Larry Oliver was particularly harsh and inconsistent, he said.

Oliver was fired after not reporting statements made by a colleague, which Acevedo later deemed discriminatory. Oliver's firing is seen by many as one of Acevedo's more controversial decisions, especially after not taking disciplinary action against the then-Assistant Chief Leo Enriquez, who told a group of officers to wear their uniforms to a hearing so the African-American plaintiffs would not "beat" up on them.

"I think he tends to be a little too heavy-handed on discipline," Vanderhule said. "I think I'd like to have the punishment fit the offense more."

Debbie Russell, Central Texas chapter president of the American Civil Liberties Union, said Acevedo has reached out to the city's diverse community and established dialogs with groups that other police chiefs have ignored. Acevedo is Austin's first Hispanic police chief.

"He works for building bridges between where there really haven't been before," Russell said. "His personality and his values system broke that barrier between the police department and the community."

Nelson Linder, president of the Austin NAACP, said Acevedo needs to continue to educate officers in how to communicate with the various cultures in the community.

"You won't stop an entire city [from being discriminatory] until you start treating people equally," Linder said.

Linder said Acevedo is doing an excellent job as far as holding officers accountable for their actions, which he said has to continue on a consistent basis. The use of force against African-Americans has especially improved, he said.

"Those things just in themselves are phenomenal," Linder said.

Lt. Carlos Botello, vice president of Amigos En Azul Austin Hispanic Police Officers Association, said Acevedo has shown good leadership and improved communication with Hispanics by his ability to speak Spanish. Disparities were created within the department by the Oliver incident, and Acevedo could improve relations by treating officers and the organizations representing the officers equally, he said.

"If we're going to be an effective organization and deal professionally with ethnic issues, sensitivity issues, we have to fix the things that are inside our organization before we can be effective out there," Botello said.

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