1-officer patrols vs. 2-officer patrols

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Officer Jaime Padron did not have a partner with him when he was killed last Friday spurring questions regarding how police departments conduct and staff patrols.

Protocol at Austin Police Department calls for officers to police alone unless there are cadets being trained.  Officers are not paired up because there are simply not enough officers to have two per car.

 "We are not going to play the what if game," said Chief Art Acevedo.  "What if this?  What if I had been there sooner as a back up officer?"

Acevedo said second guessing the fatal shooting of Officer Jaime Padron won't benefit the department.  However, there are surveillance tapes which will be looked at and analyzed.  The best outcome is police learn from what they see.

"There is always a question of whether we should have two man units or a one man unit," said Wayne Vincent, president of the Austin Police Association.

A conducted by the San Diego Police Department in 1977 found one officer patrols are no safer than a two person team.  And, both policing plans, according to study findings,  equally encounter suspects assaulting officers.  However, a one officer unit experienced less resistance from suspects during an arrest.

"Time and time again, studies have shown that it is not safer whether you have two or one.  These things unfold rapidly," Vincent added.

Padron was shot in mere seconds.  So, if one were to go by study findings, having a partner would not have saved Padron's life or changed what happened inside that North Austin Walmart.

Changing patrol policy at APD could be seen as the wrong move if done.  It must also be taken into consideration that violent crimes are down in Austin and that is due to the hard work of the department's one officer patrols.