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50,000 Austin users are getting in on a new app that tracks crime, COVID updates and protests
20 October
(Pexels)
About 50,000 Austin-area users have already downloaded Citizen, a smartphone app that reports real-time police and emergency medical threats. Austin is already one of Citizen's most popular cities since the company soft-launched here late last year.
<p>"It's one of our top markets after cities like New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago," Citizen spokesperson Lily Gordon told Austonia via email.<br/></p><p>The app relies on hired analysts and user-generated content to track every 911 call and public safety dispatch in the city. Users receive alerts about nearby incidents directly on their cell phone lock screen, and reports are updated live with additional details as well as audio and video recordings as they become available.</p><p>While there are numerous services similar to Citizen, including the city-built <a href="https://austintexas.gov/department/austin-pd-smartphone-app" target="_blank">Austin PD smartphone app</a>, Citizen claims to be the most popular since its launch in 2017. In total, the app has been downloaded by 5 million people across 20-plus metropolitan areas. </p><p>Citizen has already live reported several notable events in Austin. In addition to daily local COVID-19 updates, the app served as an information resource during downtown social unrest in late May and June.</p><p>More recently, Citizen dominated coverage during two September news events: when <a href="https://austonia.com/austin-trump-boat-parade" target="_self">five boats sank</a> during a pro-Donald Trump boat parade rally on Lake Travis (Sept. 4) and again when <a href="https://austonia.com/construction-crane-collision-austin" target="_self">two construction cranes collided</a>, injuring 22 workers in the Mueller neighborhood (Sept. 16). During both news events, the smartphone app scooped some local news outlets with live breaking news updates from analysts and Citizen users.</p><p>"We were proud that we were able to provide real-time updates on this major story to more than 30,000 Austinites and be a resource for local news outlets," Gordon said via email. "As a real-time safety app, this example points to how we are in a unique position to provide up-to-the-minute updates about developing public safety incidents."</p><p>As part of its "official" Austin debut in April, the company hired freelance help to increase activity on the platform. Austin native Brian Smith, who runs <a href="https://twitter.com/txmobilenews?lang=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@txmobilenews</a> on Twitter as a freelance videographer, helped Citizen cover breaking news events in Austin as part of its "Street Team Program." He posted videos of public safety threats directly to the app, getting paid for each scene he documented. </p><p>The street team disbanded after the first month because of COVID-19 health concerns. Smith did similar stringer work while living in New York City. But Austin doesn't have as many breaking news stringers—think Jake Gyllenhaal's character in "Nightcrawler"—as the larger news markets. </p><p>"I'm kind of the only one who does the videos for the television networks," said Smith, who works as head of sales for a technology startup during the day. "This market just doesn't support it."</p><p>Even though Smith is no longer paid by Citizen for his side hustle, he still uses the app to find breaking news events to cover for the highest bidder. He even posts the occasional video clip from a news event as long as it doesn't compete with his freelance work.</p><p>From his experience, the app has proven reliable and accurate, and it's only improving.</p><p>"I do believe the people behind Citizen are committed to doing the best they can to put the best information out there to inform the public," Smith said.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="614b6e2361ab68210306ae3383fc7f09" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" id="356b6" type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDUzNTU2Ni9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0NDY2OTcwMH0.JPAjqSqiMj3SUbE6RPsTteEqibfZQFp_xWrTaRAoBLs/img.jpg?width=980"/>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Public safety alerts are blasted to Citizen users each time a 911 call is documented. Users can customize the extent they receive alerts.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">Citizen app</small></p><p>Many users on Citizen promote news from the app on other social platforms, including Westlake resident Dennis Lastor, who posts the occasional breaking alert to Twitter. The city has become less safe since he moved here 21 years ago, he said, and Citizen helps document the extent of the issue.<br/></p><p>"I wanted to see what kind of crime was going on and what kind of increase might be going on, and Citizen app was the only direct source showing the reality of what kind of crime was going on," said Lastor, who downloaded the app about three months ago.</p><p>Lastor, an engineer, says Citizen provides data that shows a rising crime trend as well as bizarre anecdotes about public safety risks in Austin. For example, there have been reports of multiple people chased by a machete-wielding man in one neighborhood, he said, and more than a dozen 7-Eleven convenience stores have recently been robbed. </p><p>According to the <a href="http://www.austintexas.gov/sites/default/files/files/101520_CMR_September_%20EXTERNAL.pdf" target="_blank">latest crime report</a> from the Austin police chief, crimes against persons and property crime are down so far this year. Lastor acknowledges the app has the potential to confirm his own bias, so he also relies on other news sources to balance out Citizen.</p><p>Lastor and Smith also both reject any comparison to Nextdoor—another hyperlocal reporting service—which is sometimes ridiculed for its unsubstantiated "suspicious person" posts. In fact, Lastor just deleted his Nextdoor account. </p><p>"(Citizen) can be hypervigilant, so you may think it's World War III when it's just an average day, but the upside beats the downside," Lastor said.</p>
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(World Class)
Nate Paul is the CEO of World Class Capital Group, a real estate investment firm.
By Edgar Walters and Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff
Walk through downtown Austin or its rapidly developing nearby neighborhoods and it's impossible to miss the massive black banners draped over office buildings, warehouses and bars. "Another World Class Project," reads one posted to the metal siding of a squat industrial building downtown. Other banners riff on their own ubiquity with a pithy line popularized by DJ Khaled: "Another One."
<p>The promotional campaign belongs to an Austin-based real estate investment firm owned by Nate Paul. World Class Capital Group has acquired an enviable portfolio of some of Austin's choicest parcels with ambitious plans to lease or develop them. Paul has described himself in media <a href="https://www.statesman.com/business/20201004/who-is-nate-paul-linked-to-paxton-complaint-austin-businessman-is-known-for-real-estate-empire-legal-woes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">reports</a> as wanting to become "the youngest self-made real estate billionaire."</p><p>These days, Paul's name is associated not just with a real estate empire but with a series of recent high-profile <a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/news/2020/10/05/texas-ag-paxton-under-fire-for.html?s=print" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">bankruptcies</a> and a much-publicized <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/nathanvardi/2019/08/16/the-fbi-raid-of-texas-real-estate-investor-nate-paul/#50ef48277b64" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">raid on his home and business office</a> last year by FBI and U.S. Department of Treasury agents. The investigation remained <a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/news/2020/10/05/texas-ag-paxton-under-fire-for.html?s=print" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">active</a> as recently as April, though no criminal charges have been filed, according to the Austin Business Journal.</p><p>And now he has been linked to bribery and abuse-of-office allegations made against Texas Attorney General <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/directory/ken-paxton/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ken Paxton</a>.</p><p><strong></strong>According to the <a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/Austin-investor-Nate-Paul-at-center-of-15620657.php" target="_blank">Houston Chronicle</a>, former top aides to Paxton have alleged that the attorney general inappropriately appointed a special prosecutor to target "adversaries" of Paul, who donated $25,000 to Paxton's reelection campaign in 2018. Those "adversaries" appear to include agents who raided Paul's home and business office, though Paxton has confirmed only that he authorized an investigation into "allegations of crimes relating to the FBI, other government agencies and individuals" and that the investigation involved Paul.<br/></p><p>A Paxton-appointed special prosecutor, Brandon Cammack, <a href="https://www.statesman.com/news/20201005/attorney-general-ken-paxtonrsquos-choice-of-outside-lawyer-to-investigate-nate-paul-complaint-stunned-aides" target="_blank">obtained subpoenas</a> to look into allegations Paul made accusing federal authorities of wrongdoing when they raided his home and offices, according to the Austin American-Statesman.</p><p>And a text message, which was first obtained by the Houston Chronicle, sent last week by senior staff at the attorney general's office to Paxton does not specify the nature of the real estate investor's involvement in the "violations of law" they accuse Paxton of committing, but the aides mention Paxton's "relationship and activities with Nate Paul."</p><p>Paxton has said the allegations made against him by high-ranking attorneys at his agency are false, brought by "rogue" employees, and that he does not intend to resign. He also said he appointed a special prosecutor to lead the investigation to keep the investigation "independent" of his relationship with Paul.</p><p>Paul did not respond to interview requests for this story.</p><p>Earlier in his career, media reports called the now 33-year-old investor a "wunderkind," a "rising star" and a "prodigy," with an estimated net worth of nearly $1 billion. Raised in Victoria by Indian immigrant parents, Paul changed his name from Natin to Nate, moved to Austin, enrolled at the University of Texas and then dropped out after acquiring a taste for flipping real estate, according to media reports.</p><p>He founded World Class in 2007 and has said he got his start purchasing property at low prices and in a low-interest-rate environment after the 2008 financial crisis. He bought storage facilities, land in Austin, a marina on Lake Travis and a building being used by a call center in south Austin, according to a <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/nathanvardi/2017/07/18/the-30-year-old-texas-tycoon-who-is-building-a-real-estate-empire/#78b9799c594e" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">profile in Forbes</a>. "I was buying at the pit of the crisis," he told the magazine. "In many of those deals, there was no other bidder."</p><p>By 2015, he had amassed hundreds of millions of dollars, primarily from institutional investors such as pension funds and insurance companies, according to the Austin Business Journal.</p><p>"Is this guy for real?" the publication asked in a 2015 <a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/print-edition/2015/06/12/is-this-guy-for-real-the-tall-but-true-tale-of.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">profile of Paul</a>. The next year, he claimed a <a href="https://www.forbes.com/pictures/fgfi45jfi/nate-paul-28/#3e7f3159251b" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">spot</a> on Forbes' "30 under 30" list of promising young financiers.</p><p>"I started with zero," Paul told the Business Journal. "There was no legacy. I'm self-made."</p><p>In brief media appearances, Paul has shown off a taste for luxury. In 2013, a New York Post <a href="https://pagesix.com/2013/11/12/oil-tycoon-spends-big-at-leos-birthday-party/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">report</a> documented his attendance at Leonardo DiCaprio's 39th birthday party. In 2017, he drove a Forbes <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/nathanvardi/2017/07/18/the-30-year-old-texas-tycoon-who-is-building-a-real-estate-empire/#1cd3879f594e" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">reporter</a> around Austin in a Bentley to point out his real estate holdings. He has posed for <a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/print-edition/2015/06/12/is-this-guy-for-real-the-tall-but-true-tale-of.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">photos</a> in the Austin Business Journal in his office in the penthouse of Austin's iconic Frost Bank Tower. And he owns a nearly 9,200-square-foot mansion in a wealthy West Austin neighborhood appraised at $2.4 million, according to local tax records.</p><p>A 2017 Forbes profile pronounced him a "Texas Tycoon" and estimated his net worth to be about $800 million. Paul's company at the time had $1.2 billion in assets and 10 million square feet of commercial space, ranging from offices to retail outlets to self-storage facilities, according to Forbes.</p><p>As his real estate ventures expanded across state lines, with World Class and its related companies opening offices in New York and Los Angeles, Paul attracted controversy at home. Former employees of one of his rooftop bars in Austin sued after the bar allegedly cheated them out of tips, according to Forbes. The case was settled privately in 2014.</p><p>And among local musicians, Paul became known as something of a venue-killer, as World Class developed a reputation for <a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/news/2018/08/02/nate-paul-goes-on-buying-spree-of-austin-nightlife.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">buying properties leased by bars and clubs</a> and promptly evicting them as tenants.</p><p>Vincent Salvaggio, the owner of downtown rooftop venue Ethics Music Lounge, <a href="https://www.austinchronicle.com/music/2018-08-03/eviction-notice/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">told the Austin Chronicle in 2018</a> that World Class Capital locked the bar's doors for delinquent payment immediately after purchasing the property, unbeknownst to Salvaggio.</p><p>"They had me locked out before I even got the legal paperwork that they owned it and they haven't let me back in to get my shit — not my sound system, not even my checkbook," Salvaggio told the Chronicle at the time. "They're trying to raise the rent on everything, so it's good for [them] to get people out who are playing lower rent."</p><p>Recent local news reports and bankruptcy filings indicate Paul's business may have fallen on difficult times. At least 18 <a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/news/2020/08/04/world-class-entity-files-for-chapter-11-bankruptcy.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">entities</a> connected to World Class Holdings have filed for bankruptcy in the past year, according to the Austin Business Journal. Paul's firm has used the bankruptcy process to "fend off creditors and provide a degree of breathing room as it tries to find a way out of default on multiple loans tied to real estate across the city," the publication reported.</p><p>In September, American Express sued Paul and World Class Capital seeking to collect more than $300,000 in credit card debt, court records show.</p><p>Meanwhile, Paxton's office has come to Paul's defense in at least one other legal matter, records show. Paul's World Class firm works through a complex web of more than a dozen affiliated business partnerships, which jointly own properties with investors.</p><p>A dispute arose two years ago between companies affiliated with World Class and the Roy F. and Joann Cole Mitte Foundation, which invested in multiple Austin properties with the companies. The foundation is an Austin-based nonprofit that provides grants to charitable organizations and academic scholarships for students with financial needs.</p><p>The Mitte Foundation sued Paul in 2018, claiming he wasn't sharing financial information on their jointly owned investments that Paul's businesses managed. The case went to arbitration, and on July 1, 2019, a company affiliated with World Class agreed to buy out Mitte's interest in the real estate partnerships for $10.5 million with payment due that August.</p><p>It never came, said Ray Chester, the lawyer representing the Mitte Foundation in the case.</p><p>In October 2019, the judge in the case ordered a receiver to take over the business partnerships, which would compel Paul to reveal the financial records that Chester said still hadn't been shared with the Mitte Foundation. Chester said that within days, Paul "blatantly defied" the arbitrator's ruling and said he had sold the partnerships at less than half of their market value.</p><p>But the sale was to another company affiliated with Paul, Chester said.</p><p>"He basically sold it to himself at below market value," Chester said, although court records show the sale was never consummated.</p><p>As Paul's firm cycled through teams of attorneys and held back on making the $10.5 million payment, Paxton's office intervened in the case on behalf of World Class and its business affiliates this June, court records show. Paxton argued that his office needed to "protect the interests of the public" because the suit involved a charitable trust.</p><p>In July, Paxton asked a judge to halt the case. During that time, Chester said Paxton's office called him five to 10 times per day to try to get him to settle for "pennies on the dollar," calls that Chester characterized as "vaguely threatening."</p><p>On Sept. 20, less than two weeks before news broke about the allegations against Paxton, the attorney general's office reversed itself and announced its intention to step away from the case, which is still ongoing.</p><p>After filing for bankruptcy in August, the World Class affiliate handling investments in the property did not pay the $10.5 million or turn over the records, Chester said. But a clause in the settlement agreement does allow the Mitte Foundation to take a valuable, larger ownership share in the downtown property, Chester said.</p><p>As media reports surfaced detailing Paul's connection to the allegations against Paxton, Texas Republican politicians who had received campaign contributions from Paul announced they would donate the funds to charities. Campaigns for Lt. Gov. <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/directory/dan-patrick/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Dan Patrick</a>, Comptroller <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/directory/glenn-hegar/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Glenn Hegar</a>, Land Commissioner <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/directory/george-p-bush/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">George P. Bush</a> and U.S. Rep. <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/directory/chip-roy/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Chip Roy</a> distanced themselves from Paul's campaign contributions, which ranged from $2,500 to $10,000.</p><p>Roy, formerly a top Paxton aide at the Texas attorney general's office, also <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2020/10/05/ken-paxton-chip-roy/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">called on Paxton to resign</a>.</p><p>Although Paul has not said much publicly since garnering attention in the past year for the FBI raid and his bankruptcy lawsuits, he frequently shares inspirational quotes on his LinkedIn profile. He shared a Sun Tzu quote <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/natepaul_suntzu-worldclass-warrior-activity-6707480271530336256-i1MV" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">this summer</a>: "Pretend to be weak, so your enemy may grow arrogant," appending the hashtag #WorldClass.</p><p>On Monday, he posted another update: "Work Hard in Silence, Let Success Make the Noise."</p><p>In the Austin Business Journal's 2015 profile of Paul, outside observers praised him with a tinge of skepticism. David Armbrust, a real estate attorney at Armbrust & Brown, called Paul's meteoric rise "very impressive."</p><p>"I suppose like many in the real estate business, he may fit into one of two categories — either a rising star or a shooting star," Armbrust said at the time. "Only time will tell."</p><p><em>Shannon Najmabadi and Emma Platoff contributed reporting.</em></p><p><em><br/></em></p><p><strong>More on this story:</strong></p>
<h2><a href="https://austonia.com/texas-attorney-general-ken-paxton-says-he-wont-resign-after-accusations-of-criminal-activity-by-top-aides" target="_self">Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton says he won't resign after accusations of criminal activity by top aides</a></h2>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDQ2NjEyMS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzMDU0MjE2M30.PvNXedqcy4y2uI0sjvWlxIu3DSQ9wGUqudGj8BAvYYk/img.png?width=980" id="37725" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="5d7437dee598407c3b3b5682a10109fa" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton says he won't resign after accusations of criminal activity by top aides(REUTERS/Bill Clark)
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(Eva Rinaldi/Creative Commons)
An Austin man was sentenced to 30 months in prison for stalking and sending threatening letters and emails to pop star Taylor Swift's former record label.
<p>Eric Swarbrick, who describes himself as a thinker, writer and driver <a href="https://twitter.com/emswarbrick?lang=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>in his Twitter profile</u></a>, sent more than 40 letters and emails to Big Machine Label Group, <a href="https://apnews.com/9c287fddc520780f133e2d8e19711a8c" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>according to the Associated Press</u></a>.<br/></p><p>Over time, the letters became increasingly "violent and threatening," per the Associated Press, and Swarbrick even drove 900 miles from Austin to Nashville to hand deliver some of them. </p><p>In his letters, Swarbrick expressed his desire "to rape and kill" Swift and also threatened to kill himself in front of BMLG CEO Scott Borchetta, <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdtn/pr/texas-man-facing-federal-charges-after-threatening-letters-sent-taylor-swifts-record" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>according to the Department of Justice</u></a>. </p><p>In <a href="https://www.elle.com/culture/celebrities/a26628467/taylor-swift-30th-birthday-lessons/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>a personal essay published by Elle in 2019</u></a>, Swift wrote about the impact stalkers and events such as the Manchester Arena bombing and Las Vegas concert shooting have had on her life.</p><p>"I carry QuikClot army grade bandage dressing, which is for gunshot or stab wounds," she wrote. "You get enough stalkers trying to break into your house and you kind of start prepping for bad things." </p>
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This story was last updated at 5 p.m. Saturday to include what a witness saw at the time of the shooting.
The 60-person brawl between two groups of Hurricane Laura evacuees—which led to the shooting death of a bystander—was caused by an argument over a scooter, a man who said he witnessed the incident told Austonia.
Amy Lynn Warner, a 51-year-old homeless woman, was shot in the neck during the fight, according to the witness, who declined to give his name but said he lived on the streets and had a close relationship with the victim.
"There was a guy on a scooter who rode by," he said in a video interview. "Another guy got mad because he took the scooter ... [He] pulled out a gun, shot one time. Amy got shot in the neck and died on the way to the hospital."
<p><strong><br/></strong></p><p><br/></p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="769b79a4165e1b471ae1a680237a94e2"><div class="fb-post" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/austonianews/posts/172210764400348"></div></div><p><br/></p><p><strong>The brawl</strong><br/></p><p>The call about the large fight came in around 12:30 a.m. on Thursday, shortly before Hurricane Laura made landfall in Louisiana as a Category 4 hurricane, knocking out power for at least half a million people in <a href="https://www.wral.com/storm-damage-in-beaumont-texas/19256595/" target="_blank">coastal Texas and Louisiana.</a></p><p>A woman was found at the scene and taken to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead around 1 a.m., police said.</p><p>"She was standing at the wrong place at the wrong time," said Austin police Lt. Jeff Greenwalt.</p><p>Detectives are interviewing witnesses and checking surveillance video. </p><p>"The information gathered thus far indicates that two groups of hurricane evacuees, one from Port Arthur and one from Beaumont, got into an argument and a large fight ensued," police said. "Individuals from both parties produced handguns. One person fired and struck a woman experiencing homelessness who happened to be nearby, but was not involved."</p><p>No other gunshot injuries were reported, according to police. Greenwalt declined to say how many shots were fired.</p><p>Police also did not say what caused the fight between the two groups. The shots were fired as police were en route, Greenwalt said.</p><p>The address of the altercation is listed as Sixth Street at Brazos. The corner includes Gold's Gym and the Driskill Hotel, along with numerous bars and restaurants close by. The shooting happened in front of the Driskill, Greenwalt said. He did not confirm that the evacuees were staying there, saying there were numerous hotels throughout the city that evacuees were using.</p><p>The city and county provided more than a thousand hotel rooms for more than 3,000 evacuees and opened up a shelter at the <a href="https://austonia.com/austin-convention-center-for-evacuees" target="_self">Austin Convention Center</a> on second street overnight.</p><p><strong>The victim</strong> </p><p>Warner was well known on Sixth Street among the street artists and homeless population, many of whom described her as quirky and friendly and intensely proud of her adult son.</p><p>"She had been through a lot, but she was always smiling," said Justine Decker, who works with homeless artists near the corner where Warner was shot. "She always asked me what I was painting, and she was very encouraging."</p><p>Warner had been on the streets of Austin at least five years, according to one man who asked not to be named. The aforementioned witness said her life was hard on the street—especially because she was small in stature.</p><p>Decker said she and others who knew her were trying to locate her son to let him know.</p><p><strong>The arrest</strong></p><p>Police announced Friday the arrest of 21-year old Linton Alexander, who is accused of Warner's death.</p><p><br/></p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="754daaefb134ed7fa662dacdc69dedc7" id="4d895"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-partner="rebelmouse" data-twitter-tweet-id="1299485977392619522"><div style="margin:1em 0">UPDATE: APD arrests 21-year-old Linton Wilson Alexander (Homicide #32).
The decedent has been identified as Amy L… https://t.co/bXyCERZy0l</div> — Austin Police Department (@Austin Police Department)<a href="https://twitter.com/Austin_Police/statuses/1299485977392619522">1598656574.0</a></blockquote></div><p><br/></p><p>Police did not release where or when Alexander was arrested, or where he lives.</p><p>It is one of three homicides Austin police were investigating in a 12-hour period. The other two homicides to happen on Wednesday involved people who knew each other, Greenwalt said. There have been 33 homicides in Austin this year.</p>
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(dpp-businesstax/flickr)
Austin saw an increase of 10 homicides—or 53%—in the first seven months of this year compared to the same time last year, according to monthly crime statistics released by the Austin Police Department.
<p>There were 29 homicides as of July 31, with six homicides in the month of July, including the killing of demonstrator Garrett Foster at a downtown Austin protest and a woman who was killed outside her home around 3 a.m.</p><p>Last year, there were 36 homicides for the whole year. The highest homicide count Austin has seen <a href="http://www.austintexas.gov/page/chiefs-monthly-reports" rel="dofollow" target="_blank">in recent memory</a> was 40 in 2016. The following year, the number dropped to 27.</p><p>The spike comes at a time when <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/homicide-spike-cities-chicago-newyork-detroit-us-crime-police-lockdown-coronavirus-protests-11596395181" rel="noopener noreferrer dofollow" target="_blank">the number of homicides is increasing in big cities across the country</a>, when unemployment is at its <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/05/08/april-2020-jobs-report/" rel="dofollow" target="_blank">highest since the Great Depression</a>, when Austin grapples with homelessness policies and drug interdiction that leaves more drugs and people suffering mental illness on the streets, and when citizens are demanding police reform in the wake of violent clashes between officers and anti-brutality demonstrators.</p><p>Last week, the <a href="https://austonia.com/austin-unanimously-passes-4-1b-budget-that-includes-5-percent-cut-to-police-budget-with-promises-for-more-reports" rel="dofollow" target="_blank">Austin City Council cut 5%</a> of the police budget—$21 million that cuts 150 currently vacant officer spots at the police department, among other items—with promises to cut another $130M next year and reallocate those funds and duties to other departments of the city.</p><p>Chief Brian Manley and other police advocates say the increased number of homicides and certain violent crimes show that the city needs more police protection, not a cut in personnel.</p><p>"There is strong community support for police reform but not cutting cops when violent crime is increasing and response times are slower," said Corby Jastrow, president of the Greater Austin Crime Commission.</p><p>Overall, violent crime in the city has increased 1% over last year, and property crimes are down 3%.</p><p>Aggravated assaults, which include assaults that cause serious bodily injury and those committed with a deadly weapon, are up 17% over last year.</p><p>Robberies (9%), arson (23%) and burglaries (8%) are also up from the same time last year, the statistics show.</p><p>Car thefts have also increased by 31% for the first seven months compared with last year, the report says.</p><p>In mid-July, when the crime report for June 2020 was released, Austin police Lt. Jeff Greenwalt of the department's homicide and aggravated assault division told Austonia that the city has been studying what's causing the homicide numbers to go up since police began seeing an uncharacteristic spike in homicides in January and February. </p><p>It's hard to make projections or trace the causes of homicide based on what he called "small snapshots of data," he said, because they tend to be personal conflicts as opposed to random acts of violence and are harder to trace to a single trend.</p><p>"It's just one of those things that we're going to have to wait and see how it ends up at the end of the year," he said, acknowledging that the numbers could be "a little bit high" by then. "Hopefully if there is an underlying cause, we'll be able to say what that is, but right now, it's just a lot of random arguments." </p>
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This story was updated Tuesday morning to reflect new information released .
Three Cedar Park officers were in stable condition after being shot during a call Sunday afternoon, police said.
<p>Joseph DeSean Taylor, 26, was arrested Monday morning after a 16-hour standoff with several law enforcement agencies, sparked when officers responded to a caller who said "her son had kicked in the door and was becoming aggressive," Cedar Park police said in a statement late Monday. </p><p>"When officers arrived on scene and entered the home, gun shots were fired towards the officers, at which time our officers returned fire," the statement said. "Three officers were hit and were able to exit the house to get help."</p><p>Taylor then barricaded himself in his mother's house on Natalie Cove with his mother, a child and another adult family member, officials said. </p><p>Taylor is charged with three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon on a public servant and three counts of aggravated kidnapping.</p><p>The wounded officers are: </p><p>Officer Jacqueline Quiles, 4 years with the department.</p><p>Officer Cris Hester, 10 years with the department</p><p>Officer Nik Anderson, 8 years with the department </p><p>The Police Department tweeted out updates about the incident starting at 4:28 p.m. on Sunday, about 90 minutes after the call was made. Residents in the Heritage Park subdivision were ordered to stay in their homes until the police say it is safe to come out.</p><p>The Texas Department of Public Safety, Texas Rangers, SWAT, Round Rock police, Leander police and the Williamson County sheriff's office were also responding, Harmon said.<br/></p><p>At 8 a.m. Monday, the Police Department released an update that two of the hostages were released but the suspect and one other hostage were still barricading inside the home.</p><p>An hour later, police announced that the standoff had ended with the man taken into custody.</p>
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Jordan Vonderhaar for the Texas Tribune
Armed protesters guard the memorial of Garrett Foster, who was shot and killed during a protest against police brutality in Austin on July 25, 2020.
By Jordan Vonderhaar
Throughout the summer, cities in Texas and around the country have seen protests and demonstrations against police brutality. On Saturday, protesters and law enforcement clashed in Austin, a week after protester Garrett Foster, who was openly carrying an AK-47 rifle — which is legal in Texas — was shot and killed by Daniel Perry, a U.S. Army sergeant, when he approached his car. Perry drove away, then called the police. Perry was released without being charged. Since then, questions have been raised about who was the aggressor.
<p data-children-count="0">Foster's death fueled tensions Saturday night in the downtown streets of the state capital as demonstrators again gathered and local and state police turned out in massive force. Tribune photographer Jordan Vonderhaar was there to document the protest. Here's what he saw.</p><p data-children-count="0"><br/></p>
<p class=""><br/></p>
State police in riot gear form a line along Congress Avenue and advance toward protesters to remove them from the street.
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzUyOTQyMy9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxNDEzMTYxMn0.d86Zhoac6e1loRulivXsiZRCJ5Ysm6K1OToYC_SWOy8/img.png?width=980" id="82f94" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="63ad8adf22f1a2a32bde1c6e8c532db7" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Jordan Vonderhaar
Armed protesters ride in the back of a pickup truck from a rally at the University of Texas to a memorial for Garrett Foster in downtown Austin, minutes after hearing of clashes between other protesters and police.
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzUyOTQyNC9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1ODIyMjM1NX0.Ao_4mTkOPw2syjKbKcQJSX-O44dFCRJDbbJgBMFW6dw/img.png?width=980" id="24906" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="267e200551ef2a141d6b5e9bd15ba829" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />Jordan Vonderhaar
A man with a sniper rifle slung over his shoulder stands among protesters who have gathered at the Garrett Foster memorial in downtown Austin.
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzUyOTQyNS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1MzcxOTkzMn0._GAt1E-AidcOYzOR9_kGbBL7DrvDvCMjfYMb0f0WH-g/img.png?width=980" id="824e1" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="719f945f43055599a57dacc9de8544f0" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />Jordan Vonderhaar
A protester confronts police in riot gear.
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzUyOTQyNi9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYwODcxOTUwMH0.OyE5LkJbim9Q8U1iOfd0DDASgIPXcCtuK1b-JjZUO_g/img.png?width=980" id="bd7a7" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="1631c952a901a274eabfa54e35d52d4f" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />Jordan Vonderhaar
Mounted officers from the Austin Police Department clash with protesters on the corner of Fourth Street and Congress Avenue in downtown Austin.
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzUyOTQyNy9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzMDc2NzMzMX0.5oNfDZ3YkyoOQY_A8d1YZ84g26bZnHfhwyjdKlCbePI/img.png?width=980" id="87444" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="5d0ff1e47c454529947cbe4c71c0af21" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />Jordan Vonderhaar
Mounted officers from the Austin Police Department clash with protesters on the corner of Fourth Street and Congress Avenue in downtown Austin.
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzUyOTQyOC9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzNzAyNzk4Nn0.cyEJ5DmzyaztsRnV9fqhaenYnQ7cs514KUZCYV3TkQg/img.png?width=980" id="8e069" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="163047eb1ea7762ba8ed4efb115d291f" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />Jordan Vonderhaar
State police were present large numbers.
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzUyOTQ4Ny9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0MzQwNTUwOX0.s1h3VhX-ZEoitvy3qvkZlyEaYRLrHNHVe2BQvaMSKSM/img.png?width=980" id="c93b3" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="534a7361ca0a2956a9e5b05679f6d7b7" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />Jordan Vonderhaar
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzUyOTQ4OC9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxNzI2OTk0MH0.U1qk1mKskBNfoa4k35LzbIj1zBXi-ixSo-VBJbYw7ig/img.png?width=980" id="7bd64" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="2b77c0e8e6c14f7b0e6d245d8ed5d0e0" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Jordan Vonderhaar
A protester armed with a baseball bat kneels in the street with fist upraised as protesters clashed with police in downtown Austin on Aug. 1, 2020.
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzUyOTQ5MC9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzMjI2NjQ0N30.kFHZTlq4mDkfrojMmPr1xplOlaTBNWa5lnCHBwL-qGA/img.png?width=980" id="e49af" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="f01dc35d33515df682261c675cf6557f" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />Jordan Vonderhaar
Members of the far-right Proud Boys militia stand on Congress Avenue across from the Garrett Foster memorial in downtown Austin.
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzUyOTQ5Mi9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1OTMxNzA3Mn0.J1V0eqSXZrKQ1H5HOJkJiTYXc0FSi2sNBj0pixxi77s/img.png?width=980" id="7ad19" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="a87090215d4bface5de31b64aee3ed53" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />Jordan Vonderhaar
A woman with her hands zip-tied waits to be loaded onto a bus after being arrested during protests against police brutality in downtown Austin.
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzUyOTQ5My9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1ODkwNzQ1NX0.pgAlN0FxLyz7j-3GoGOydiZvN7qHbMEl4OGjQ61Fv5o/img.png?width=980" id="88094" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="6e7885cb303bd9fbbaf42b5dbf6faa68" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />Jordan Vonderhaar
Police load arrested protesters into a Travis County Sheriff Department bus.
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzUyOTQ5NS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2MzYyMjM2N30.zYx7GNxVV5bsDjCo8QIBKayytC_iS0XwaF8CSs3xPHA/img.png?width=980" id="88669" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="c31093d1dcd50afded51595193080595" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />Jordan Vonderhaar
A police officer sprays a protester with pepper spray as demonstrators clash with police in downtown Austin
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzUyOTQ5OC9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYwNzU5MzI2NX0.bAbIMFbFlBCxqy3RLK07q7j5bYjH403lxd6ATgzD-zc/img.png?width=980" id="da3a9" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="86830ba7dbdd9ef95a4c6e89833f89ef" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />Jordan Vonderhaar
A heavy police presence marked Saturday's protest in downtown Austin.
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzUyOTQ5OS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1MTUxODMwMn0.O473UBVJdDTq5QYJGR3pKhJ8LbVYB8TdO3rZ4qO7-g0/img.png?width=980" id="628a9" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="5f3153935cd4709ccaa8af74403665ec" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />From Your Site Articles
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(Marshall Tridick/Texas Tribune)
People gathered for a vigil in honor of Garrett Foster in Austin this week.
By Meena Venkataramanan, The Texas Tribune
Austin police are investigating the fatal shooting of an armed 28-year-old man who was killed during an encounter with an armed motorist while protesting against police brutality. But whether the unnamed driver faces criminal charges in Garrett Foster's death could hinge on which man police, prosecutors or a grand jury believes first provoked the other.
<p>Foster was visibly carrying an AK-47 rifle — which is legal in Texas — as he pushed his fiancée in her wheelchair across an intersection in downtown Austin during Saturday's protest, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/26/us/austin-shooting-texas-protests.html" target="_blank">according to The New York Times</a>.</p><p>A motorist was attempting to turn his vehicle onto Congress Avenue and honked at protesters, who were in the crosswalk, according to <a href="https://abc7.com/austin-shooting-downtown-protest-murder/6335183/" target="_blank">a video of the incident</a> filmed by independent journalist Hiram Gilberto. Michael Capochiano, a demonstrator at the scene, told The Texas Tribune that protesters including Foster surrounded the car after it hit a traffic cone and the driver stopped.</p><p>"What [the driver] did was he intentionally, aggressively accelerated into a crowd of people. ... He threw his turn into a bunch of people and almost ran a bunch of people over," said James Sasinowski, another protester who was at the scene.</p><p>There are conflicting accounts about whether Foster raised his gun at the motorist, who was also legally armed. Police said the driver shot at Foster, fled the scene, called 911 and told police he opened fire because Foster pointed his rifle at the car first.</p><p>Texas' so-called "stand-your-ground" law allows people to use deadly force against someone else if they feel they are in danger. Conversely, it prohibits an individual from arguing self-defense if they provoked a threat from someone else, said Sam Bassett, an attorney and the president of the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association.</p><p>Detectives need to consider whether Foster could have perceived the motorist's actions as a threat, Bassett told The Texas Tribune.</p><p>"I would consider them to not be doing a good investigation if they did not consider that," he said. "I do think the self-defense claim could be negated if, for instance, if the driver was there to provoke a reaction or to argue or attempt to harm the pedestrians," he added.</p><p>Sasinowski said he could not see if Foster pointed his gun toward the car. Capochiano, though, does not think Foster did. "My recollection was that [Foster] had the gun in his hands, with the muzzle pointing toward the ground and not pointing to the side, not even pointing toward the car," Capochiano said.</p><p>Both witnesses interviewed by The Texas Tribune said they believed the driver's behavior to be threatening and intentional.</p><p>"He incited the violence, it was intentional, he knew what he was doing," Sasinowski said. "He was driving into a crowd of protesters. No way that that was just like a traffic thing. There's 100 people in front of you, you don't drive into them."</p><p>Austin police said earlier this year that a police officer's killing of an unarmed Black and Latino man was justified because his attempt at driving away from police who had just shot him with a lead pellet-filled bag constituted using the car as a deadly weapon against law enforcement.</p><p><a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2020/07/27/mike-ramos-austin-video/" target="_blank">The death of Mike Ramos</a>, the driver in that April case, along with the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, prompted weeks of anti-police brutality protests in Austin and across the state. In early June, <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2020/06/05/austin-protests-police-brutality-brian-manley-george-floyd/" target="_blank">four City Council members said they had lost faith</a> in Austin Police Chief Brian Manley after his handling of those protests. At least one member called on him to resign.</p><p>In a video about Foster's death, Manley said Sunday that he was grateful to the officers who responded to the driver's 911 call.</p><p>"Regardless of the topic of the protest — whether the protest is geared at these officers, whether they were earlier in the evening taking insults from these protesters — these officers put all of that aside, as they do every single day, and ran toward the danger and helped this individual but were unfortunately unable to save his life," Manley said.</p><p>Natasha Harper-Madison, an Austin City Council member, <a href="https://twitter.com/gusbova/status/1287953553026355207?s=21" target="_blank">wrote in a Facebook post</a> Monday that she was in "utter disbelief" while listening to Manley's comments, which she called "tone-deaf."</p><p>"There's no protest that's against the Austin Police Department, the protest is against the culture of police departments across the country," Harper-Madison told The Texas Tribune.</p><p>She said it is "absolutely possible" that the police department is biased against Foster in its investigation because he was an anti-police brutality protester.</p><p>Austin police spokesperson Tara Long told The Texas Tribune that "the ongoing investigation into Mr. Foster's death is being conducted with the same amount of commitment as other deaths."</p><p>"To say otherwise is a disservice to his family," Long said.</p><p>Austin Police Association President Ken Casaday shared a video clip Sunday of Foster explaining why he brought his gun to protests, which included explicit language about "all the people that hate us" and are too cowardly to "stop and actually do anything about it."</p><p>"This is the guy that lost his life last night. He was looking for confrontation and he found it," Casaday wrote in his tweet of the video, which has since been deleted.</p><p>Casaday also <a href="https://www.fox7austin.com/news/fatal-shooting-at-austin-protest-could-take-months-to-get-final-review-by-prosecutors" target="_blank">told FOX 7 News on Monday</a> that Foster was already on the police department's radar because he brought firearms to protests. "Garrett Foster was on the radar because he would commonly come to the rallies with the AK-47. Our individuals who were responsible to monitor people with firearms, he was on the radar already," he said. Texas is an open-carry state.</p><p>That notion drew ire from Chas Moore, the founder and executive director of the Austin Justice Coalition.</p><p>"The fact that the only reason that Foster was was on their lists or whatever because he was carrying a gun doesn't make any sense because we live in Texas and he wasn't violating any laws or anything like that, and he wasn't ever really physically aggressive towards any police officers or anybody, to my knowledge," Moore said.</p><p>On Wednesday, Casaday said via Twitter that he was sorry for his initial tweet about Foster looking for a confrontation and asked the man's family to accept his apology.</p><p>"I apologize for my offensive choice of words," he <a href="https://twitter.com/KennethCasaday/status/1288506200720650244" target="_blank">tweeted</a>. "I should have known better. I have responded to dozens of shootings in my law enforcement career and they are all tragic."</p><p>Casaday could not be reached for comment this week. Long, the police spokesperson, said the department does not maintain a watchlist of protesters.</p><p>Moore said he remains concerned about the integrity of the department's investigation, and he questioned why police released the driver. "I think we all need to keep an eye on this case or this investigation as things come forward," he told The Texas Tribune.</p><p>Sheila Foster, Garrett Foster's mother, and Whitney Mitchell, his fiancée, could not be reached for comment this week.</p><p>Austin police continue to investigate the incident to develop "the most complete picture" before moving forward, according to a statement from the department's homicide unit.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><em>This <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2020/07/30/garrett-foster-austin-texas-stand-your-ground-self-defense/" target="_blank">story was originally published</a> in The Texas Tribune, a nonpartisan, nonprofit media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them – about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.</em></p>
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