AUSTIN (KXAN) — The now-canceled APD 144th cadet class would have been the first one where more than half of graduates were minorities, the Austin Police Association says.
Earlier this week, Austin City Council voted to change the city’s 2020-21 budget — resulting in around $150 million of Austin Police Department’s funding being transitioned to other public health and safety areas.
Austin City Council approves budget, yearlong process of moving $150M out of APDThe APA says it was recently provided with the number of the class’ racial makeup, saying that 51% were minorities. The numbers indicate that it would have been APD’s first majority minority class.
The percentage of minority cadets may have even been higher, APA says, “if you count women as a minority group.”
“We are so proud of the great work our recruiting unit did to produce these numbers. Unfortunately, this city council has destroyed the hard work done by recruiting. They have also ruined the lives of cadets that moved to Austin at the request of Austin City Managament and the department.”
Austin City Council’s budget cuts come after calls for sweeping changes into APD’s culture, training and leadership.