Even after being offered $7,000 more a year plus $11,000 in deferred compensation, Police Chief Acevedo is continuing his quest to move on. This pay increase would have made Acevedo the second highest paid Police Chief in Texas. In her commentary titled Police chief Acevedo ready to move on; Austin should be, too; Alberta Phillips of the Austin-American Statesman hints that she is a bit perturbed at Acevedo’s “big picture” intentions of some day returning to the Los Angeles’s area.
Acevedo has engaged in conflict with some of our council members, one of which tried to reduce his budget. It seems like the public appreciates Acevedo more than the council members do. Under former Police Chief Stan Knee the Austin Police Association called the shots on many occasions. Acevedo would have none of this. He would fire or demote bad cops when necessary while upgrading police equipment.
Phillips has met Chief Acevedo on several occasions and now she is ready to let him go and ready for Austin to move on. Much of the minority population in Austin may not approve of the job that Acevedo has done since he has been in Austin but they do like him as an individual. He has made himself available to the public. Phillips is trying to speak out to the community that has seen (even before Acevedo arrived) what has been viewed as senseless killings by the police in the African American community. Why try to hold back a man on a mission. Let Chief Acevedo go ahead and chase his goals and let Austin continue to reach for its goals. Our goals for Austin should be realistic. The Austin mission statement in part states that “we want Austin to be the healthiest city in the nation.” I agree with Phillips that we should Acevedo him go. I would not want someone to be doing a job like this if they don’t want to be here.
Acevedo has engaged in conflict with some of our council members, one of which tried to reduce his budget. It seems like the public appreciates Acevedo more than the council members do. Under former Police Chief Stan Knee the Austin Police Association called the shots on many occasions. Acevedo would have none of this. He would fire or demote bad cops when necessary while upgrading police equipment.
Phillips has met Chief Acevedo on several occasions and now she is ready to let him go and ready for Austin to move on. Much of the minority population in Austin may not approve of the job that Acevedo has done since he has been in Austin but they do like him as an individual. He has made himself available to the public. Phillips is trying to speak out to the community that has seen (even before Acevedo arrived) what has been viewed as senseless killings by the police in the African American community. Why try to hold back a man on a mission. Let Chief Acevedo go ahead and chase his goals and let Austin continue to reach for its goals. Our goals for Austin should be realistic. The Austin mission statement in part states that “we want Austin to be the healthiest city in the nation.” I agree with Phillips that we should Acevedo him go. I would not want someone to be doing a job like this if they don’t want to be here.
