{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://casar.house.gov/media/press-releases/news-following-city-da-asks-congressman-greg-casar-urges-doj-investigation-apd", "NEWS: Following City & DA Asks, Congressman Greg Casar Urges DOJ Investigation of APD", "2023-12-15", "2023", "2023-12", "Democrat", "House", "TX", "Greg Casar", "C001131", "casar.house.gov", "casar", "https://casar.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "AUSTIN, Texas \u2013 Today, Congressmen Greg Casar (D-Texas) sent a letter to the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) urging a pattern or practice investigation of the Austin Police Department (APD) concerning excessive and lethal force exercised by Austin police officers, particularly against communities of color and persons with mental health conditions.\n\n\u201cFor years, we\u2019ve tried to address use-of-force and discrimination at the Austin Police Department, but many dangerous practices have not been fixed,\u201d said Congressman Greg Casar (D-Texas). \u201cThe City and the District Attorney requested that the U.S. Department of Justice conduct an investigation, and as a U.S. Representative, I strongly support their request.\u201d\n\nThis Congressional letter follows a Dec. 4 letter sent by Travis County District Attorney Jos\u00e9 Garza, City of Austin Mayor Kirk Watson, and Interim City Manager Jes\u00fas Garza to the DOJ urging a review of APD\u2019s actions during the protests of 2020.\n\nThe U.S. Attorney General has authority to sue local law enforcement agencies for \u201cengag[ing] in a pattern or practice of conduct\u201d that \u201cdeprives persons of rights, privileges, or immunities secured or protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States.\u201d The term \u201cpattern or practice,\u201d requires \u201cmore than an isolated, sporadic incident,\u201d and wrongdoing must be \u201crepeated, routine, or of a generalized nature.\u201d\n\nExamples of previous DOJ investigations include:\n\nDOJ brought to light excessive use of force in the Yonkers Police Department, the Seattle Police Department, the Puerto Rico Police Department, and others.\n\nDOJ found that the Maricopa County sheriff\u2019s department targeted Hispanics, responding to complaints that alleged no criminal activity, but reported people with \u201cdark skin\u201d congregating in an area, or employees speaking Spanish at a local business.\n\nDOJ concluded Suffolk County, New York police discouraged Latinos from filing complaints and failed to investigate anti-Latino hate crimes.\n\nThe full letter can be viewed here.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T01:14:16Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://casar.house.gov/media/press-releases/news-following-city-da-asks-congressman-greg-casar-urges-doj-investigation-apd"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.9555039945989847, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}