In March, APD Assistant Chief Rick Coy submitted to Assistant City Manager Rudy Garza a report on “procedures, policies, training, staffing supervision, management, equipment and overall effectiveness” of the airport police, park police, and city marshals. This week the Chronicle acquired a copy of the report, which had not yet been made available to the mayor or City Council, although on June 22 the council requested that the city manager complete a feasibility study “including costs, savings, efficiencies, employment issues, and practicality regarding the combination of the Austin Police Department, the City Marshals, the Austin Park Police and the Airport Police under a central command and control and report back to Council in 45 days.”

Although Coy’s report does not specifically address consolidation, it does address many of the issues concerning the problems of separate police forces: standards, training, equipment, salaries, transfers, manpower, etc. Presumably, Coy’s initial review will form a basis of whatever feasibility review to be produced by the city manager’s office. At press time, Garza had not responded to requests for comment on the report.

Download the report (PDF) here.

This article appears in June 30 • 2006.

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Contributing writer and former news editor Michael King has reported on city and state politics for the Chronicle since 2000. He was educated at Indiana University and Yale, and from 1977 to 1985 taught at UT-Austin. He has been the editor of the Houston Press and The Texas Observer, and has reported and written widely on education, politics, and cultural subjects.