AUSTIN, Texas — Changes to the homeless ordinances in Austin have sparked a lot of questions, controversy and complaints.
Assistant Chief Justin Newsom with the Austin Police Department said the ordinances change the way officers work downtown.
"Prior to the ordinance change, if a person just simply had a tent up or had a mattress down or had erected any type of shelter at all, that fit the law and the violation of camping ... Officers would just ask somebody, and educate them, and tell them, 'You can't have a tent up at this location. Can you please take it down and move along?'" Newsom said. "After July 1, we can no longer ask that question because just the act of having that tent or having that mattress is not a violation of the law."
Newsom said something or someone would have to be blocking the path or causing a health or safety hazard for police to step in.
He said aggressive conduct is still illegal.
KVUE asked Newsom about surveillance video that circulated on social media that showed two men getting into a fight downtown. The victim believes the man who attacked him was homeless.
People asked why police didn't arrest the man that day, questioning if the ordinances had anything to do with the lack of arrest.
Newsom explained the changes in ordinances did not affect why an officer could not make an arrest that day.
"For us to make an arrest in the case of a misdemeanor, such as the one that happened, we have to witness it to make a custody arrest on the scene," Newsom explained. "If it’s a felony, that doesn’t apply, so just misdemeanors that are not family violence. We have to see it in order to make an arrest for it that day."
Newsom said the video sparked some discussion internally at the police department.
"We're learning that there is recent case law from the courts that say an officer can use all of the available media to factor into his or her presence on the scene and witnessing that. It's something that that case has actually led to us exploring to see if we can, going forward, make arrests in cases like that, if there is video," Newsom said.
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