AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT

The Travis County district attorney still plans to pursue criminal charges in four cases. The officers whose cases are being dismissed will be allowed to return to duty.

During a recent street racing incident, Austin residents faced long 911 wait times. City officials say they need to increase staffing for 911 call takers, but state license and background check requirements make it difficult to fill positions.

Areli Escobar was sentenced to death in 2011 for an Austin murder, but even prosecutors now agree his conviction relied heavily on faulty DNA testing by the discredited Travis County crime lab.

In a Sept. 14 story about the sentencing of former Travis County sheriff's deputy Stephen Broderick, The Associated Press erroneously reported that Broderick rammed his vehicle into his ex-wife's house and shot three people inside.

The Amber Alert that was issued for a 1-year-old girl out of Austin has been canceled Wednesday afternoon.

Two defense attorneys representing 19 Austin police officers are holding a news conference to discuss their recent indictments handed over on Friday.

The Austin Police Department is searching for a 14-year-old girl they believe was abducted by a 28-year-old man.

Authorities say two people were killed and at least 30 others wounded in mass shootings overnight in three states.

Police in Austin have arrested one suspect and are searching for another after a mass shooting on a crowded downtown street in which 14 people were wounded.

The bills are in response to widespread protests and calls to "defund the police" last year.

Two Austin police officers saved a man Monday from a burning pickup truck just before it exploded, according to the Austin American-Statesman.

Here are things to know for Monday, May 3:

The Austin Police Department is asking for the public’s help in finding a missing 4-year-old boy last seen with a man Sunday.

A protester holds a sign at a rally for George Floyd and Michael Ramos at Austin Police headquarters on May 30, 2020. Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas TribuneA murder warrant was issued Wednesday for the arrest of the Austin police officer who shot and killed Michael Ramos last year, according to the Travis County Sheriff’s Office. The Travis County District Attorney’s Office has previously said that Taylor’s criminal case in Ramos’ killing would be presented to a grand jury this month. Michael Ramos was shot and killed by Austin police officer Christopher Taylor last year. Credit: Social mediaAdThe videos show officers ordering Ramos to exit his vehicle, hold his hands up and lift his shirt. AdThe city cut the budget following calls for defunding following the deaths of Ramos, Ambler and Floyd.

Austin police responding to an ongoing hostage situation on West 35th StreetTwo people were pronounced deceased following an hours-long SWAT situation at a pediatric doctor’s office in central Austin, KXAN reports. According to KPRC 2′s sister-station KSAT, Austin police were called to Children’s Medical Group before 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday for a possible hostage situation involving a gunman inside the building. Another neighbor said hostage negotiators also attempted to speak to the suspect over a loudspeaker. KXAN reports neighbors hearing multiple booms coming from inside the doctor’s office as the SWAT team breached the building around 10:50 p.m. The Austin Police Department reports two people being found dead inside the building.

Greg Abbott and other state leaders have criticized Austin officials' decision to cut police department funding. Greg Abbott is considering a legislative proposal that, if passed, would put the control of the Austin Police Department under state authority. Texas governor tweeted Thursday that he was looking at a strategy that would stop major city officials efforts to shift resources away from police departments and into other social services. Austin became the first Texas city to approve cutting its police budget last month as calls rise to defund police during a revived movement against police brutality and racial injustice. This proposal for the state to takeover the Austin Police Department is one strategy I'm looking at, Abbott tweeted.

Austin Price / The Texas TribuneThe Austin Police Department will no longer cite and arrest people solely for possessing a misdemeanor amount of marijuana, according to a Thursday police memo. The distinction caused numerous prosecutors to drop hundreds of marijuana cases and stopped accepting new ones, arguing they could not tell the difference between the two without unavailable lab testing. The number of new marijuana cases filed by prosecutors in the state dropped by more than half in six months. In January, the Austin City Council approved a resolution to stop arresting or ticketing people for most low-level marijuana possession offenses. At the time, Manley said though cracking down on those possessing a small amount of marijuana was never a priority, police would continue to cite or arrest people if officers come across it.But on Thursday, that policy was changed.

Protesters demonstrating against police brutality raise their arms and chant, Dont shoot! after Austin officers fired tear gas and rubber bullets at the crowd on May 30. The council also directed the city manager to propose reductions to the departments budget next year. All 11 members of the Austin City Council co-sponsored the resolutions passed Wednesday. The police department budget is more than one-third of the citys budget: larger than the Austin Public Library, Austin Public Health, Parks and Recreation, and EMS, combined, she said. How are you going to handle 911 calls defunding public safety? she said.

The Austin Police Department asks for the public’s help locating a missing mother and her two-week-old baby. Heidi Broussard, 33, and her infant daughter Margot Carey were last seen on Thursday morning around 7:30 a.m. dropping off a child at Cowan Elementary School in Austin, police said. Police believe Broussard return her home with her daughter afterward, but have not been seen or heard from since Thursday morning. Attached is an updated photo of Heidi Broussard from Dec. 12, 2019 at 7:50 a.m. at Cowan Elementary. The clothing pictured is what she is believed to have been wearing when she was last seen.

AUSTIN, Texas The Austin Police Department arrested nearly three dozen people in a prostitution bust. Between Oct. 20 and 24, police said undercover operations targeted both those offering sex for money and those seeking to buy sex. Twenty-eight people were arrested for purchasing prostitution, seven were arrested for prostitution and six others were arrested on misdemeanor charges. Men accused of agreeing to purchase sexual services in exchange for money: Carlos Rivera, Prostitution Nathaniel Schlueter, Prostitution Dayan Echevarria, Prostitution Arnold Figueroa, Prostitution Alvaro Rico-Quintero, Prostitution Juan Sifuentes, Prostitution Javier Farias-Hernandez, Prostitution Raul Hernandez-Escobedo, Prostitution Omar Perez-Gonzalez, Prostitution Daniel Camacho, Prostitution Angel Gonzalez-Mendez, Prostitution Israel Cardoso-Reyna, Prostitution Josue Kula-Ntete, Prostitution Davis Perez, Prostitution Christopher Garcia, Prostitution Louis Leyendecker, Prostitution Edgar Gomez, Prostitution Victor Alfonso, Prostitution Uvaldo Contreras, Prostitution Jose Morales, Prostitution Edilberto Arias-Lopez, Prostitution Bany Jimenez-Garcia, Prostitution Richard Busch, Prostitution Gerardo Tapia, Prostitution Martin Yanez-Conejo, Prostitution Julio Orellano, Prostitution Allan Martinez, Prostitution Hicham Bouguil, Prostitution Women accused of agreeing to provide sexual services in exchange for money: Robin Krebs, Prostitution Paula Bataineh, Prostitution Jennifer Camacho-Luis, Prostitution Andrea Trejo, Prostitution Roxanne Novick, Prostitution Taylor Moore, Prostitution Haley McDaniels, Prostitution