AUSTIN, Texas — Former Austin police chief Art Acevedo will not join the City of Austin in a police management position.
Acevedo notified Interim City Manager Jesús Garza Tuesday morning, following a firestorm about his appointment as an assistant city manager over the Austin Police Department (APD). On Tuesday afternoon, he posted a statement on X, the platform previously known as Twitter.
"It is clear that this newly created position has become a distraction from the critical work ahead for our city, the Austin Police Department, and the Austin Police Association," Acevedo said in part, adding that he has always loved and admired the members of APD and, "as a long time member of their extended family, I will continue to support them in any way I can. Their well being has and will always [be] a priority for me, which is one of the reasons I have made this decision."
Acevedo said he stands "ready to assist and be a resource" in any way he can and he thanks Garza, Austin Mayor Kirk Watson and the Austin City Council members who supported the creation of the new position.
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On Jan. 19, KVUE broke the news that Acevedo, a former APD chief who went on to serve as the top law enforcement officer in Houston and Miami in highly scrutinized tenures, had been hired by the City in a newly created role overseeing the police department.
Acevedo was set to be paid $271,000 as an interim assistant city manager and was expected to supervise the APD and serve as a liaison between the department and the city manager’s office. Garza said he had created the position and hired Acevedo for the job to help lead the department through staffing challenges and continued reform in the aftermath of community demands following the May 2020 protests, among other issues.
Austin leaders had mixed reactions about the news that Acevedo would be returning, as well as the lack of advanced notice to the city council. On Thursday afternoon, Councilmember Mackenzie Kelly (District 6) said she had hand-delivered a memo to Garza, addressing concerns about transparency in personnel changes.
Who is Art Acevedo?
Acevedo served as Austin’s police chief from 2007 to 2016 with mixed reactions. He achieved near-celebrity status, appearing on magazine covers and marching in parades and rallies, but also led the department during multiple controversial shootings that critics said showed a lack of cultural shift. Acevedo was often criticized for cultivating the limelight more than leading the department.
He received a reprimand by former city manager Marc Ott and was docked five days pay for violating Ott’s directive that he not discuss the police shooting of David Joseph.
He left Austin to lead the Houston Police Department, where he marched with protesters after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and incorrectly blamed “radicals” from Austin for unrest there.
In 2021, Acevedo was hired to lead the Miami Police Department in what became a tumultuous tenure. He referred to the “Cuban mafia” that controlled the city, igniting a firestorm, and was fired six months later. It was among several incidents that prompted the city manager to fire Acevedo six months later.
Most recently, he has served as interim police chief in Aurora, Colo., prior to his announcement earlier last week that he was returning to Texas to be closer to his family.