Austin police seize drugs, guns in street takeover aftermath as chief says force is understaffed every night

The Austin Police Department seized meth, marijuana, and multiple guns during six arrests related to the downtown street takeover on Saturday night, APD Chief Joseph Chacon announced Tuesday. 

Two people were taken into custody Saturday night for evading arrest, while officers arrested four others on Sunday while investigating the takeover, in which car clubs blocked off intersections, drifted in the middle of the street, and set off fireworks. 

The four suspects arrested on Sunday were Ali Ahraf Nouredenne, 19; Brian Javier Serrano Benitez, 19; Lewis Uris Matinez, 31; and Joseph Springs, 41. 

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Meth, marijuana, and four guns, including one that was stolen, were seized during the arrests. 

Chief Chacon said that additional tactical drills were carried out on Sunday to ensure that his officers are prepared for any future takeover events, but noted that the department is hamstrung by vacancies. 

“On any given night, we are going out understaffed right now, and I’m talking about minimum staffing levels. I’m not even talking about optimal staffing levels,” Chacon said at a press conference on Tuesday. 

“Because of that, I’ve had to be moving people from specialized units and from investigations back to patrol temporarily on a short term basis to answer 911 calls, and then go back to the regular assignments.” 

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Car clubs took over intersections in four different parts of Austin between 9:00 p.m. and 1:30 a.m. As officers responded, crowds threw rocks, bottles, and pointed lasers at them, injuring one officer and damaging several police vehicles. 

APD’s 911 call center received 390 calls between 9:00 and 10:00 p.m., leading to long waits of up to over 27 minutes, Chacon said, noting that they received just 65 911 calls the previous Saturday. 

“This is obviously unacceptable,” Chacon said. “We’ve been working on the call taking issue for quite some time. We’ve made strides and are getting more applicants than at any time in recent history, but it takes time to hire them and to train them. And as you can see, we still have shortages.”

The takeovers were organized by several car clubs from Austin and other Texas cities, including one from San Antonio that told attendees to “drive safe and remember #f—thepolice.” 

One of the co-hosts appeared to mock APD on Tuesday, telling Fox 7 Austin that they’ll be back because “the cops can’t catch us.”

“You have all these resources and you’re telling me you only caught two people. Now that’s what the community should be upset about. They should be upset that they’re wasting time, wasting valuable money and resources that could be allocated elsewhere,” the co-host told Fox 7 Austin.