TX - Austin police chief complains of "vile threats" in wake of dog killing by APD cop.
At least he admits that APD is on a hyper footing.
Acevedo: 'Vile' threats aimed at APD
Warns that 'mob mentality' is fueling outrage
http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/local/a...s-aimed-at-apd
Updated: Thursday, 19 Apr 2012, 11:31 AM CDT
Published : Wednesday, 18 Apr 2012, 4:59 PM CDT
John Moritz
AUSTIN (KXAN) - Police Chief Art Acevedo said in an open email to Austinites on Wednesday that his department has been subjected to "vile" and "serious threats" in the wake of the weekend shooting of a resident's dog by an officer.
He also suggested that a "mob mentality" may be feeding the public outrage.
In the message, the chief pleads with those who are offended that an officer who was sent to the wrong address and fired on the barking dog to give his department the time it needs to thoroughly examine all aspects of the incident.
"I am one person, with a department to run, a city to protect, and a family to love," the chief wrote. "I assure you that we will have some positive outcomes out of this incident, but we have to conduct our review in accordance with the law and our own policies, regardless of public sentiment."
The message, which comes one day after Acevedo apologized to Michael Paxton, the owner of a blue heeler named Cisco, was attached to an equally emotional response to a resident who accused the department of "ignoring" the outrage over the dog's death.
"We aren't ignoring the tragic death of Cisco the dog," he said. "We are conducting a comprehensive review of the incident to include the officer's actions, as well as our protocols/training and will report our findings to Mr. Paxton and the community we serve."
Acevedo also pointed out that his department is still reeling from the April 6 shooting death of Senior Officer Jaime Padron during an otherwise routine call.
"This death had a profound impact on our officers, and part of our current on-going review is what impact, if any, did this recent tragedy have on our officer in terms of how he approached this incident and how he responded," the chief wrote.
"Did hyper-vigilance play a role, are our training, response protocols and policy best practices, what did the responding officer do right, what did he do wrong, what corrective action, if any is warranted, and what are the lessons learned. These are a lot of questions that have to be thoroughly explored and we can not allow a mob mentality to influence our follow-up in this matter."
Text of Acevedo's emails
Chief Acevedo's response to the death of Cisco
We are receiving thousands of e-mails and telephone calls on this matter. Many of the written and telephonic contacts with members of our department have been vile, and included serious threats, including threats to shoot our officer(s). I personally crafted the following response and I apologize in advance if you are offended by this fact. I am one person, with a department to run, a city to protect, and a family to love. I assure you that we will have some positive outcomes out of this incident, but we have to conduct our review in accordance with the law and our own policies, regardless of public sentiment. After meeting with and personally speaking with Officer Griffin (who is part of a household that includes family dogs, like most of our police department families), I know he feels badly for Mr. Paxton and Cisco. Officer Griffin has requested to personally meet with Mr. Paxton to extend his condolences. I have extended this offer to Mr. Paxton and he has indicated he will contact me when he is ready to meet with Officer Griffin.
The hyper-vigilance issue I refer to below is something that we will have to consider and monitor closely throughout our department and it has to be part of our review. As to the mob mentality I reference below, sorry, but when people are calling us and directing profanity laced insults and threats toward our employee(s) in writing and on telephone calls, I can’t think of how else to describe it. While I expect to be subjected to public scrutiny, I don’t expect people in this department to be subjected to the treatment they are receiving. Finally, please share this e-mail with whomever you would like, I stand by every word.
Original Message:
Thank you for your e-mail. We aren't ignoring the tragic death of Cisco the dog. We are conducting a comprehensive review of the incident to include the officer's actions, as well as our protocols/training and will report our findings to Mr. Paxton and the community we serve. On April 6, 2012, Good Friday, an Austin Police Officer who was gunned down and murdered when he responded to a call of a “disturbance” at a Wal-Mart. This death had a profound impact on our officers, and part of our current on-going review is what impact, if any, did this recent tragedy have on our officer in terms of how he approached this incident and how he responded: Did hyper-vigilance play a role, are our training, response protocols and policy best practices, what did the responding officer do right, what did he do wrong, what corrective action, if any is warranted, and what are the lessons learned. These are a lot of questions that have to be thoroughly explored and we can not allow a mob mentality to influence our follow-up in this matter.
Again, all of these issues are being reviewed and our findings will be released. I am confident that as a result of Cisco’s death, some positive outcomes will result which will make it safer for our officers, the community we serve, and the pets we all love.
I have personally spoken to Mr. Paxton on more than one occasion and I publicly and privately expressed my condolences and apologized to him for the loss of his companion.
Please give us time to conduct a thorough and thoughtful review.
Sincerely,
ART ACEVEDO
Chief of Police
Austin Police Department
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Originally Posted by LibertyEagle
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