Sex assault survivors worry Acevedo hire will 'undermine' event meant to recognize them

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- On Tuesday, city leaders will issue a formal apology for the police department's mishandling of sex assault cases between 2006 and 2019.

This event, according to the Austin Police Department (APD), is part of the 2022 settlement a group of survivors reached with the city about their sex assault cases. The settlement mandates consistent public reckonings about what happened.

The police department told KXAN in an email this event was already on the books when Interim City Manager Jesus Garza announced he hired former APD chief Art Acevedo to take on an assistant city manager role that focuses solely on the police department.

Following that announcement, several concerns surfaced addressing how the bulk of the issues with sex assault cases happened during Acevedo's tenure with APD.

"I think it does undermine what should be a significant and profound experience [for survivors]," Elizabeth Myers, who worked with several plaintiffs in the lawsuit against the city and county, said regarding how survivors feel ahead of Tuesday's apology now that they know Acevedo is coming back to Austin.

The lawsuits outlined issues involving botched DNA evidence and a lack of a trauma-informed and survivor-focused approached to sex assault investigations.

KXAN will be present at the apology Tuesday.

Improvements APD has made to sex assault investigations

According to a memo released in November 2022, APD had made “substantial progress” in overhauling the Sex Crimes Unit.

"There were a number of issues that were brought up that I think were fair to be brought up, that we should be correcting," former APD chief Joseph Chacon said at the time. "Over the last several years, we've been working towards making those corrections."

The memo stated, "APD immediately made several positive revisions to their policy and procedures to improve outcomes for sexual assault survivors," including quicker outreach to survivors for interviews, more frequent on-scene responses, more training, new technology and equipment and policy updates.

APD implemented changes like trauma-informed training for officers, according to Chacon. There’s also now a 24-detective team in the SCU that deals solely with cold cases. Chacon, at the time, said the department is caught up on testing rape kits and is getting those tests to the lab at a quicker rate.

The last time we asked APD about a rape kit backlog, the department said it had caught up.

Additionally, the DNA lab is now no longer under the jurisdiction of APD. It serves as a standalone emergency department.

City Council members meet with interim city manager to ask questions about Acevedo's hiring

A group of city council members met with Garza Monday to address Acevedo's hiring.

One of the council members told KXAN over the phone that the meeting was productive, and they feel they have a better understanding of Garza's decision.

The council member said they agree that someone needs to change so the City can effectively address the challenges APD faces - particularly related to staffing and the training academy - but several members disagree, at this point, that Acevedo is the right person to take on that role.

The council member said city staff need to be sensitive to the fact that while Acevedo has decades of experience, "that experience doesn't outweigh the need for public trust." They also explained that Acevedo's role will be less about decision-making and more about policy-implementation.

It's the council member's understanding that Acevedo will analyze policies directed by council and serve as a dedicated liaison when it comes to making those policies a reality.

KXAN has tried calling Acevedo for comment since Friday. He has not yet returned our calls.

'Cared about the community,' retired APD shares thoughts on working with Acevedo

Joe Munoz spent 29 years with APD. He worked as Acevedo's general purpose officer during that time.

"Having my office a couple doors from him, I saw that he truly cared about the community," Munoz said. "He was the only person that I knew that would return phone calls to whoever. I remember getting in the car with him, and him having a stack of phone calls to make. And while I was driving, he was calling all the stakeholders within 24-to-48 hours."

Munoz said he trusts that Garza had the city's best interest in mind when making the decision to hire Acevedo.

"[Acevedo] is a person who has a vision," Munoz said. "When he has those visions, he finds ways to bring realization to those visions. He's a relationship builder, you can't take that away from him."

As far as how Acevedo will fair in the position, "time will tell," Munoz said.