The first six months of 2011 have seen a significant boost in complaints against police officers patrolling South and Southeast Austin. Generally the area has about 8 complaints every six months, but according to the recently released Office of the Police Monitor report, 45 individuals filed complaints against Austin police from January to the end of June.

The reason for the jump in complaints has not yet been analyzed, but Police Chief Art Acevedo says that he is not alarmed, citing the possibility of dismissed complaints. Generally, downtown Austin receives the most police complaints, due to intoxication and a dense homeless population.

In the past few years, the Office of the Police Monitor has shown the rates of police conduct complaints climbing. Officers behaving rudely and unprofessionally, as well as the frequency of unnecessary car searches for minority populations, have been some of the main sites of criticism.



Newly-released reports from Austin’s Office of the Police Monitor (OPM) contain some revealing details about complaints filed against Austin police officers. The reports cover the first six months of 2010, and show that 47 citizens filed formal complaints at the police monitor office under sworn testimony during that time. A startling 806 people, however, contacted the OPM with grievances in total. In addition, 136 officers filed formal complaints against other officers.

The APD policies and procedures direct officers to be professional and courteous; however, the number one complaint against the APD is officer rudeness. The OPM website also lists multiple other reasons officers have been suspended, including several accounts of losing control of a car while driving recklessly and one report of an officer who accidentally shot a fellow officer in the foot after falling off a table while using his gun as a flashlight.

The purpose of the OPM reports is to advise the Austin Police Department on how to hold officers more accountable. The OPM encourages citizens to report disrespectful or otherwise inappropriate behavior by an officer in order to build a more productive relationship between the community and the police department.

One of the consequences of being arrested for driving while intoxicated is that your drivers license can be suspended. The length of suspension will depend on several factors including whether or not you submitted a sample of your breath. For those who submitted a breath sample, the suspension is for 90 days. For those who refused to submit a sample of their breath, the suspension is for 180 days.

If you have been arrested for driving while intoxicated, and you have been driving with a suspended license, stop. If you are caught driving with a suspended license you can pick up another misdemeanor charge, or your probation can be revoked. However, there is good news. There is a way you can legally drive without getting yourself into more trouble. The solution: obtain an occupational drivers license.

An occupational drivers license is a DPS issued license which allows you to drive for job related purposes, educational purposes, or to do daily task such as grocery shopping. Typically, a person can drive no more than 12 hours in a day with an occupational license, and sometimes the court will require an individual to keep a log of the places they have been and hours driven. Also, a person cannot drive a commercial motor vehicle with an occupational license.

Obtaining an occupational license can be a complicated and expensive process. First, you need to file a petition requesting an occupational license. Along with this petition comes a filing fee that must be paid to the county clerk. Then, if the judge believes this license is vital to your daily life, he or she will sign an order directing the DPS to issue you your occupational license.
This order will be good for 30 days, after which you will need to send the order, a reinstatement fee, an occupational license fee, and a SR-22 to the DPS for your permanent license.

Some courts may ask that you attend alcohol counseling in order to receive your occupational license. Other times, a judge may order that an ignition interlock device be installed in your vehicle. An ignition interlock device is a breath alcohol analyzer. In order for your car to start with one of these devices, an individual must blow into the analyzer, and if the alcohol concentration measures above the startup concentration, then the car will not start. However, this device is typically only installed in the vehicles of repeat offenders.

If you are in need of an occupational license because yours has been suspended, call the lawyers at the McMinn Law Firm. Our staff is experienced in obtaining occupational licenses in the Austin area and can have you legally back on the road in days.

I’ve been in a lot of courtrooms across the state of Texas and I’ve had the opportunity to see how different counties operate their judicial systems. This article will help explain what one may expect if they are arrested for a criminal case here in Travis County.

Let’s start by talking about the arrest. Typically, a defendant is arrested immediately at the scene of the alleged crime. For example, in a DWI case, if the officer believes there is probable cause that the driver is operating his vehicle while intoxicated, they will arrest him on scene. In other cases, a warrant is issued and the defendant must be found or turn himself in to authorities. In either case, the defendant will ultimately find himself in jail and a judge will set a bond for the charge. To be released from jail, the defendant must post bond.

Whether it be a personal bond, cash bond, or surety bond, most defendants in Travis County are able to post bond. If the defendant is not able to post bond, they are usually appointed an attorney and placed on the jail docket. If the defendant posts bond, he is released from jail and promises to appear back in court at a later date to face the charges against him.

Crimes are broken down into two major categories: misdemeanors and felonies. In Travis County, the County Courts at Law handle all misdemeanor cases and the District Courts handle all felony cases. We have six County Courts at Law that handle misdemeanor cases (County Court at Law 3,4,5,6,7,8). County Court at Law # 4 handles only cases involving family violence assault, both misdemeanor and felony. We also have seven district courts that handle all felony cases (147^th, 167^th, 299^th, 331^st, 390^th, 403^rd, 427^th District Courts).

If you are charged with a misdemeanor (excluding class C misdemeanors), you will be placed in one of the county courts at law. You will be required to attend your court dates until you reach a resolution to your case or your case proceeds to trial. If you are charged with a felony, you will be placed in one of the district courts. Again, you will be required to attend your court dates until you reach a resolution to your case or it proceeds to trial. Also, in felony cases, the district attorney must obtain an indictment from the grand jury before you will be held to answer in court.

If you are charged with a crime, the most important thing you can do is hire an attorney that is experienced in representing defendants in the county where you are charged. The attorneys at the McMinn Law Firm practice criminal law every day in Travis County. If you are charged with a crime, give us a call today and we will start fighting for your rights.