By Steve Pomper
What do we know for sure about police staffing shortages and crime increases across America? That the one follows the other—every time! And what do officer shortages follow—every time? An intentional dereliction of duty by officials responsible for providing public safety to the community.
And, once again, this story about public safety neglect involves the George Soros-funded Travis County (Austin, Texas) DA José Garza. You may remember him. He’s the guy who’d much rather prosecute cops than criminals. Cops who were just doing their jobs and criminals released to continue to prey on innocent Texans.
According to FOX News’ Brie Stimson, Delwin Goss, a resident of Austin’s Montopolis neighborhood, told KVUE TV, “It’s making the hair on my arms stand up. To hear eight, nine, 10 shots. Just bam, bam, bam. Where are those bullets going?”
As the saying goes, what goes up….
He also expressed a concern that city and county officials responsible for public safety should heed: “I don’t want to be shot sleeping in my bed.” Seems reasonable to me.
Stimson also wrote that “Austin Police Association President Mike Bullock addressed the officer shortage Thursday, writing on X, ‘500 officers short has a real impact on businesses and Austinites who expect to be able to safely run a business and live in Austin. We’re so close to having a contract that can make significant progress towards ending the staffing crisis. Question now is if the city will actually prioritize making it happen.’”
Austin City Council Member Mackenzie Kelly recently commiserated with Officer Bullock, telling him, “Our staffing currently at the police department is a direct result of the failed policy that was passed in 2020 to remove funding for the police department.”
Thank you, Councilmember Kelly for pointing out what normal people already know but that Austin’s and Travis County’s anti-cop extremists need to hear.
Defund the Police doesn’t work—every time.
This brings us back to the officials responsible for putting citizens and law enforcement at such risk, particularly the cop-hating, criminal-loving DA Garza. I and my colleagues have written about Garza’s nefarious exploits several times at NPA, spreading the word about his anti-cop misfeasance. And he just keeps doubling down.
Links to other NPA Austin/Garza-related articles:
Travis County DA José Garza Has Austin Citizens Transitioning from Weird to Worried by Doug Wyllie
Did Austin, Texas Soros-Funded DA, Break the Rules to Persecute Cops?
Travis County Soros-Funded DA José Garza Indicts Austin Police Sgt. Josh Blake
Another Travesty in Travis County, Texas’ Criminal Injustice System
Austin, Texas Social Justice Prosecutor Rebuffed Again. Accused Former Officer Acquitted
In one article about the acquittal of former APD Officer Nathaniel Stallings, “the most recent Austin officer to be acquitted,” I wrote, “There doesn’t seem to be a lot of actual police misconduct in Austin, the Texas state capitol. So, it seems Travis County District Attorney José Garza has to pretend there is apparently by making some up.”
I also wrote, “FOX reports, ‘More than two dozen police officers have been indicted during Garza’s first two years in office, including 19 who are facing charges for their alleged misconduct during social justice protests in 2020.’” This is the definition of extreme—and of the abuse of power [link added].
Garza does this even as he repeatedly drops charges against pro-Hamas rioters, as reported by the Texas Tribune: “Travis County Attorney drops charges against 79 more UT-Austin protesters.
“The arrests were the result of the second police crackdown on pro-Palestine demonstrations at UT-Austin. The first protest, on April 24, resulted in 57 arrests, which were also dismissed.”
If you’re keeping score, that’s more than 24 cops indicted to 136 rioters charges dismissed.
As reported by Dalton Huey, Josh Hinkle, and Cora Neas at KXAN News NBC earlier this year, residents filed a petition to remove the “rogue prosecutor” Garza from office. The complaint claims the following, which I believe he’s clearly demonstrated:
- Defendant singles out law enforcement officials by automatically, indiscriminately, presenting charges against them to grand juries;
- Defendant maintains a “do not call to testify” list of law enforcement officials [cops] who he deems unfit to testify and disqualifies from serving as witnesses for the State of Texas; and,
- Defendant refuses to prosecute a class or type of criminal offense under state law.
To further show his bias against police officers, “The 21-page petition goes on to detail policies and evidence that allegedly show violations of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure such as presenting cases to grand juries that are not supported by probable cause and discriminatory practices specific to law enforcement officers.”
I bet he’d refuse to prosecute a criminal even if he confessed to the crime and had “probable cause” tattooed across his face.
Save Austin Now co-founder Matt Mackowiak described “DA Garza’s reign of terror for our community, ignoring the wishes of crime victims, attacking law enforcement and enabling criminal activity through an indiscriminate refusal to uphold his oath and prosecute violent crimes.”
According to Tony Plohetski at KVUE TV, via msn.com, after an X user described as “pro-police” (Oh, the humanity!) posted an “easy to find” public record, which happened to contain Garza’s home address (which I don’t condone but, in this case, don’t lose any sleep over, either), he had to get—irony alert—police protection.
Apparently, Garza is so unpopular that he had to request that already short-staffed (largely, his fault) constables provide him with security at his home, thus further stretching Travis County residents’ threadbare law enforcement services.
Goss added, about Montopolis, “They’re [the police] not out here protecting me or my 85-year-old heart transplant neighbor or the widow that’s in her 70s next door.”
Austin seems to consider itself a “special—weird” place set apart from traditional Texan sensibilities (i.e., common sense). Austin’s progressive officials appear to consider themselves “more virtuous” than other cities’ leaders. But we see what their Austin sensibilities have gotten them. High crime, a surge of fentanyl deaths, and a critically depleted police department.
Perhaps if Austin were more like most of Texas, the residents of neighborhoods like Montopolis could sleep through the night without being awakened by gunshots. But, I guess that’s too much to ask from officials like DA Garza?
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