Bus Cops Find Temporary Home

Cap Metro interim CEO Dottie Watkins speaks about the temporary police station location Dec. 16 (Screenshot via City of Austin)

Cap Metro has found a temporary home for its police station – another step toward the creation of the public transit agency's police force. The Cap Metro Board of Directors unanimously approved a lease on 8200 Cameron Rd. in North Austin during a Dec. 16 Cap Metro Board meeting. The public transit agency aims to have the facility operational by the end of 2023 and is still working to determine exactly how the 9,246-square-foot space will look.

After facing significant backlash, Cap Metro interim CEO Dottie Watkins clarified that the station will not have a holding cell. Instead, Cap Metro is working to identify "appropriate spaces if we have someone that is disruptive" and will "partner with a local entity" for individuals who need to be held for longer periods, she said during the meeting.

Public safety was a point of conversation during the meeting's public comment. A handful of bus operators took to the stand to express concerns around how the transit agency is protecting them. "Many operators, my colleagues, have been assaulted and as a result of that, they quit. They resigned and they went somewhere else," one bus operator said. "The same way that the [MV Transportation] company likes to protect the vehicles, I want for MV to feel the same way about me – the way they want me to protect those vehicles."

However, public safety advocates remain opposed to the creation of a Cap Metro police force. João Paulo Connolly, Austin Justice Coalition's organizing director, said Cap Metro should focus on improving service instead of spending on a police force that could be especially costly. He acknowledged the need for improved safety, but said defaulting to police as the solution represents a "chronic lack of imagination" on the part of Cap Metro. "Then, to add insult to injury, comes this talk about renting out this expensive, new [office space] to use for a detention center, holding facility, and headquarters for the new police force."