Is Austin ‘One Of The Most Dangerous Cities In America’?

Our weekly check-in with the Texas Truth-O-Meter.

By Brandon Mulder, PolitiFact Texas/Austin American-Statesman; radio story produced by Alexandra HartNovember 11, 2020 11:49 am,

From PolitiFact Texas:

No, Austin is not one of the most dangerous cities in Texas, let alone in the United States.

Texas’ top political leaders gathered in Houston Oct. 28 at a “Back the Blue” news conference to express support for police officers and lambaste cities that cut police budgets.

Gov. Greg Abbott sat alongside Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Texas House Speaker Dennis Bonnen, R-Lake Jackson, and U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, to reiterate plans for a state takeover of police functions in Austin after the City Council voted in August to cut $21.5 million from the police budget and shift another $128 million from the Police Department to other city departments.

Abbott and other Republican leaders have criticized the council’s move repeatedly, but Patrick turned up the volume in remarks he gave during the Houston event.

“The city of Austin is a disaster if you haven’t been there. A great city, now one of the most dangerous cities in America and definitely in Texas,” Patrick said.

“If we don’t back the police, we’re not going to have any police and you’re going to be left on your own,” he said. “And if you think that’s hyperbole, it’s not.”

We were curious about Patrick’s claim that Austin is now one of the most dangerous cities in the U.S. and Texas. Let’s compare how Austin crime measures up against other major metropolitan areas.

PolitiFact Texas rated Patrick’s claim as Pants on Fire.

Read the full story and analysis here, and listen to an interview with PolitiFact Texas’ Brandon Mulder in the audio player above.

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