Texas Democrat who backed police cuts faces criticism after thanking officers for saving lives
Austin Police responded to the deadly shooting at Buford’s bar in downtown Austin, Texas, early Sunday morning, arriving on scene in under a minute.
Appreciation for the swift response from first responders quickly flooded X. This included praise from Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, a progressive who advocated for and crafted Austin’s 2020 police budget cuts during his tenure on the city council.
In 2020, following the Black Lives Matter riots, Austin’s city council voted unanimously to cut up to $150 million from its police department budget — about 34% of its current total — and reinvest the funds in other services.
Casar's X post said, in part, "I’m thankful to Austin’s police, EMS, nurses, and doctors who saved lives."
The post garnered over 690 likes and over 610 replies, many of the replies highlighting a 2020 post from Casar.
"We did it!!" Casar posted on X in August 2020. "Austin City Council just reduced APD's budget by over $100 million and reinvested resources into our community's safety and well-being."
Adam Loewy, a popular personal injury attorney in Austin, quoted the post from Casar and said, "The guy who tried to defund the Austin Police Department has thoughts on a situation where APD probably saved 20 to 30 lives. #txlege."
Dennis Farris, the president of the Austin Police Retired Officers Association, also responded to Casar's post:"You hypocrite. APD is short staffed because of your actions on council," and pointed to an old post by the congressman where he celebrated the city council cutting the police budget.
Abraham George, Abraham George, the Chairman of the Republican Party of Texas, quoted the post and said, "You consistently advocated to defund Austin PD. They saved dozens of lives without any help from you."
Rep. Casar also called for an end to gun violence in his post.
"We must end America’s gun violence epidemic," he wrote. "Americans should be able to have fun at a bar without it turning into an unspeakable nightmare like this one — and I will redouble my efforts in Congress to prevent the next tragedy like this."
In June 2021, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill, House Bill 1900, to encourage cities not to reduce their police budgets.
According to KUT, a radio station in Austin, "The men and women of law enforcement put their lives on the line every day to keep Texans safe, and they deserve our enduring support and gratitude," Abbott said in an emailed statement. "Efforts to defund the police are downright dangerous, and these laws will prevent cities from making this reckless decision."
Senate Bill 23 was also signed, which also requires large counties to hold a vote before cutting police budgets.
The House Bill applies to cities with a population of over 250,000. Therefore, if a city funds their police lower than the past two fiscal years, the city is prohibited from raising more property taxes than the year prior.
"The bill is designed to tell municipalities, ‘Do not defund the police,’ and if they do, there are some serious consequences," Republican Texas State Senator Joan Huffman said during debate on the bill.
Following this, in 2021, the Austin city council unanimously passed a budget that included an increase in spending on policing.
"We unanimously passed a budget today that tackles the pandemic [and] increases our public safety investments," then-Councilmember Greg Casar said after the vote. "I really appreciate everything my colleagues brought forward and the way we came together in this important budget."
In 2023, the department was on the verge of a staffing collapse after 40 officers filed retirement papers following a 9-2 city council vote to scrap a four-year contract that the city had previously agreed to in principle and instead pursue a one-year contract that the police union’s board had rejected.
The FBI has since revealed the shooting was a possible act of terrorism.
AUSTIN MASS SHOOTING: TIMELINE TRACES SUSPECT’S RAP SHEET AS TERROR LINK PROBED
Rep. Casar's office did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
"Obviously, it's still way too early in the process to determine an exact motivation, but there were indicators on the subject and in his vehicle that indicate potential nexus to terrorism," Alex Doran, acting special agent in charge of the FBI’s San Antonio Field Office, said at a press conference Sunday.
Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said officers staged nearby for the weekend crowds responded within about "55-56 seconds." Three victims have been confirmed dead from the shooting as of March 2.