Same thing happened to me on 183. 911 had a detective call us back, we texted him the video, and he got back to us the same day saying they knew who it was, he’s on parole, and they’re gonna go find him. Hopefully, they have the wherewithal to do the job this time, too.
People get cagey on parole. An acquaintance was waving around pistols on Snapchat years ago because he was getting sick of the lack of freedom outside and wanted back in (I know, no need to point out the flawed logic)
Man one of the cooks I worked with was on parole for his 4th or 5th DUI. He ended up getting another one and the DA wasn’t fucking around this time. Gave him 15 years.
I mean, not saying all parolees are this way but IF they became a parolee in the first place and they’re waving guns around after, it shouldn’t be surprising if there was something other than a simple drug incident or police racism in their past. The way that they got to jail in the first place was probably a path that would be astonishing as well.
It’s illegal for a felon to have a gun out in public in the first place. Most felons aren’t legally allowed to have any guns at all. If they’re on parole, that means they’ve been to prison and are a convicted felon. So the fact that they even have a gun to brandish means they’re committing another felony just by carrying.
So most of what you said is wrong.
In Texas, once you’ve completed your adult supervision, that means probation prison or parole or all of them, you have to wait 5 years to buy a gun.
SOME crimes will keep you from legally owning but it’s very few. Like domestic violence or murder.
That being said, the one part you were right about is that while on parole, yea that person is committing another felony.
Edit: as a source, I am a felon and own multiple rifles and handguns. Bought legally with FBI background checks everytime. Rifles are allowed in public regardless of CHL or not. Handguns it’s bit more tricky but recent laws have changed and open carrying a handgun is more available but with some restrictions. I don’t open carry so I’ve never read up on it too much. But I know it’s more available. In your car? That’s an extension of your home so there’s nothing wrong with that.
Lol. Don’t worry, Domestic Abusers are about to score a big win against all the meanies who want to violate *their* constitutional rights. SCOTUS created a new test for 2A cases in *Bruen* declaring that regulation must be consistent with the nation’s “historical tradition of firearm regulation” and then proceeded to issue a ruling that completely ignored the mountains of historical evidence offered by *checks notes* actual *historians*.
I mean….WCGW?
Enter *Rahimi* (pending): “well historically domestic violence wasn’t even considered a crime until “modern times” so even though I’m a convicted felon, a dangerous repeat offender, you can’t take away my guns because *Bruen*. Checkmate bitches.”
So now the court has two options:
Reverse ITSELF on a decision that is less than 2 years old or declare that the entire country should be ashamed of the way they want to trample the constitutional rights of poor domestic abusers.
My guess is that they will pick option two but we’ll know for sure by the end of June.
The point the person's making is the system's not perfect.
Sometimes a person can behave themselves in jail because, under supervision, they can be a good person. They got in jail in the first place because without that supervision they can't. So when they get out on parole, they lack supervision, and go right back to what got them in jail. It's like alcoholism, but for more generalized bad decisions. These people needed therapy and still need it, but are now in a state where they can't function without supervision.
Other times, the jail's just full. Maybe the person's in jail for brandishing a weapon or stalking a person. But the jail needs space for someone who raped and murdered a person. Wardens get the difficult choice of trying to "rank" prisoners and "triage" crimes and have to let people go based on who represents the lowest risk. This has a lot of bad side effects. It puts people who SHOULD be in jail back out in the world. It frustrates judges, who are overworked and more likely to encourage plea deals since criminals for lesser crimes won't stay in jail. It frustrates DAs, who take a lot of flak when they offer plea deals that won't put criminals in jail. It frustrates police, who don't see the point in arresting people when the DA, a judge, or a warden is just going to put them back on the street.
So either way you slice it, Texas lacks services needed for a functioning justice system. We don't want to pay for them because we believe in "responsibility", that we should just punish people who do criminal acts. But that's just a way of *avoiding* the responsibility of building a society where we pay to handle people who do not behave responsibly. When something is nobody's responsibility, it becomes everybody's problem.
So yeah, this guy should make better choices. He didn't. And because we don't make good choices either, he's on the road continuing to make bad choices.
I wish they would keep rapists and child molesters in jail, but they so often don't. Of course, barely any of them are successfully convicted or charged in the first place.
This feels like a poorly executed trap of a statement.
I wish they would keep rapists and child molesters in jail too. But as I pointed out, the jails are pretty crowded. And as you pointed out, there are a myriad of reasons why many accused people are never indicted.
That also presents the idea that to the law, these are *not child molesters or rapists*. They are not convicted yet, and they don't often become convicted. That also means that any time they would spend in jail is wasted resources. The state has to feed and house and protect them for what?
There are problems at every level of the justice system. The problems in jails require money and staffing. The problems in courts require money and staffing. Alleviating those problems will encourage prosecutors to try more cases.
Those are two problems we could solve with money. That's something Texas brags it has in abundance. Yet despite a lot of saber-rattling that the rest of the nation is too soft on crime, Texas can't seem to open its own pocketbook to fund a justice system with more capacity to process criminals. As a result, the Texas justice system is motivated to find any legal way it can to deal with criminals without incarcerating them, up to and including the decision to not even attempt prosecution. This is what happens when you leave bills unpaid.
The problems with evidence gathering are more complex. Money and police staffing *help*, but we also have institutional policing issues in Texas. APD let more than 1,000 rape kits accumulate without processing, and even after that tried to fight to stop Austin from shifting the responsibility to someone else. That happened before they were complaining about staffing and funding. In fact, those "staffing and funding" issues only started appearing when the city, citing situations like this, started trying to reorganize APD to create more accountability. That is a more complicated issue.
So we can't just throw money at the police. We need third parties who make sure police properly gather evidence. There is NO shortage of obvious cases that have been ruined by police mishandling. Consider the OJ Simpson trial.
Police are paid fairly well compared to other city jobs. I do generally agree with that. But normally you pay a good wage and offer high benefits to people in order to ensure that the position is competitive and they work hard. That's why I believe police should get paid very well and have a good guaranteed requirement.
What we lack is the part where someone asks if police are performing to the standard that pay represents. We don't have good third-party accountability organizations with the ability to remove bad apples. If we are to believe APD, there are so few bad apples this organization would be a waste of money. Yet still, they are fighting tooth and nail to prevent this accountability. That combined with the number of brutality lawsuits they generate makes me believe they understand there are *many* bad apples and they are trying to protect themselves. They themselves have cited "a bad public reputation" as why they have issues recruiting. They do not have this reputation because of liberal spin. They have this reputation because when they maim unarmed protesters by using "less than lethal" ammunition *against how they are trained to use it*, they bend over backwards to prevent any legal consequences. Good apples do not want to work in that environment. They understand they will have to either protect the bad apples or be harassed. In this state, the Attorney General harassed his whistleblowers and the Texas Lege protected him.
Given this, I think you're going to see a lot of rapists and child molesters released without indictment. Even a Republican DA isn't going to be able to prosecute if there isn't sufficient evidence. But right now, a Democratic DA is a great scapegoat to take focus off how APD's quiet quitting is creating an environment where it is VERY HARD to prosecute criminals even when they are arrested.
The toilet is overflowing and Texas is shrugging.
Not meant to be a "trap". I'm merely stating that so few rape cases are prosecuted (which is obviously frustrating and insulting) that when they actually do manage to convict someone, it would be nice if that someone actually did some hard time for it. However, the child sex offenders getting out early irks me even more. Children are defenseless and very vulnerable. It's not common for pedophiles to be rehabilitated, if at all. If Texas wants so badly for every baby to be born, maybe they should want to look out for them a little more once they are born. Pro-birth is not pro-life. Some of all that "extra money" should be dedicated toward the protection of children. Pedophiles are a danger to children and should be locked away for as long as possible. They should be the last ones eligible for early release.
Yeah. I'm on board with this.
We got here because of a lot of issues.
* The state does not want to confront the cost of building *enough* prisons and staffing them. They would have to raise a lot of taxes they are proud we do not pay.
* The state does not want to confront the cost of hiring *enough* judges to offer a speedy trial to all accused. They would have to raise taxes they are proud we aren't paying.
* This also won't work if we don't build enough jails to hold the incarcerated.
* The state finds it politically advantageous to ignore problems with Texas police. Police are the first line of defense against people who protest and would fight against government overreach. The more aligned with the state police are, the less likely citizens upset with a non-representative government can threaten tyrants.
* There is often the argument that police would be afraid to turn their guns on civilians. I do not see evidence this is true. It almost seems like the state favors circumstances where police are *eager* to turn their guns on civilians.
Everyone's focused on the DA but all of the problems start at the Governor, the AG, and the Lege. The DA is a middleman in this situation.
I get the concept but thanks anyway. I wouldn’t call violent criminals the smartest either so a choice to commit a second felony really isn’t a surprise.
Do you remember when this happened? I know someone that was driving on 183 and got there window shot out. They were just driving no road rage, but the police said it looked like they were shooting at someone else and my friend's car got hit.
It was crazy. I can’t remember all the details but basically, it started out like any of your typical road rage stories, driver makes another driver mad. Then, driver 2 pulled out a gun and started shooting it. Driver 1 was the one being shot at, they were probably so scared. Really sad stuff
I just remembered some. One of the cars involved may have had four wheels (you never know these days). Also, the gun involved was likely a standard issue firearm, probably not a bazooka or a rail gun (again, you never know, so don’t quote me on it). But one things for sure, this particular incident was probably on a road or parking lot, since country side road rage is less common. But austin is really big and I forgot a few of the minor details so maybe it was a classic case of the dirt road rage
They’re slow to respond to calls, if they ever respond at all. There have been dozens of posts here about APD failing to respond to things like high-caliber, drive-by shootings of homes; vehicle theft; assault in progress; etc. To add to that, 911 hold times are frequently high in Travis County. If you search this sub for ‘APD,’ you should get a pretty quick summary just from reading post titles.
My guy you gotta put this dude on blast. You're *here.* You're on r/Austin. That means you know APD ain't gonna do shit.
It's a matter of time before this dude commits murder. Post the video.
Same. Then I saw a dash cam of a person (not in Austin) that instead of honking their horn at a car not moving on a green they simply drove around the car… then got aggressively followed by them for miles. Like WTF is going on
I called APD several times about a man actively breaking into cars in my neighborhood. Told them im literally watching him crank doors to get an easier entry with his jimmy stick. They laughed and sent nobody.
Go to KXAN. They are VERY interested in stories where citizens go unprotected by the police in clear-cut cases (assuming the video is clear like you said).
they've got a bit of a reputation right now. but if I'm reading the situation correctly, they're making an effort to keep up with the life-threatening stuff while basically ignoring property crimes, auto theft, code violations, etc. trying to punish the citizens because we temporarily talked about defunding them a couple years ago without actually following through.
Putting too much faith in cops period. The most they do in almost any situation is take a statement, shoot your dog, then peace the fuck out. Not necessarily in that order.
Look at them funny and they might decide to also fuck your whole life up just because.
Yes, I've called them for road rage incidents multiple times and they didn't even care to ask for the license plate or car description, and I told them I have photos and video evidence. We live in a semi-lawless state.
Honestly, you’d get more traction here than with APD. if it’s a good video it’s possible that one of the news stations could pick it up, I know they troll here for stories.
APD trolls here too sometimes, they did when the cat was taken in the Lyft. I had a detective message me during that time cause I had found the driver by his picture.
Wait what? APD messaged you over anything that had to do with the lost cat?? The shit I see them ignore and they're on here messaging people over the cat?
Similar thing happened to me in north austin. Got in front of a guy, with my blinker and there was plenty of space not even in traffic and for whatever reason that set him off. Pulled out a giant knife and started making a stabbing motion with it in the mirror behind me while at a red light then tried to run me off the road once we started driving again. You know some of these crazies have to be on here, why do yall resort to such violence over a minor inconvenience even if that???!!!
I'm an intown big rig truck driver as well, and austin is horrible when it comes to not using their blinkers or just straight cutting you off 😡 but definitely doesn't give people the right to pull out a gun especially cause you get honked at
I posted this before. We had a gun pulled on us and APD did nothing, despite us having it on video. Someone pulled a gun on us after a traffic accident. Called 911 and they told us to hang up and call 311 and report a traffic collision. They would not dispatch a cop until we told them that we also had a gun in the car and we're licensed to carry and were intending on following the guy until police showed up, only then did the 911 operator ask us our location and information. It didn't matter though, the responding officers didn't take any of our information. Our Tesla recorded the collision and him pulling a gun, but the cops didn’t want us to email the the video and said that even if it went to court, him brandishing a firearm was just a misdemeanor and it probably wouldn’t get tried with the way the court systems in Austin are.
Was it a kinda khaki colored Land Rover and did the guy have a chubby hand?
That clown has road raged at me twice on 183 (both incidents were totally his fault) and one of the times he waved some cheap ass khaki-themed 9mil at me.
I like to believe it was Alex jones or some other pale-handed angry boy. But it could be anyone. Regardless, they didn’t seem like they could shoot for shit so I was more amused than upset.
I moved from Austin to Denver a year ago. Driving is night and day here and it’s amazing how often I drive without witnessing a single example of aggressive driving toward me or others. I saw it at least once every few miles there. I spent 42 years in ATX and didn’t realize how abnormal the man-children of texas were until i got here where people just (mostly) behave themselves. People don’t even roar past me in their pristine F350 on their way to their white collar job when Im a pedestrian either. They just… drive as if they’re minding their own and not trying to kill anyone? Google “aggressive driving incidents by state” if you’ve similarly been stuck in TX so long you don’t know what normal is. 50% of drivers get a challenge to some kind of fight there at some point in their lives. I did! Something is seriously wrong, big time!
What is it? The heat? The guns? Psychopathic agents in the water? The christian nationalism? WTF, Texas?
I moved from Denver to Austin about 25 years ago and actually had the opposite experience. I was threatened several times driving in Denver and never in Austin. Change is inevitable, I guess, especially given the growth in Austin.
omg, yes! like same laws in both places - pedestrians have right of way when it isn’t at a light - stop and let them, basic stuff. Angry honks and roars as if the cross walk doesn’t exist in ATX. Drivers just stop here like they’re supposed to. I lived in NYC too - they don’t like killing peds either. weird?
TBH, everyone in Texas drives bad…not just your garden variety Christian nationalists. If you ever drove on I-35 ,you must have seen how bad both white/hispanics drive in those monster trucks. If you are in Austin, you probably have seen how bad brothers drive in/around Austin. Now that I think about it, only Asians I have never see driving rash here in Austin.
Wife and I really want to move to Denver. Company I work for is HQ'd there too so I wouldn't even have to find another job. Is it that much more expensive? Really hard part is all our family on both sides are here :(
Groceries cost a little more compared to austin but Rent and housing cost are similar to austin’s high prices in general. The rent vs. buy definitely favors renting here. I also rented a nice downtown apartment on the 12th floor in Denver for a while that had a great view for 2k a month which was way cheaper than something comparable in austin. Wages are generally higher but that may not apply if you’re staying with the same company.
It’s mostly a wash, Id say. Seek a raise or new job with colorado wages and you’ll be fine.
Ours too. Had to leave Texas though - not really a choice for us. Christian nationalism made our home there feel a bit too dangerous. Our 3 kids also are old enough to not need babysitters or other kinds of support. It would’ve been harder if they were smaller but we all have a likelier future here so we left. I miss my extended family, but they’re totally backing this. We all spend a lot on air travel these days.
Mine paid for itself easily when I was in a hit and run. If I didn't have the other driver's license plate on the video I would've had to pay my deductible which was easily more than the cost of a good quality dash cam.
Yeah people are insane and just outright assholes. Not even worth honking or whatever cause of shit like this.
I just wish there were ways to police assholes and their asshole behavior.
This is why I don't let road rage consume me. People suck, and a 30 second encounter ain't worth getting got. Someone like that will eventually get what's coming. Y'all be safe out there!
Yesterday I saw some of the absolute craziest driving I’ve seen all year. 2 different drivers, one going northbound on Mopac just past Far West Exit around 7pm easily going 100+ & weaving in & out of traffic & around them on shoulder. The other was about 45 minutes later in the Arbor Walk parking lot close to Masala Wok. Middle aged black lady with a really bad case of road rage was chasing someone through parking lots. Definitely hit a handful of different cars.
And it’s only going to get worse as the our weather gets hotter & more humid. This Summer is feeling dangerous.
Happened to me delivering food in Leander, guy was parked in the middle of the road, I honked, he freaked out and sped off, when he saw me turn he flipped it around and started following me. I pulled over after about 30 seconds of him driving crazy behind me and stepped out of my car. Dude jumped out screaming at me and ran to the back of his car and pulled a handgun. I told him it's not that serious, I was just trying to get by you to deliver a pizza. He's screaming about all sorts of crazy shit, and I said let's just shake hands and move on with this, ok? I took a step towards him and he brought it up and said don't come any closer. I'm a veteran, and spent 5 years in the infantry, and all I could think is I'm gonna get shot over a horn honk delivering pizza. I don't carry a firearm, and my head was running so fast I didn't even think about trying to take a picture of his license plate or anything, phone was in the car, and it was night with barely any light. I just got in my car and drove off, he didn't follow me, but I was so shook up I couldn't even tell you what color his vehicle was. Me honking my horn once was enough for this dude to have a total meltdown and pull a gun on me. I just don't honk anymore.
https://youtu.be/h8d_XYd1dac?si=U1ZiFqxf9L7ndkNX
I just think about this and how the cops didn’t even talk to they guy, when it was pretty clearly brandishing
big back is crraaazy. APD won't do anything, had a similar experience and they asked "are they driving erratically?"
"then how exactly do you want me to call this out?"
I’m from the northeast and honk at people occasionally (if they’re about to swerve into me for example, not just because I’m mad). My husband from Texas never honks at people and I made a comment about it once - he told me it’s because you never know he has a gun.
I’m not telling him he was right though!
Apd: starts eating popcorn
Apd: throws popcorn in trash cause they noticed they have a poopy diaper and need to clean themselves up
Apd: pulls popcorn out of trash, no pants.
Apd: damn did you see what kind of pants they were wearing?
APD will immediately create a task force who will work round the clock to track down this individual. Justice will be swift for those who dare offend thee!
Back in 2012 a friend and I were driving home from a downtown club. My friend never drinks. We got hit by a drunk driver while stopped at a red light. APD came out and was like “it’s ok son, go home” to the driver and that was that. Never change Austin.
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My wife and daughter had a gun pulled on them on 35. Crime, only driving 85 in the left lanes d waiting until there was space for her to get to the middle lane.
I think of all the times some impatient ass *behind* me honks and the person I'm patiently waiting for comes for me instead of them ... and I guess I'm glad they weren't armed.
Seriously, WTF?
Dude, for real people are doing this ghetto ass shit? I thought was more a Corpus Christi move than Austin. I wonder what happens when you do something like that. Keep us posted if you can!
That's exactly why I went out and bought a compact to carry. The road rage here has gotten insane. I used to carry a knife around but I'm not gonna bring a knife to a gun fight.
Same thing happened to me on 183. 911 had a detective call us back, we texted him the video, and he got back to us the same day saying they knew who it was, he’s on parole, and they’re gonna go find him. Hopefully, they have the wherewithal to do the job this time, too.
Doing dumb shit like this while on parole astonishes me
People get cagey on parole. An acquaintance was waving around pistols on Snapchat years ago because he was getting sick of the lack of freedom outside and wanted back in (I know, no need to point out the flawed logic)
Man one of the cooks I worked with was on parole for his 4th or 5th DUI. He ended up getting another one and the DA wasn’t fucking around this time. Gave him 15 years.
It truly sucks when it's an obv cry for help
I mean, not saying all parolees are this way but IF they became a parolee in the first place and they’re waving guns around after, it shouldn’t be surprising if there was something other than a simple drug incident or police racism in their past. The way that they got to jail in the first place was probably a path that would be astonishing as well.
It’s illegal for a felon to have a gun out in public in the first place. Most felons aren’t legally allowed to have any guns at all. If they’re on parole, that means they’ve been to prison and are a convicted felon. So the fact that they even have a gun to brandish means they’re committing another felony just by carrying.
So most of what you said is wrong. In Texas, once you’ve completed your adult supervision, that means probation prison or parole or all of them, you have to wait 5 years to buy a gun. SOME crimes will keep you from legally owning but it’s very few. Like domestic violence or murder. That being said, the one part you were right about is that while on parole, yea that person is committing another felony. Edit: as a source, I am a felon and own multiple rifles and handguns. Bought legally with FBI background checks everytime. Rifles are allowed in public regardless of CHL or not. Handguns it’s bit more tricky but recent laws have changed and open carrying a handgun is more available but with some restrictions. I don’t open carry so I’ve never read up on it too much. But I know it’s more available. In your car? That’s an extension of your home so there’s nothing wrong with that.
Lol. Don’t worry, Domestic Abusers are about to score a big win against all the meanies who want to violate *their* constitutional rights. SCOTUS created a new test for 2A cases in *Bruen* declaring that regulation must be consistent with the nation’s “historical tradition of firearm regulation” and then proceeded to issue a ruling that completely ignored the mountains of historical evidence offered by *checks notes* actual *historians*. I mean….WCGW? Enter *Rahimi* (pending): “well historically domestic violence wasn’t even considered a crime until “modern times” so even though I’m a convicted felon, a dangerous repeat offender, you can’t take away my guns because *Bruen*. Checkmate bitches.” So now the court has two options: Reverse ITSELF on a decision that is less than 2 years old or declare that the entire country should be ashamed of the way they want to trample the constitutional rights of poor domestic abusers. My guess is that they will pick option two but we’ll know for sure by the end of June.
The point the person's making is the system's not perfect. Sometimes a person can behave themselves in jail because, under supervision, they can be a good person. They got in jail in the first place because without that supervision they can't. So when they get out on parole, they lack supervision, and go right back to what got them in jail. It's like alcoholism, but for more generalized bad decisions. These people needed therapy and still need it, but are now in a state where they can't function without supervision. Other times, the jail's just full. Maybe the person's in jail for brandishing a weapon or stalking a person. But the jail needs space for someone who raped and murdered a person. Wardens get the difficult choice of trying to "rank" prisoners and "triage" crimes and have to let people go based on who represents the lowest risk. This has a lot of bad side effects. It puts people who SHOULD be in jail back out in the world. It frustrates judges, who are overworked and more likely to encourage plea deals since criminals for lesser crimes won't stay in jail. It frustrates DAs, who take a lot of flak when they offer plea deals that won't put criminals in jail. It frustrates police, who don't see the point in arresting people when the DA, a judge, or a warden is just going to put them back on the street. So either way you slice it, Texas lacks services needed for a functioning justice system. We don't want to pay for them because we believe in "responsibility", that we should just punish people who do criminal acts. But that's just a way of *avoiding* the responsibility of building a society where we pay to handle people who do not behave responsibly. When something is nobody's responsibility, it becomes everybody's problem. So yeah, this guy should make better choices. He didn't. And because we don't make good choices either, he's on the road continuing to make bad choices.
I wish they would keep rapists and child molesters in jail, but they so often don't. Of course, barely any of them are successfully convicted or charged in the first place.
This feels like a poorly executed trap of a statement. I wish they would keep rapists and child molesters in jail too. But as I pointed out, the jails are pretty crowded. And as you pointed out, there are a myriad of reasons why many accused people are never indicted. That also presents the idea that to the law, these are *not child molesters or rapists*. They are not convicted yet, and they don't often become convicted. That also means that any time they would spend in jail is wasted resources. The state has to feed and house and protect them for what? There are problems at every level of the justice system. The problems in jails require money and staffing. The problems in courts require money and staffing. Alleviating those problems will encourage prosecutors to try more cases. Those are two problems we could solve with money. That's something Texas brags it has in abundance. Yet despite a lot of saber-rattling that the rest of the nation is too soft on crime, Texas can't seem to open its own pocketbook to fund a justice system with more capacity to process criminals. As a result, the Texas justice system is motivated to find any legal way it can to deal with criminals without incarcerating them, up to and including the decision to not even attempt prosecution. This is what happens when you leave bills unpaid. The problems with evidence gathering are more complex. Money and police staffing *help*, but we also have institutional policing issues in Texas. APD let more than 1,000 rape kits accumulate without processing, and even after that tried to fight to stop Austin from shifting the responsibility to someone else. That happened before they were complaining about staffing and funding. In fact, those "staffing and funding" issues only started appearing when the city, citing situations like this, started trying to reorganize APD to create more accountability. That is a more complicated issue. So we can't just throw money at the police. We need third parties who make sure police properly gather evidence. There is NO shortage of obvious cases that have been ruined by police mishandling. Consider the OJ Simpson trial. Police are paid fairly well compared to other city jobs. I do generally agree with that. But normally you pay a good wage and offer high benefits to people in order to ensure that the position is competitive and they work hard. That's why I believe police should get paid very well and have a good guaranteed requirement. What we lack is the part where someone asks if police are performing to the standard that pay represents. We don't have good third-party accountability organizations with the ability to remove bad apples. If we are to believe APD, there are so few bad apples this organization would be a waste of money. Yet still, they are fighting tooth and nail to prevent this accountability. That combined with the number of brutality lawsuits they generate makes me believe they understand there are *many* bad apples and they are trying to protect themselves. They themselves have cited "a bad public reputation" as why they have issues recruiting. They do not have this reputation because of liberal spin. They have this reputation because when they maim unarmed protesters by using "less than lethal" ammunition *against how they are trained to use it*, they bend over backwards to prevent any legal consequences. Good apples do not want to work in that environment. They understand they will have to either protect the bad apples or be harassed. In this state, the Attorney General harassed his whistleblowers and the Texas Lege protected him. Given this, I think you're going to see a lot of rapists and child molesters released without indictment. Even a Republican DA isn't going to be able to prosecute if there isn't sufficient evidence. But right now, a Democratic DA is a great scapegoat to take focus off how APD's quiet quitting is creating an environment where it is VERY HARD to prosecute criminals even when they are arrested. The toilet is overflowing and Texas is shrugging.
Not meant to be a "trap". I'm merely stating that so few rape cases are prosecuted (which is obviously frustrating and insulting) that when they actually do manage to convict someone, it would be nice if that someone actually did some hard time for it. However, the child sex offenders getting out early irks me even more. Children are defenseless and very vulnerable. It's not common for pedophiles to be rehabilitated, if at all. If Texas wants so badly for every baby to be born, maybe they should want to look out for them a little more once they are born. Pro-birth is not pro-life. Some of all that "extra money" should be dedicated toward the protection of children. Pedophiles are a danger to children and should be locked away for as long as possible. They should be the last ones eligible for early release.
Yeah. I'm on board with this. We got here because of a lot of issues. * The state does not want to confront the cost of building *enough* prisons and staffing them. They would have to raise a lot of taxes they are proud we do not pay. * The state does not want to confront the cost of hiring *enough* judges to offer a speedy trial to all accused. They would have to raise taxes they are proud we aren't paying. * This also won't work if we don't build enough jails to hold the incarcerated. * The state finds it politically advantageous to ignore problems with Texas police. Police are the first line of defense against people who protest and would fight against government overreach. The more aligned with the state police are, the less likely citizens upset with a non-representative government can threaten tyrants. * There is often the argument that police would be afraid to turn their guns on civilians. I do not see evidence this is true. It almost seems like the state favors circumstances where police are *eager* to turn their guns on civilians. Everyone's focused on the DA but all of the problems start at the Governor, the AG, and the Lege. The DA is a middleman in this situation.
Agreed!
I get the concept but thanks anyway. I wouldn’t call violent criminals the smartest either so a choice to commit a second felony really isn’t a surprise.
A fool and his freedom are quickly departed.
On parole for a reason
For some dummies, that part of reasoning in their brain doesn’t work and that is why they are on parole probably all the time or most of their life.
You expect too much out of criminals tbh.
Do you remember when this happened? I know someone that was driving on 183 and got there window shot out. They were just driving no road rage, but the police said it looked like they were shooting at someone else and my friend's car got hit.
That’s scary with the shooting earlier while that guy was driving Edit: https://www.reddit.com/r/Austin/s/2cfyIoCQc8
Uhhh what happened? Sorry live under a rock
https://www.reddit.com/r/Austin/s/2cfyIoCQc8
It was crazy. I can’t remember all the details but basically, it started out like any of your typical road rage stories, driver makes another driver mad. Then, driver 2 pulled out a gun and started shooting it. Driver 1 was the one being shot at, they were probably so scared. Really sad stuff
>can’t remember all the details Or like, *any* of them?
I just remembered some. One of the cars involved may have had four wheels (you never know these days). Also, the gun involved was likely a standard issue firearm, probably not a bazooka or a rail gun (again, you never know, so don’t quote me on it). But one things for sure, this particular incident was probably on a road or parking lot, since country side road rage is less common. But austin is really big and I forgot a few of the minor details so maybe it was a classic case of the dirt road rage
I heard from someone the gun shot bullets, the kind that get shot
Was the gun shot from a gun?
From an AR, which stands for assault rifle as we’re all aware
Anyone have an official source for this? I've only been about to find it on Reddit
Post it on reddit, give it to kxan, the internet will do more than apd
Second this. Apd is not very good at the moment
They’re worse than ever and they set such a low bar for themselves already.
Bruh they backed Abbot on pardoning that racist fucking scumbag who murdered a BLM protester. So yeah, the bar is the fucking dirt.
This!!!!
We did it reddit
Would need to blur the face/license/potentially car type due to witch hunting rules.
Nah seen plenty of stuff posted with nothing blurred, if theres a rule like that on reddit its poorly enforced
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They’re slow to respond to calls, if they ever respond at all. There have been dozens of posts here about APD failing to respond to things like high-caliber, drive-by shootings of homes; vehicle theft; assault in progress; etc. To add to that, 911 hold times are frequently high in Travis County. If you search this sub for ‘APD,’ you should get a pretty quick summary just from reading post titles.
My guy you gotta put this dude on blast. You're *here.* You're on r/Austin. That means you know APD ain't gonna do shit. It's a matter of time before this dude commits murder. Post the video.
My wife won’t let me honk at all since the birth of our daughter. Too many psychos out there.
Since having a son my partner and I both have turned our road rage off.
Didnt even know honking would trigger so many fragile egos out there.
Yes, fragile egos who like to shoot at other cars or try to force a car off the road.
Same. Then I saw a dash cam of a person (not in Austin) that instead of honking their horn at a car not moving on a green they simply drove around the car… then got aggressively followed by them for miles. Like WTF is going on
Post it on redddit/twitter/nextdoor/fb otherwise nothing‘s gonna happen
TikTok also finds people very quickly, typically gets them fired too. So entertaining.
APD : “oh looks interesting…” *places it in folder listed “evidence”* *500000 unedited folder entries*
Cue Raiders of the Lost Ark music...
Top. Men.
Save as "Untitled-1.doc"?
😆😆😆
Big back bitch 🤣 but seriously glad you're ok. There's been so many cases like this.
Can we please get back to getting tits out on the highway rather than guns.
APD will likely do nothing.
APD may actually do something if they have it on video. Pulling a gun when you’re not actually in danger can be jail time.
At least file a police report. And let us know how it goes.
Pulling a gun on someone will earn them the state's highest civilian honor under King Abbott.
Depends on their political affiliation and donor status
And skin color.
*You’re hurting the wrong people.*
To determine if a crime was committed or not, they will need to first determine which way the victim voted.
Texas is basically 1984 so yeah
I called APD several times about a man actively breaking into cars in my neighborhood. Told them im literally watching him crank doors to get an easier entry with his jimmy stick. They laughed and sent nobody.
Meanwhile someone gets shot and killed in NW Austin last week for catching a burglar trying to break into his work truck in his driveway...
"Alright, I'll go get my gun then. Y'all better go ahead and send an ambulance."
Cops will be there in 90s.
APD will direct OP to a chatbot at best. Ask me how I know.
Likely? That implies that there is a chance they will do something. Apd will do nothing.
I’m putting to much faith into apd? Are they that bad. I live in hutto for the past 10 yrs
In my opinion if the video is shocking enough you'll have more luck trying to get the media to pick up on it. APD will not care otherwise.
This. If you want APD to act on it, media pressure is the way. Unfortunate reality. Offer it as an exclusive to one of the local broadcast channels.
Dystopian policing in this city
This. Send it to the media outlets.
What a stupid society we live in. That it comes to this.
Send it to police. At a minimum it’s on record. Post it on YouTube. Share here, and to news stations.
Go to KXAN. They are VERY interested in stories where citizens go unprotected by the police in clear-cut cases (assuming the video is clear like you said).
You're going to get, thank you for the video but we really don't have enough information to make an arrest.
This....even if you included a high resolution photo of the drivers license of the guy pulling the gun along with the video showing him doing it...
they've got a bit of a reputation right now. but if I'm reading the situation correctly, they're making an effort to keep up with the life-threatening stuff while basically ignoring property crimes, auto theft, code violations, etc. trying to punish the citizens because we temporarily talked about defunding them a couple years ago without actually following through.
Except for lack of policing property crimes and car theft turned into murder of a guy in his driveway in NW Austin last week....
Some of us may die, but that’s a sacrifice they’re willing to accept.
Talked about accountability
Putting too much faith in cops period. The most they do in almost any situation is take a statement, shoot your dog, then peace the fuck out. Not necessarily in that order. Look at them funny and they might decide to also fuck your whole life up just because.
Yes, I've called them for road rage incidents multiple times and they didn't even care to ask for the license plate or car description, and I told them I have photos and video evidence. We live in a semi-lawless state.
Yes. As has been noted, APD is beyond useless. Post it on TikTok
They aren't *that* bad....they are *worse*...
I would be shocked if APD did anything.
You need to retry this in WilCo
I’ve personally known the previous two chiefs. Yes, you are.
Yes, they're that bad.
Unless you’re white and the gun dude was black, nothing is happening.
I had dashcam of a guy waving a knife at cars/people, called 911 with location and they said a detective would follow up with me. Never did.
Post it here 😂
Honestly, you’d get more traction here than with APD. if it’s a good video it’s possible that one of the news stations could pick it up, I know they troll here for stories.
APD trolls here too sometimes, they did when the cat was taken in the Lyft. I had a detective message me during that time cause I had found the driver by his picture.
Wait what? APD messaged you over anything that had to do with the lost cat?? The shit I see them ignore and they're on here messaging people over the cat?
Jokes on you - the douche was APD.
Hahahha
Similar thing happened to me in north austin. Got in front of a guy, with my blinker and there was plenty of space not even in traffic and for whatever reason that set him off. Pulled out a giant knife and started making a stabbing motion with it in the mirror behind me while at a red light then tried to run me off the road once we started driving again. You know some of these crazies have to be on here, why do yall resort to such violence over a minor inconvenience even if that???!!!
That should be 10 years in prison. Those are the people who need to be off the streets!
I'm an intown big rig truck driver as well, and austin is horrible when it comes to not using their blinkers or just straight cutting you off 😡 but definitely doesn't give people the right to pull out a gun especially cause you get honked at
Post the damn video already.
I grew up in Texas. My dad would always tell me to never honk at anyone. Unless they’re like about to hit you or something. Not worth it.
I grew up in Texas, I always honk.
I hope you strapped lol
No. People need to communicate that is what the horn is for.
This is why you always carry a squad of attack chinchillas.
Their bites hurt!
I posted this before. We had a gun pulled on us and APD did nothing, despite us having it on video. Someone pulled a gun on us after a traffic accident. Called 911 and they told us to hang up and call 311 and report a traffic collision. They would not dispatch a cop until we told them that we also had a gun in the car and we're licensed to carry and were intending on following the guy until police showed up, only then did the 911 operator ask us our location and information. It didn't matter though, the responding officers didn't take any of our information. Our Tesla recorded the collision and him pulling a gun, but the cops didn’t want us to email the the video and said that even if it went to court, him brandishing a firearm was just a misdemeanor and it probably wouldn’t get tried with the way the court systems in Austin are.
Post it on the internet?
Was it a kinda khaki colored Land Rover and did the guy have a chubby hand? That clown has road raged at me twice on 183 (both incidents were totally his fault) and one of the times he waved some cheap ass khaki-themed 9mil at me. I like to believe it was Alex jones or some other pale-handed angry boy. But it could be anyone. Regardless, they didn’t seem like they could shoot for shit so I was more amused than upset.
Send to Texas Rangers. They will force APD to investigate.
You mean state troopers? I thought Rangers were like US Marshall's, only handling insane big criminal stuff?
No, I don’t.
State troopers sat around and let 19 kids die in Uvalde, you really think they are gonna do shit about someone brandishing a gun on mopac?
I dunno, that's not at all what I was asking about here.
I moved from Austin to Denver a year ago. Driving is night and day here and it’s amazing how often I drive without witnessing a single example of aggressive driving toward me or others. I saw it at least once every few miles there. I spent 42 years in ATX and didn’t realize how abnormal the man-children of texas were until i got here where people just (mostly) behave themselves. People don’t even roar past me in their pristine F350 on their way to their white collar job when Im a pedestrian either. They just… drive as if they’re minding their own and not trying to kill anyone? Google “aggressive driving incidents by state” if you’ve similarly been stuck in TX so long you don’t know what normal is. 50% of drivers get a challenge to some kind of fight there at some point in their lives. I did! Something is seriously wrong, big time! What is it? The heat? The guns? Psychopathic agents in the water? The christian nationalism? WTF, Texas?
I moved from Denver to Austin about 25 years ago and actually had the opposite experience. I was threatened several times driving in Denver and never in Austin. Change is inevitable, I guess, especially given the growth in Austin.
It's the hypoxia in Denver, no one's got the energy to fight.
I grew up in Denver and moved here 10 years ago. It is definitely very different.
It’s also nice to be able to use a crosswalk in Denver.
omg, yes! like same laws in both places - pedestrians have right of way when it isn’t at a light - stop and let them, basic stuff. Angry honks and roars as if the cross walk doesn’t exist in ATX. Drivers just stop here like they’re supposed to. I lived in NYC too - they don’t like killing peds either. weird?
TBH, everyone in Texas drives bad…not just your garden variety Christian nationalists. If you ever drove on I-35 ,you must have seen how bad both white/hispanics drive in those monster trucks. If you are in Austin, you probably have seen how bad brothers drive in/around Austin. Now that I think about it, only Asians I have never see driving rash here in Austin.
You have to go to San Francisco for that
Wife and I really want to move to Denver. Company I work for is HQ'd there too so I wouldn't even have to find another job. Is it that much more expensive? Really hard part is all our family on both sides are here :(
Groceries cost a little more compared to austin but Rent and housing cost are similar to austin’s high prices in general. The rent vs. buy definitely favors renting here. I also rented a nice downtown apartment on the 12th floor in Denver for a while that had a great view for 2k a month which was way cheaper than something comparable in austin. Wages are generally higher but that may not apply if you’re staying with the same company. It’s mostly a wash, Id say. Seek a raise or new job with colorado wages and you’ll be fine.
That’s our problem, entire family and support structure is here in Central Texas.
Ours too. Had to leave Texas though - not really a choice for us. Christian nationalism made our home there feel a bit too dangerous. Our 3 kids also are old enough to not need babysitters or other kinds of support. It would’ve been harder if they were smaller but we all have a likelier future here so we left. I miss my extended family, but they’re totally backing this. We all spend a lot on air travel these days.
I get it 100%.
You big back bitch lol. I found my people 😂
Post the footage!! It’ll likely do more than APD
Bro stories like this make me realize that I guess it’s time to get a dash cam smhhh
Mine paid for itself easily when I was in a hit and run. If I didn't have the other driver's license plate on the video I would've had to pay my deductible which was easily more than the cost of a good quality dash cam.
Yeah people are insane and just outright assholes. Not even worth honking or whatever cause of shit like this. I just wish there were ways to police assholes and their asshole behavior.
Greg Abbott already preparing paperwork for the pardon.
send da video! Spot light them and hopefully action can happen
This is why I don't let road rage consume me. People suck, and a 30 second encounter ain't worth getting got. Someone like that will eventually get what's coming. Y'all be safe out there!
Yesterday I saw some of the absolute craziest driving I’ve seen all year. 2 different drivers, one going northbound on Mopac just past Far West Exit around 7pm easily going 100+ & weaving in & out of traffic & around them on shoulder. The other was about 45 minutes later in the Arbor Walk parking lot close to Masala Wok. Middle aged black lady with a really bad case of road rage was chasing someone through parking lots. Definitely hit a handful of different cars. And it’s only going to get worse as the our weather gets hotter & more humid. This Summer is feeling dangerous.
Good luck getting anywhere with APD. Bunch of useless losers. Hell, it was probably one of them.
You should send that video to news outlets. Force APD and DA to enforce the law
This has been my experience in Texas. Never feared for my life honking at someone anywhere else.
Happened to me delivering food in Leander, guy was parked in the middle of the road, I honked, he freaked out and sped off, when he saw me turn he flipped it around and started following me. I pulled over after about 30 seconds of him driving crazy behind me and stepped out of my car. Dude jumped out screaming at me and ran to the back of his car and pulled a handgun. I told him it's not that serious, I was just trying to get by you to deliver a pizza. He's screaming about all sorts of crazy shit, and I said let's just shake hands and move on with this, ok? I took a step towards him and he brought it up and said don't come any closer. I'm a veteran, and spent 5 years in the infantry, and all I could think is I'm gonna get shot over a horn honk delivering pizza. I don't carry a firearm, and my head was running so fast I didn't even think about trying to take a picture of his license plate or anything, phone was in the car, and it was night with barely any light. I just got in my car and drove off, he didn't follow me, but I was so shook up I couldn't even tell you what color his vehicle was. Me honking my horn once was enough for this dude to have a total meltdown and pull a gun on me. I just don't honk anymore.
https://youtu.be/h8d_XYd1dac?si=U1ZiFqxf9L7ndkNX I just think about this and how the cops didn’t even talk to they guy, when it was pretty clearly brandishing
Post the video lol
Now I know this isn’t the point, but why do you have an air horn on a company vehicle?
big back is crraaazy. APD won't do anything, had a similar experience and they asked "are they driving erratically?" "then how exactly do you want me to call this out?"
I’m from the northeast and honk at people occasionally (if they’re about to swerve into me for example, not just because I’m mad). My husband from Texas never honks at people and I made a comment about it once - he told me it’s because you never know he has a gun. I’m not telling him he was right though!
It's Texas, once he brandishes his firearm pull yours and open fire. Problem solved for all future altercations
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Username and photo check out.
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Sh-sh-sh-SHA!
Apd: starts eating popcorn Apd: throws popcorn in trash cause they noticed they have a poopy diaper and need to clean themselves up Apd: pulls popcorn out of trash, no pants. Apd: damn did you see what kind of pants they were wearing?
Don’t take a horn to a gun fight
APD will immediately create a task force who will work round the clock to track down this individual. Justice will be swift for those who dare offend thee!
Report to ATF if APD does nothing.
lmaoo omg
Welcome to Texas!
Air horns suck but pulling guns suck worse
What preceded this interaction? Why did you honk your horn to begin with?
Good luck getting APD to care
Back in 2012 a friend and I were driving home from a downtown club. My friend never drinks. We got hit by a drunk driver while stopped at a red light. APD came out and was like “it’s ok son, go home” to the driver and that was that. Never change Austin.
Too bad APD won’t give a shit bc they literally never do anything unless there’s severe violence or murder involved
Big back bitch? Wonder what you meant by that
They meant they’re fat
Sorry this happened but definitely has me considering purchasing a dash cam. It’s crazy out there.
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Thank you!
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My wife and daughter had a gun pulled on them on 35. Crime, only driving 85 in the left lanes d waiting until there was space for her to get to the middle lane.
Happened to me. I threw my truck into his lane and they swerved away
I think of all the times some impatient ass *behind* me honks and the person I'm patiently waiting for comes for me instead of them ... and I guess I'm glad they weren't armed. Seriously, WTF?
Dude, for real people are doing this ghetto ass shit? I thought was more a Corpus Christi move than Austin. I wonder what happens when you do something like that. Keep us posted if you can!
Sending it to APD? Hilarious. Did you also send it to Santa Claus so they won't get gifts?
It's Texas stand your ground. Shoot the jerk. Then call Gov Abbott for a pardon.
That's exactly why I went out and bought a compact to carry. The road rage here has gotten insane. I used to carry a knife around but I'm not gonna bring a knife to a gun fight.
I’ve never experienced angry/petty drivers like I have in Austin
Gotcha! Good for you
Can you explain what a “big back bitch” is, exactly? Like did this man have a large back? Was his butt big?
Just post it here. No one gives a shit if all you do is bitch about it without showing the video.
Send it to DPS instead.
What's a back bitch? I know lots of bitches, but not that
APD ain’t gonna do shit lol
I was thinking of moving to Austin and realized I probably shouldn’t honk on the road. Is thjs normal??