Police Union: Nearly 200 Austin police assaulted this year

AUSTIN (KXAN) — This year alone, nearly 200 Austin police have been assaulted, according to Austin Police Association president Ken Casaday. The report comes on a flip side of a growing national conversation about police brutality and assault against civilians.

“Officers get assaulted [downtown] on a routine basis,” Casaday said. “The mounted horses get stabbed and punched on a fairly frequent basis. It’s just something you’re always aware of.”

These assaults are happening all over the city, but the popularity of Sixth Street and the abundance of bars and clubs in the area makes it a hotspot for assaults against Austin Police.

Court records obtained by KXAN state a man refused to leave the bathroom at Darwin’s Pub on Sixth Street after management and police officers asked him to. Officers tried to forcibly remove him and used a Taser when he got aggressive. The man then tried to take the officer’s Taser and grabbed his throat, according to court records.  Police arrested the man for assault on a peace officer.

In that same area of Sixth Street officers attempted to handcuff a woman who had been fighting according to Austin Police. She punched one of the officers and kneed another in the groin. Also on Sixth Street at the end of August, court records say someone punched an APD horse.

Casaday says that assaults on police officers have gotten worse over the years as the demographics of the city continue to change.

“I attribute it to several different things,” Casaday said. “One is the amount of people that are in the city of Austin now. I mean, it’s just more and more. You also have more people living [near downtown nightlife], not only just visiting. You have the homeless shelter. You have the chronic homeless. You have the chronic drug users and dealers down here that the officers have to deal with. And then you throw on top of that the alcohol issues with Sixth Street and the surrounding area. It’s just a big problem to deal with.”

Austin is not the only city seeing a significant amount of assault against officers. The FBI reports there have been more than 48,000 assaults on law enforcement agents this year across the country.

“I’m not surprised that there’s tension between like police officers and people on the streets since I feel like thats happening all over the country,” said Rebecca Holzschuh who was visiting Austin.

While cities all over the country are dealing with attacks on team blue, police actions continue to face a lot of scrutiny often leading to public demonstrations like those in Ferguson, MO. and Baltimore, MD.

“The lack of respect for authority in this country has really been degraded over the last several years,” said Casaday. “I think the department and the association need to do a better job of educating people.”