Police force used more on minorities

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Just as the Austin Police Department revamps two important areas -- use-of-force policies and internal affairs investigations -- new numbers show minorities still are more likely to have force used on them.

According to new statistics, Austin police officers filed more than 1,100 reports saying they had used force in 2008, nearly 400 more than in the previous year. Officials said the increase is due to a policy change that requires officers to document more encounters.

African Americans saw the highest increase at 54.2%. Use of force on whites increased 43.9% percent and on Hispanics, 37.9%.

"I think folks sometimes lose sight of the fact when it comes to use of deadly force that men and women of the Austin Police department use deadly force 50 percent less, half as much as the rest of the nation in the last 10 years,” said Chief Art Acevedo.

Police officials say they made several changes to their use of force policies in 2008 that probably contributed to the increase in force reports.