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Austin Police Department

Officer-Involved Shootings: 2008-2017

Prepared by the Austin Police Department Research and Planning Unit

May 2018

Officer-Involved Shootings: 2008-2017 2

Background

This analysis is conducted to better understand the characteristics of officer-involved shootings in APD’s jurisdiction. Ultimately, the report may assist in identifying how training and/or procedures might be revised to improve APD’s response in officer-involved shooting situations.

Overview

This report reflects all officer-involved shootings that occurred from 2008 through 2017 in Austin. It includes incidents in which APD or non-APD officers fired their weapons within the city of Austin as well as incidents in which APD officers fired their weapons outside the city of Austin. Officer-involved shootings are defined as:

an incident in which an officer fired his/her firearm intentionally at a subject;

an incident in which an officer fired his/her firearm unintentionally and struck a subject; or

an incident in which an officer used a less-lethal firearm, struck the subject, and contributed to the subject’s death.

There were 57 officer-involved shooting incidents in Austin during this timeframe, involving 80 officers and 59 subjects. The report is organized into three sections:

Incident characteristics

Officer characteristics

Subject characteristics

Sources

Versadex; APD Special Investigations Unit; APD Training Academy; APD Professional Standards; APD Human Resources; Austin Park Police; Travis County Sheriff’s Office; U.S. Marshals Service; Texas Alcohol and Beverage Commission. Special thanks to the following law enforcement agencies for providing comparison data from their jurisdictions: Albuquerque PD; Baltimore PD; Charlotte-Mecklenburg PD; Columbus Division of Police; Dallas PD; Denver PD; El Paso PD; Fort Worth PD; Fresno PD; Honolulu PD; Houston PD; Indianapolis Metropolitan PD; Jacksonville SO; Louisville Metro Police Department; Memphis PD; Metropolitan Nashville PD; Oklahoma City PD; Portland Police Bureau; San Antonio PD; San Diego PD; San Jose PD; Seattle PD; Tucson PD; Metropolitan Police Department – Washington DC.


Notable Findings

This report contains the following noteworthy findings:

There are, on average, 6 officer-involved-shooting incidents per year.

Half of the incidents occurred in the eight hour period from midnight to 7:59 a.m.

Half of the incidents occurred in either a parking lot or on a street.

The most common reason for initial officer contact was a disturbance call (18%).

Most officers (61%) were informed by dispatch before arriving on scene that the subject was armed.

The most common weapons used by subjects were guns (63%).

Ten officers were injured (14% of total).

More than half of the subjects were killed (56%), and an additional 27% were injured.

It was most common for officers to have between two and five years of law enforcement experience at the time of the incident (41%).

Most subjects (66%) were between the ages of 20 and 39.

Almost half of the subjects were White (48%), 31% were Black and 20% were Hispanic.

Austin experienced 34% fewer shootings (by subject) than the average for other US cities of comparable size.


Table of Contents

Incident Characteristics ............................................................................ 5

Timing ................................................................................................................ 5

Location ............................................................................................................. 7

Call Type ........................................................................................................... 8

Police Presence ................................................................................................. 9

Less-Lethal Force .............................................................................................. 9

Shots Fired and Hits ........................................................................................ 10

Subject Weapon .............................................................................................. 11

Injuries ............................................................................................................. 11

Officer Characteristics ............................................................................ 12

Department ...................................................................................................... 12

Demographics ................................................................................................. 12

Weapon ........................................................................................................... 14

Experience and Prior Involvement ................................................................... 15

Disposition ....................................................................................................... 16

Subject Characteristics .......................................................................... 17

Demographics ................................................................................................. 17

Criminal History ............................................................................................... 18

Comparison to Other Cities ............................................................................. 19

Appendix: Map of Incidents ................................................................... 20


Incident Characteristics

Timing

During the years 2008 – 2017, Austin experienced 57 officer-involved shootings. The average was six shootings per year.

May was the month with the most officer-involved shootings.

1

54

6

4

9

4

7

98

0

4

8

12

Incident by Year(total = 57 incidents)

56

3

6

9

1

43

54

56

0

3

6

9

12

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Month(total = 57 incidents)


Sunday, Monday, and Friday are the most common days for officer-involved shootings. Wednesday was the least common day.

Half of the incidents occurred in the eight hour period from midnight to 7:59 a.m.

12 12

6

3

6

12

6

0

5

10

15

Sun Mon Tues Wed Thur Fri Sat

Day of Week(total = 57 incidents)

32

56

34

5

2

01

2 23

10

2 2 2 21

2 2

4

2

0

2

4

6

8

Hour of Day(total = 58 incidents*)

*one incident included shootings at 5:17 to 6:10, so it's counted for both 0500 and 0600


Location

Incidents were most commonly in Edward sectors. Two incidents occurred outside of city limits. A map showing the location of each incident is provided on page 20.

Half of the incidents (52%) occurred in either a parking lot or on a street.

9

76 6 6 6

5 5 5

2

0

5

10

Edward Frank Charlie David George Ida Adam Baker Henry Out ofCity

Sector(total = 57 incidents)

18

12 11 11

31 1 1

0

5

10

15

20

ParkingLot

Street Yard /Courtyard

Residence Business UnderBridge

Church WoodedArea

Type of Premise(total = 58 incidents*)

*one incident included shootings at residence then a nearby parking lot, counted for both


Call Type

Reasons for the initial contact between the officer and subject(s) varied. Disturbance calls were the most frequent type (18%) that ended in an officer-involved shooting. The Other category includes: aggravated assault, flagged down by victim of leaving-the-scene crash, stabbing, narcotics, robbery suspect vehicle, and nature unknown

The majority of officers (61%) were informed by the dispatcher – before arriving on scene – that the subject was armed.

10

8

65 5

43 3 3

2 2

6

0

5

10

15

Initial Call Type(total = 57 incidents)

49

31

0

25

50

75

Yes No

Officer Knew Subject was Armed(total = 80 officers)


Police Presence

When incidents are examined by total number of officers present, the most common scenario (75% of incidents) was for more than one officer to be present during the shooting.

Less-Lethal Force

Less-lethal force was used by APD prior to using a firearm in seven incidents. Less-lethal force includes: weaponless (e.g., pressure points, hand/leg strike), OC (“pepper”) spray, Taser, impact weapon (e.g., baton), or K9 (police dog). Taser use was most common (five of the seven incidents).

14

8

12

64

53

5

0

10

20

1 officer 2 officers 3 officers 4 officers 5 officers 8-9officers

10 officers > 10officers

Number of Officers Present(total = 57 incidents)

7

50

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Yes No

Less-Lethal Force Used Prior to Shooting(total = 57 incidents)


Shots Fired and Hits

Looking at number of officers shooting in each incident, regardless of how many officers were present at the scene, it was most common that only one officer was the shooter (72% of incidents).

It was most common for officers to shoot 2-3 times (38%).

In 81% of incidents, at least one of the fired shots hit the subject.

41

11

3 2

0

15

30

45

1 officer 2 officers 3 officers 4 officers

Number of Officer Shooters(total = 57 incidents)

19

30

13 117

0

10

20

30

40

1 shot 2-3 shots 4-5 shots 6-9 shots 10+ shots

Officer Shots Fired(total = 80 officers)

46

11

0

15

30

45

60

1+ hits No hits

Hits(total = 57 incidents)


Subject Weapon

Guns (including handguns, rifles, shotguns, and air pistols) were used in the majority of the incidents (63%). The next most used weapons were vehicles (16%). One subject used both a gun and a vehicle as a weapon, but it was only counted it as a gun below.

Injuries

Of the officers involved in shooting incidents, the majority (86%) were not injured. Of those injured, most sustained only a minor injury. With one exception noted below, only shooting officers’ injuries are included in chart. No officers were killed during OIS incidents.

More than half of the subjects were killed (56%), and an additional 27% were injured.

36

9 71

4

0

10

20

30

40

Gun Vehicle Knife / cutter Other(microphone cord)

None

Subject Weapon(total = 57 incidents)

70

6 3 10

20

40

60

80

No Injury Minor Injury Shot* Stabbed

Officer Injuries(total = 80 officers)

*counts one officer who was shot by subject, although the officer was not the one who fired

33

1610

0

10

20

30

40

Subject Killed(one self-inflicted)

Subject Injured No Injury

Subject Injuries(total = 59 subjects)


Officer Characteristics

The 57 officer-involved shootings that occurred in Austin from 2008 through 2017 involved 80 officers.

Department

Most shootings involved APD officers only (93% of incidents). Two incidents involved only officers from other jurisdictions, including Texas Alcohol and Beverage Commission, Travis County Sheriff’s Office, and the U.S. Marshals Service.

Officer Demographics

One-third of officers (33%) were between the ages of 30-34 at the time of the officer-involved shooting.

53

2 2

0

15

30

45

60

APD APD +other jurisdiction

other jurisdictions only

Jurisdiction(total = 57 incidents)

3

18

26

14

10

5 4

0

10

20

30

20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50+

Officer Age (Years)(total = 80 officers)


All but two of the officers involved in shootings were male (98%). For context, in December 2017 APD’s sworn population was 90% male and 10% female.

Most officers involved in shootings were White (76%), followed by 16% Hispanic, 6% Black, and 1% Asian. For context, in December 2017 APD’s sworn population was 69% White, 20% Hispanic, 8% Black, and 3% Asian.

78

2

0

20

40

60

80

100

Male Female

Officer Gender(total = 80 officers)

61

135

10

20

40

60

80

White Hispanic Black Asian

Officer Race/Ethnicity(total = 80 officers)


Weapon

Most officers involved in shootings fired a semi-automatic handgun (65%).

The caliber used most frequently in officer-involved shootings was .40 (used by 52% of officers).

53

22

6

0

20

40

60

Handgun Rifle Shotgun

Officer Gun Type(total = 81 officers*)

*officer in one incident used a handgun and a shotgun; counted in both categories

42

14

8 7 63 1

0

10

20

30

40

50

.40 .223 9mm 5.56 12 gauge .45 0.308

Officer Gun Caliber(total = 81 officers*)

*officer in one incident used a .40 handgun and a 12-gauge shotgun; counted in both categories


Experience and Prior Involvement

In terms of experience, officers most commonly had between two and five years of law enforcement experience at the time of the officer-involved shooting (41%). This includes years of experience at APD as well as other departments.

The majority (81%) of officers involved held the rank of APD officer.

Most officers (93%) had not been involved in a prior officer-involved shooting in Austin since 2000.

7

33

21 19

0

10

20

30

40

0-1 years 2-5 years 6-10 years 11+ years

Length of Service (total = 80 officers)

65

4 3 3 5

0

20

40

60

80

Officer Detective Corporal Sergeant Other Agency

Officer Rank(total = 80 officers)

74

6

0

25

50

75

100

No Yes

Previous OIS(total = 80 officers)


Disposition

The majority of officers (81%) were not indicted by a grand jury (either no-billed by grand jury or not presented by the DA). Prior to 2017, Travis County’s district attorney’s office presented every OIS case to a Grand Jury as a policy. However, in 2017 the policy changed and the DA declined several cases.

56

9

2 1

12

0

20

40

60

No Billedby GJ

Not Presentedto GJ

(prosecutiondeclined)

Cleared byDOJ review

Indicted Pending

Disposition(total = 80 officers)


Subject Characteristics

There were 59 subjects involved in the 57 officer-involved shootings that occurred in Austin from 2008 through 2017.

Subject Demographics

The majority of subjects (66%) were between the ages of 20 and 39 years.

Most of the subjects were male (93%).

Subjects were most commonly White (48%), followed by 31% Black, and 20% Hispanic.

6

22

17

68

0

10

20

30

Under 20 20-29 30-39 40-49 50+

Subject Age(total = 59 subjects)

55

4

0

20

40

60

Male Female

Subject Gender(total = 59 subjects)

28

18

12

1

0

10

20

30

White Black Hispanic Asian

Subject Race/Ethnicity(total = 59 subjects)


Criminal History

Most subjects (61%) had been arrested at least once by APD prior to the officer-involved shooting.

23

9 8 8 8

3

0

10

20

30

no arrests 1-2 3-5 6-9 10-19 20+

Prior Arrests by APD(total = 59 subjects)


Comparison to Other Cities

The following summarizes total officer-involved shooting subjects for Austin, and US cities of comparable size (500,000 – 1,500,000 residents) for the years 2008 through 2017. Texas cities in the below chart are shown separately, and all but Houston are also included in the US Cities average. Cities surveyed had between 32 and 185 OIS subjects for the 10-year period, averaging 89. This makes Austin’s count of 59 OIS subjects 34% lower than the average.

Note: Comparison data was gathered and shared with permission from other

jurisdictions. The following cities are included in the above “US Cities Average”:

Albuquerque

Baltimore

Charlotte-Mecklenburg

Columbus

Dallas

Denver

El Paso

Fort Worth

Fresno

Honolulu

Indianapolis

Jacksonville

Louisville

Memphis

Nashville

Oklahoma City

Portland

San Antonio

San Diego

San Jose

Seattle

Tucson

Washington DC

5989

3573

142 155

418

0

100

200

300

400

500

Austin US CitiesAverage

El Paso ForthWorth

SanAntonio

Dallas Houston(pop. >2m)

OIS: Number of Subjects2008 - 2017


Appendix: Map of Incidents

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