Det. Merrill with his gun in the "proximity" [Det. Merrill's description] of Michael Scott's head.
[ed. with the "new" witnesses stating no knowledge of events or suspects and receiving threats of prison terms if current suspects are not implicated; that means just about everyone (including witnesses) on the "wrong" side of this case has been "beat up" by "law enforcement" officials in one form or another.]
06-04-2000 - Email from Robert Springsteen, Sr. to APD Chief Stanley Knee
APD continues to demonstrate high levels of insensitivity to it's community. At some of the following sites and articles elsewhere on this site, APD continues to use questionable tactics, practices and procedures and hides behind "civilian" review controlled by APD or claims immunity from disclosure by invoking the state civil service statutes.
APD Internal Affairs statistics (viewable at Sunshine Project or Hall of Shame) indicates that from 1990 to 1994, the rate of complaints against APD remained constant, between 173-223 per year. From 1994-1995 the rate jumped to 382, and by 1997 had reached 481.
What happened to cause this sudden and continuing increase? Public awareness of a problem? Changes in APD "management"? Changes in APD personnel assignments or promotions? Changes in APD policies and procedures? Or just a belief that the public would endorse an "end justifies the means" approach?
12-06-1994 - Mexican prison suspects, considered key to the yogurt shop murders, may be free in 6 years. [ed. they were "the probables" then, where are they now?]
Organizations and sites oriented specifically to the Austin Police Dept.
The Sunshine Project - the Sunshine Project for Police Accountability proposes to give the public greater access to information and greater oversight of government. Our goals are twofold:
Hall of Shame:- A personal web page maintained by a Sunshine Project board member, the Hall of Shame documents police brutality and misconduct by the Austin, TX Police Department.
Austin CopWatch - This organization's members go out on the street to monitor and videotape police interaction with citizens in neighborhoods with a history of police abuse.
People of the Heart - This organization supports LaCresha Murray. People of the Heart is a nonprofit organization founded by its president, Barbara A. Taft, on August 9, 1996, the day of Lacresha Murray's first conviction in the death of Jayla Belton
Sites dealing with police departments of other cities
"Witchhunt" for sex offenders exceeds even rational investigation.
Shielded from Justice - Human Rights Watch's July 1998 report. A study of police brutality and departmental disciplinary practices in 14 U.S. cities. This is perhaps the best recent study of its kind for the United States.
Yahoo! Police Brutality index: Yahoo! maintains a great set of links to national police brutality web sites.