AUSTIN, Texas — An organization representing the police chiefs in the nation's largest cities has recommended local agencies work with federal law enforcement to determine whether any officer participated in the Jan. 6 insurrection or hold extremist views.
In a letter to members of Congress, the organization said that "we know that several current and former local law enforcement officers, firefighters and military members engaged in unlawful behavior and violated their oath of office."
The letter said local agencies should work with federal agents to evaluate tips and possibly use facial recognition technology to determine whether any officer participated in the Capitol riot.
Austin Police Chief Brian Manley said he has been in touch with the FBI special agent in charge for this federal region and offered any assistance should they receive information that an Austin officer participated in the insurrection. He said he has offered to share photographs with officers with the FBI to use facial recognition technology if needed. However, officials said there is no indication that an Austin officer was at the Capitol.
The organization also said, in response to a Congressional inquiry about how police can root out extremism, that it recommends that agencies conduct ongoing training to emphasize racial, religious and cultural sensitivity.
"To be clear, officers who subscribe to violent extremism, racism and hate have no place in our profession," the letter concluded.
Earlier this month, Austin City Council Member Allison Alter also sent a letter to Chief Manley urging him to use the capitol riots as a teachable moment regarding "values and expectations of their conduct" for members of the police department.
Ken Casaday, president of the Austin Police Association, called her message insulting.
"Now when there is absolutely no evidence of any wrongdoing by our officers, Alison wants to use her elected position to intimidate a select group of city employees and ask for the Department to investigate the whereabouts of employees on the day of January 6, 2021," he wrote in a Facebook post on Jan. 15. "While Alison wants to continue to insult and interfere with how Chief Manley is running the Department, the APA will continue to provide teachable moments and insights to Alison on how our officers strive to provide the best law enforcement services to our community and have done so proudly for many years, well before she moved to Austin."
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