Manley takes stage at public forum, in hopes of earning chief job

Monday evening, members of the public got a chance to ask Interim Chief Brian Manley questions.

The lone candidate for the chief of police job made a speech, outlining what he has accomplished over the past year and a half. It was the first of two public forums for Manley to make a positive impression.

The Austin bombings came up in the conversation, police transparency, as well as de-escalation training. Chas Moore with the Austin Justice Coaltion says he likes the idea of Manley becoming the chief, however, there are just some things he hopes to meet with him and discuss. One of those was, getting rid of any zero tolerance initiatives aiming at what he believes are minor crimes.

“It's not about punishing people for being involved in crime. It's about rehabilitating people back into the community so they can be a part of the community and benefit from it,” said Moore. The second forum will be on Thursday May 17 from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30. It will be held at the KLRU Studio: 

2504 Whitis Ave. B, 
Austin, TX 78712