The U.S. Department of Justice will review the policies, procedures and practices of the Austin Police Department in order to examine the department's use of force.
The Justice Department informed city officials of their intentions May 31, and the investigation could begin as soon as the next 30 to 60 days. The announcement of the investigation was made during a Friday night news conference at City Hall.
"In every conversation I have had with officials from the DOJ, they stress that no conclusions have been made at this point," said City Attorney David Smith. "We view the review as a collaborative process."
A complaint filed by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, represented by the Texas Civil Rights Project, nearly three years ago prompted the investigation. City Manager Toby Futrell said that she was surprised by the gap between the complaint and notification of the intentions to investigate the police department.
The NAACP filed a supplement to the complaint in February 2005 after an incident during a fire at Midtown Live Nightclub in Northeast Austin, involving the use of racially-charged language by 10 police officers and employees.
In March of 2005, Futrell and former police chief Stan Knee sent a request to the Justice Department for an outside review of the department. No action was taken by the Justice Department until the city was notified on May 31.
Austin police arrested 52,000 people in 2005. Of those, 1,000 involved the use of force, interim Chief Cathy Ellison said. Those instances of force could be anything from a non-visable injury for which the detainee complained of pain to uses of pepper spray, she said.
Officers are required by internal regulations to file a form every time an instance of force occurs.
The announcement of the investigation comes as the City Council prepares to select a new police chief. Futrell said she welcomed the investigation in regards to how it may affect candidates.
"If it does impact [the selection process] in any way it would be better to know now than later," Futrell said. "If this discouraged any of our candidates then they're probably not the candidate we need right now."
Since 2005, the department made several changes to policies and practices, such as installing video cameras in all patrol cars and providing all officers with voice transmitters and recorders. Officers are required to record all traffic and pedestrians stops, according to a memo from Futrell to the Mayor and City Council.
The department also provided officers with less-than-lethal shotguns and Tasers, along with training and policies to use these non-lethal weapons, according to the memo.
Futrell and Ellison both said that they would fully cooperate with the investigation, which Futrell said may be an opportunity.
"At the end of the day, a clean bill of health -no matter where you get it and how you get it- is always worth the investment," Futrell said. "Its one more building block of trust in a community."
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