REGULAR MEETING OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION MONDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2026, 4:00 PM AUSTIN CITY HALL, BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS ROOM, #1101 301 WEST 2ND STREET AUSTIN, TEXAS 78701 Some members of the Public Safety Commission may be participating by videoconference. The meeting may be viewed online at: http://www.austintexas.gov/page/watch-atxn-live Public comment will be allowed in-person or remotely via telephone. Speakers may only register to speak on an item once either in-person or remotely and will be allowed up to three minutes to provide their comments. Registration no later than noon the day before the meeting is required for remote participation by telephone. To register to speak remotely, contact Chelsea Pfeifer at chelsea.pfeifer@austintexas.gov or 512-974-2498. CURRENT COMMISSIONERS: Enrique Duran II, Chair Rebecca Bernhardt Daniel Godwin David Holmes Michael Sierra-Arévalo CALL TO ORDER PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL Nelly Paulina Ramírez, Vice Chair Denise L Eger Kimberly Hidrogo Timothy Ruttan Yasmine Smith The first 5 speakers signed up prior to the meeting being called to order will each be allowed a three- minute allotment to address their concerns regarding items not posted on the agenda. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. Approve the minutes of the Public Safety Commission regular meeting on September 8, 2026. DISCUSSION ITEMS 2. 3. 4. Quarterly Report with Austin Police Department. Presented by Lee Rogers, Chief of Staff, Austin Police. Discussion regarding Austin Fire Department’s new staffing model. Presentation by Mark Bridges, Division Chief, Austin Fire. Discussion regarding Public Safety scheduling and workload. Presentation by Lee Rogers, Chief of Staff, Austin Police, Wesley Hopkins, Chief of Staff, Austin Travis County Emergency Medical Services, Kevin Parker, Assistant Chief, Austin Travis County Emergency Medical Services, Jeffrey Kennedy, Interim Chief of Staff, Austin Fire. DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS 5. 6. Approve a recommendation to Council regarding public safety surveillance technology and data sharing. Approve the 2027 annual schedule of the Public Safety Commission. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS ADJOURNMENT The City of Austin is committed to compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Reasonable modifications and equal access to communications will be provided upon request. For assistance, please contact the Liaison or TTY users’ route through 711. A person may request language access accommodations no later than 48 hours before the scheduled meeting. Please call or email Chelsea Pfeifer at the Austin City Clerk’s Office, at 512-974-2498 or chelsea.pfeifer@austintexas.gov to request service or for additional information. For more information on the Public Safety Commission please contact Chelsea …
PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING MINUTES TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2026 The Public Safety Commission convened in a regular meeting on Tuesday, September 8, 2026, at the Permitting and Development Center, Room #1405, 6310 Wilhelmina Delco Drive, Austin, Texas. Chair Duran called the Public Safety Commission Meeting to order at 4:01 p.m. Commissioners in Attendance: Enrique Duran II, Chair Rebecca Bernhardt Denise Eger Kimberly Hidrogo Timothy Ruttan Commissioners in Attendance Remotely: Nelly Paulina Ramírez, Vice Chair Daniel Godwin Yasmine Smith PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL None Present APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. Approve the minutes of the Public Safety Commission regular meeting on August 3, 2026. The minutes from the Public Safety Commission regular meeting on August 3, 2026 were approved on Chair Duran’s motion, Commissioner Bernhardt’s second on a 7-0 vote. Commissioner Smith was off the dais. Commissioners Holmes and Sierra-Arévalo were absent. DISCUSSION ITEMS 3. Quarterly Report with Austin Travis County Emergency Medical Services. Presented by Wesley Hopkins, Chief of Staff, Austin Travis County Emergency Medical Services. The presentation was made by Wesley Hopkins, Chief of Staff, Austin Travis County Emergency Medical Services. PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2026 3. 4. Discussion with Auditor’s Office regarding recent Mental Health Audit. Presented by Kathie Harrison, Assistant City Auditor, Austin City Auditor’s Office and Mariel Dempster, Auditor II, Austin City Auditor’s Office. The presentation was made by Mariel Dempster, Auditor II, Austin City Auditor’s Office and Kathie Harrison, Assistant City Auditor, Austin City Auditor’s Office. Discussion regarding the TRUST act and its application to public safety technologies and data sharing between governmental entities. Presented by Mackenzie Rhine, Attorney and Board Member, Electric Frontier Foundation. The presentation was made by Mackenzie Rhine, Attorney and Board Member, Electric Frontier Foundation, and JJ Schmidt, Assistant Chief, Austin Police. DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS 5. 6. Approve a recommendation to Council regarding public safety surveillance technology and data sharing. Withdrawn without objection, to be revisited at a future meeting. Approve a recommendation to Council regarding the Mental Health Audit. Withdrawn without objection. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS APD Quarterly Report Discussion with Office of Violence Prevention regarding community working group progress Discussion with Austin Travis County EMS regarding Austin First Pilot Discussion with Austin Fire regarding AFD’s new staffing model Chair Duran adjourned the meeting at 5:34 p.m. without objection. 2
APD Quarterly Update to PSC Austin Police | October 5, 2026 Crimes Against Persons by Offense Type March - August Source: Versadex 2 Crimes Against Property/Society by Offense Type March - August Source: Versadex 3 APD IMMIGRATION ENGAGEMENT – 2026 YTD Austin Police regularly engage with immigration and other federal officials. The table below shows the number of instances by engagement type and year. Totals are based on reviewed cases from January 1, 2026 - Sep 30, 2026. All APD immigration engagements are publicly published quarterly in accordance with Resolution No. 20180614-074. Immigration Engagement Type Assist Immigration/ Homeland Security Criminal Arrest Custody by ICE Information Gathering/Sharing Release Per Immigration Instructions Grand Total JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP 2 1 2 1 0 6 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 2 0 2 2 6 0 2 0 2 2 6 0 1 0 1 1 3 1 0 2 1 0 4 0 2 0 1 0 3 0 0 0 6 1 7 2 0 0 6 0 8 Total YTD 5 10 4 20 6 45 Distribution of Engagements by Type (Calendar Year 2026 YTD) Release Per Immigration Instructions, 13% Assist Immigration/Homeland Security, 11% Information Gathering/Sharing, 45% Criminal Arrest, 22% Custody by ICE, 9% Assist Immigration/Homeland Security - Engagements where APD provided direct operational support or assistance to federal immigration or homeland security agencies during an enforcement or investigative activity. Criminal Arrest - Engagements involving the arrest of an individual for a criminal offense, where immigration-related factors were also identified during the incident but not the reason for the arrest. Custody by ICE - Engagements where an individual was taken into custody by ICE. Information Gathering/Sharing- Engagements where APD collected, exchanged, or verified information related to a subject, without direct enforcement action. Release per Immigration Instructions - Engagements where no arrestable offense occurred and immigration officials indicated they would not be taking custody of the subject for an administrative immigration warrant at that time. Source: APD RMS as of September 30, 2026 4 DIGITAL EVIDENCE MANAGEMENT UNIT (DEMU) BACKLOG REDUCTION Since January 1, 2026, DEMU has significantly reduced the outstanding evidence backlog while continuing to process a high volume of incoming requests. DEMU REQUESTS YTD New Requests YTD Requests Closed YTD Net Change 17,216 27,432 -10,216 OUTSTANDING REQUESTS Jan 1, 2026 Sep 29, 2026 Change Total Outstanding Requests County Attorney Requests District Attorney …
2027 Meeting Dates for Public Safety Commission Location and Time TBD January 4th February 1st March 1st April 5th May 3rd June 7th July 5th August 2nd September 6th October 4th November 1st December 6th
