Austin

Before the fatal slaying of Austin Police Senior Officer Jaime Padron at an area Wal-Mart last week, the last time a member of the Austin Police Department was killed was in 2004.

But a new analysis posits that even as other violent crimes fall nationally, the killing of police officers may be on the rise.

The New York Times points to an analysis of recent data, tabulating the number of police deaths at the hands of suspected criminals:

MoPac Improvement Plan Makes Move for New Funding

The Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority has offered a preliminary proposal to acquire $135 million for the MoPac Improvement Plan.

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) notified Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization board (CAMPO) of an unexpected funding windfall of $135 million. During a CAMPO work session last night, CTRMA requested that they receive the new funding to begin the improvements to MoPac.

The Austin Police Department says drivers should expect delays in some areas on Wednesday between 1 and 4pm, due to the funeral procession for Senior Police Officer Jaime Padron.

Padron was shot and killed in the line of duty early Friday morning at a North Austin Wal-Mart. The suspect, Brandon Montgomery Daniel, 24, is in custody.

APD is inviting Austinites to pay their respects to Officer Padron during the procession, before his body is taken to San Angelo, where he'll be laid to rest.

 

The funeral procession route will be as follows:

 

The City of Austin has teamed up with the Austin Housing Finance Corporation to host a series of financial education seminars. The first installment of the series will be held tomorrow night from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the University Hills Branch Library, 4721 Loyola Lane.

“One of the things they’re going to learn about are things like how to choose the proper credit card. And I’ll teach them about things like usury law,” says Janice Kinchion, the Coordinator of Asset Management and Loans for the City of Austin.

“Credit, in and of itself is not that difficult to get. What is difficult is the budgeting of it,” Kinchion adds. “Proportionate understanding of your income and how it can be spread among your expenses and needs is something that people just don’t simply think about.”

Funeral for Slain Officer

The public is invited to salute fallen Austin Police Officer Jaime Padron.

Padron was shot to death on Friday while responding to a call at a North Austin Wal-Mart.

Visitation is tomorrow from 6 to 8:00 p.m. at Cook-Walden Funeral Home at 6100 North Lamar Blvd. The funeral will be held this Wednesday at 11 a.m. at Shoreline Church on Burnet Road. Austin Cops for Charities, a local group that provides aid and support for the family of Austin officers, has created a donation fund for Padron’s family.

Update (5:49 p.m.): 24-year-old Brandon Montgomery Daniel has been charged with capital murder after allegedly shooting and killing Senior Police Officer Jaime Padron last night. In a press conference at 5:00p.m. this evening, Police Chief Art Acevedo said Daniel moved to Austin from Fort Collins, Colorado about a year ago.

Acevedo also noted that this was the first time during his tenure as Police Chief that two officers were involved in deadly encounters in the same day. "This is the most trying day of my five years here," said a teary-eyed Acevedo. "There are a lot of tears flowing, there is a lot of hurt."

Acevedo praised the Wal-Mart employees who were able to detain Daniel at the scene after the shooting. "That selfless act is the beginning of the healing process for this department."

Update (12:24 p.m.): Details continue to emerge about Senior Police Officer Jaime Padron, and the shooting last night at an area Wal-Mart that took his life.

In a fundraising email soliciting contributions for Officer Padron’s family, The 100 Club of Central Texas says:

A former Marine, Officer Padron had been with APD for more than three years. Prior to that, he had been a Bergstrom International Airport police officer and before then served 14 years with the San Angelo Police Department in West Texas. He leaves behind two daughters, ages 10 and 6 as well as parents and other family members who live in San Angelo.

At a press conference this morning, APD characterized Padron’s shooter as an Asian adult male. The Network of Asian American Organizations issued the following statement this morning:

As you are aware, early this morning a man believed to be Asian shot and killed Austin Police Officer Jaime Padron at the Walmart on Parmer and IH-35.

On behalf of the Network of Asian American Organizations and the Asian community, we would like to send our condolences, thoughts and prayers to the family, friends and colleagues of Officer Padron. The NAAO fully supports the Austin Police Department and the City of Austin.

This weekend's your last chance to take the City of Austin’s online survey seeking input on how money in a possible November bond referendum should be spent.

The city’s Bond Election Advisory Task Force received a list of projects city departments feel should be funded in a bond package. That list was released in February, totaling at a cost of nearly $1.5 billion. The proposed projects are being weighted by need and urgency, and compared against a set of designated values (cost-effectiveness, geographic balance, environmental protection, and more).

There are numerous projects for parks, libraries, community centers, and EMS center improvements. Among the items on the list include $78 million for a new Austin Police Department headquarters, $50 million for I-35 improvements, and $10 million for a Sabine Street “promenade” at Waller Creek.  

Austin goes to the dogs this weekend as the city attempts to break four canine-related Guinness World Records on Saturday at Auditorium Shores.

The 14th Annual Mighty Texas Dog Walk will try to break several records: the World’s Largest Dog Walk, the Biggest Hairball, the Most Dogs Wearing the Same Bandana, and the Most Dogs Sitting at Once.  The three-mile dog walk along Lady Bird Lake will include water stops for both pooches and people.  

11,256 dogs participated in the event in 2010, which was thought to be the record. According to the Guinness World Book of Records, the largest dog walk was held in Great Britain that same year.  That walk had 18,113 dogs with 178 types of breeds.  The organizers of the British event claim that record was broken yet again in 2011 with a tally of 22,742 dogs.