Two Years after the Austin Police Oversight Act passed, Community Police Review Commission finally meets

The first meeting of Austin’s long-awaited Community Police Review Commission (CPRC) was marked by urgency and undergirded by a strong sense of duty to a community that has been expecting this meeting for years. The formation of a civilian body to oversee and hold the Austin Police Department accountable should have happened in 2023, after voters approved the Austin Police Oversight Act that mandated it. Because of the measure’s robust accountability mechanisms, the Texas Legislature has made many attempts to preempt its implementation. 

But just as many attempts have been made to speed things up: In September 2023, City Council passed a resolution urging the city to fully implement the ordinance, and justice advocates Equity Action filed a lawsuit in October 2024 toward the same goal. Finally, two years later, the OPO’s 2023 annual report was just released this April, and last Friday, May 16, the CPRC had its first meeting. 

Commissioners seemed painfully aware of the delay, eager to begin work before the board had even been established. The purpose of the commission is to oversee APD’s investigations into critical incidents and officer misconduct and put a civilian check on the Office of Police Oversight, which is a city department that oversees internal investigations. The commission has access to body-worn camera footage, incident reports and 911 calls relating to all critical incidents, and can recommend disciplinary measures to the chief of police (though those recommendations don’t have to be followed.)

Commissioner Terry Flood urged that this work begin as soon as possible, asking city staff: “Once we establish these procedures (and) we vote on our leadership, when will we actually start doing the work?” They communicated that the purpose of the meeting was just to establish the commission as a working body. Indeed, the only three things on the agenda were to appoint a chair (John Banaski) and vice chair (Laura Cortes Franco), approve the bylaws and approve the meeting schedule. 

Some, most notably Commissioner Carlos Greaves, were stuck on the second point.

“Taking into consideration that it’s been over two years since it started, there is a clear view that it’s taken longer than it should,” said Greaves. “I’m actually disappointed that with the urgency shown here about trying to actually start doing something, we can’t get Article Two purpose and duties established before we leave here with the strongest possible bylaws to start with. That’s all we are asking – make sure we put city code on there.”

City staff recommended that commissioners establish themselves as a commission first and then start a working group to address changes to the bylaws. Boards and commissions regularly change bylaws, but those changes must go to the City Council Audit and Finance Committee for approval, which can take months. Greaves countered, saying “My expectation is to walk out of here clearly knowing that the commission that I signed up to be on has been clearly defined, and what’s on here right now does not satisfy that. I don’t want to leave here today without having accomplished something significant. No citizen of Austin reading this (should) have a doubt what the duties and purpose and responsibilities of this commission are.” 

“This is what this meeting is for,” agreed Vice Chair Franco. “We’re not able to have this discussion online or individually. This is where we come in, we get a chance to look at the bylaws, break it down. If not, we’re going to do the exact same thing next meeting.”

Commissioners unanimously passed a motion to accept the current bylaws as amended below, while simultaneously forming a working group of three to six members to review more amendments, with a time frame of no longer than three months.

The bylaws accepted at the first meeting established the purpose of the board as:

A) to fulfill the policy of section 2-15-1 of the city code by supporting a robust system of civilian oversight of the Austin Police Department; B) advise the police chief, the director of the Office of Police Oversight, the city manager and the city council on the effectiveness and appropriateness of the department’s policies and procedures concerning complaints of police officer misconduct, public police officer training, use of force by police officers, community relations and any other activities of the department; C) address other department activities of public concern; D) assess the effectiveness of the Office of Police Oversight and this ordinance and suggest improvements and E) emphasize transparency, encourage accountability for officer misconduct, and facilitate enactment of reforms that systematically reduce police brutality and misconduct.”