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AUSTIN (KXAN) – A southeast Austin company on the corner of Interstate 35 and Highway 71 has been repeatedly terrorized by vandals who slammed concrete blocks into widows, slashed tires and destroyed company vehicles.
The company, which wishes to remain anonymous, reported five incidents since May 21, 2021.
The window of a tour bus was broken after a man was seen hoisting a heavy object through it on July 1, 2021.
- May 21: Cinder block thrown through the windshield
- June 6th: Tire slashed
- June 17th: Van windows broken, equipment stolen
- July 1st: Vandal is caught by the camera throwing heavy objects through the van window
- July 2: The window of another delivery van smashed
The attack on Thursday July 1st occurred in broad daylight and was captured by a camera.
In an employee’s cell phone video, you can see a shirtless tattooed man heaving a heavy object through the passenger window of the company car. Then he runs into the forest in the direction of a homeless camp less than 100 meters away.
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Zack Bartlett, the business manager, has said on many occasions that nothing is stolen. He called the crimes “pointless”. Bartlett said Austin 311 and the Austin Police Department have been contacted on almost all occasions for insurance reasons, but no action has been taken to prevent recurrences.
Another van was targeted earlier this year. At least 5 cases of vandalism have been reported since May 21, 2021.
Bartlett said officials responded to the location several hours after the report was filed on Thursday, but only stayed a few minutes and never got out of their car to investigate.
“Reaching out to the police and not having a response or action plan is really a daunting feeling,” said Bartlett. “This is not in the middle of nowhere, Texas. This is Austin. We expect a higher level of service from our law enforcement agencies. “
When KXAN asked APD about officials’ reaction to Thursday’s incident, a spokesman said the crime was being investigated further.
“We are investigating this matter to determine the details of the incident. The Austin Police Department does not have an existing policy prohibiting an officer from enforcing the law. There are no policies from the TCDA bureau that prohibit enforcement by APD officials. The APD’s reaction to criminal activity has not changed, regardless of who is committing the crime. “
APD spokesman
Austin Police Lieutenant Lee Davis, who leads community engagement efforts after Proposition B on homelessness is passed, said unless officers witness a crime they cannot apprehend with their own eyes. He encouraged crime victims to keep filing official incident reports so the detectives can build stronger arguments.
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“If it’s an ongoing crime, it’s different from something that happened. Some considerations when the officer responds are, “Is this an imminent threat? Can we stop the behavior? Is that a known person? ‘”Said Lt. Davis. “If you feel like you have been a crime victim or witnessed a crime, call 911. We will answer. “
Bartlett hopes that by sharing his story, he will lead to more police oversight and accountability.
Both the city’s 311 department and Austin police were contacted following the crimes, but the manager said he was discouraged by the overall lack of response.
“When such a situation arises, we should be able to rely on our police to protect us and help us when we need them,” said Bartlett. “We don’t get meaningful responses from the city or the police, so it really feels like we’re on an island trying to handle this.”
311 answer
Bartlett said on multiple occasions that Austin 311 has been contacted. The city’s 311 team, while not commenting on this particular case, did provide information about the department’s handling of vandalism calls.
If the crime is ongoing or there is imminent danger to someone’s life or property while the suspect is still at the scene, 311 routes the call to 911.
If the act has already taken place, 311 will submit a report to APD’s non-emergency hotline for further investigation.
If the crime has taken place, the suspects are absent and the caller feels that it is homelessness, an ARR Homelessness Matters service request is submitted in addition to the non-emergency report. This will notify the APD district representatives for that particular area.
Since January 1, 2021, according to city officials, there have been 17 different 311 calls related to vandalism within 800 meters of the Bartlett’s location near I-35 and Highway 71. A total of 27 different 311 calls have been received. Calls Made Period specifically related to homeless issues.
Reach out to Alex Caprariello at KXAN by email at alexc@kxan.com, by phone at 512-703-5365, or find him on Twitter and Facebook.
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