Austin Protest

“Austin City Council Votes to Defund the Police”

On Thursday evening reports began to surface that the City of Austin City Council voted to defund their municipal police department. Stipulation considers these reports UNBIASED, but needing more context.

Context

After the police-involved death of George Floyd, Austin, Texas followed many other cities by holding public meetings related to police reform and racial justice. On June 11, 2020 the Austin City Council convened to resolve several measures involving police reform and budget concerns. The 10 member council unanimously voted for resolutions that, in essence, would redirect some funds for the 2020-2021 fiscal year budget from the Austin Police Department to other social services.

A specific numerical reduction was not discussed, but the Council directed the city manager to propose an exact budget reduction for the police department. The final budget cut will be voted on before the next fiscal year. After the passage of said resolutions, Mayor Steve Adler assured that Austin was not abolishing or defunding the police. He tweeted, “We will neither abolish nor defund the police. We will not compromise the safety of the community. Period. But re-imaging policing & investing in people & the community hold the promise of making us even more safe.”

Who Reported It?

Because the Austin City Council meeting was ongoing for over 8 hours, many local outlets were following the proceeding very closely. Local NBC affiliate KXAN and The Texas Tribune were the first news outlets to update the story with the final vote. Other outlets also reported the claim soon after the vote was decided. As of June 12, the following news outlets have reported/confirmed the story:

  • NBC KXAN
  • The Texas Tribune
  • KUT 90.5
  • ABC KVUE
  • CBS Austin
  • The Daily Texans

Austin Protest

How Biased Is The Report?

Because the report came directly from a public hearing, the Stipulation consider this report to be UNBIASED. The story was reported and confirmed by multiple outlets with various underlying biases. With the proper context, this report would be both Fair & Unbiased.