Police had their hands full over New Years in Austin

AUSTIN, Texas (FOX 7 Austin) - On top of no refusal for drivers, officers - especially in downtown Austin - had their hands full with people not in cars over New Year. An amateur video shows several APD officers pick up and remove a man in handcuffs from a bar in 6th street.

While it's not certain the fate of this person, APD was busy all night in downtown.

A total of 54 arrests were made New Year’s Eve and day downtown. Public intoxication was the second highest charge that night, totaling at five. The charge with the highest count was thefts at six.

We also looked into more than just the arrests downtown, across the city from December 31st to January 1st APD responded to more than 430 incident. Of those reports were Austin’s no refusal numbers. The no refusal program is an enforcement strategy which allows officers to obtain search warrants for blood samples from drivers they suspect are impaired and who refuse breath tests.

Over the new year, the department made 43 DWI arrests. Out of these only twelve gave breath samples. Last year, APD ran their no refusal program from mid-December to early January making for a total of 210 arrests. This year, the Travis county sheriff’s office also released their number of DWI arrests for new year's eve and day at eight, and Williamson county reported six.

We also checked in with the Sobering Center where they reported 18 people checked in during new year's celebrations. they say it is one of their highest numbers for one night.