Exclusive: Art Acevedo taking new $271,000 Austin City Hall position overseeing police

Art Acevedo, who has served as a police chief in Austin, Houston and Miami, is taking a newly created, $271,000-a-year administrative job at Austin City Hall overseeing policing, city officials confirmed to the American-Statesman.

Acevedo – both a celebrated and polarizing figure – will serve as an interim assistant city manager and act as a liaison between the Austin Police Department and interim City Manager Jesús Garza. He will provide guidance to the department as it works through issues such as staffing, community-driven reforms and possibly returning to the negotiating table with the police union after years without a labor agreement.

Garza hand-picked Acevedo with no community input or public process, which he said is consistent with how he has built his executive team. The position requires no approval by the City Council, which was informed of his hiring Friday afternoon. There are currently four assistant city managers who oversee various city departments and report directly to Garza. The city also is currently in the process of hiring a new city manager, with a current projection of having a candidate selected by mid-April.

“I think he'll be an asset and a value not just to this office, but for the Police Department and to (interim Police Chief) Robin Henderson,” Garza told the Statesman.

The city already has an assistant city manager overseeing public safety. Bruce Mills, who is also working under an interim status, supervises multiple agencies such as the Austin Fire Department, Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical services and the Austin Police Department.

More: Mixed reactions to Art Acevedo's new role as Austin's assistant city manager. Here's why

The announcement came the same week city officials in Aurora, Colo., said Acevedo was leaving his position as interim police chief for the suburban Denver city to return to Texas to be closer to his family. His last day in Aurora is Monday. He will start his new job before the end of January, Garza said.

“My heart just brought me back,” Acevedo told the Statesman.

Acevedo’s rocky history

Acevedo served as Austin’s police chief from 2007 to 2016, being hired here after working for the California Highway Patrol.

His tenure in the city was marked by multiple controversial police shootings and calls for greater accountability. The 2015 case of Breaion King showcased what critics called a troubling culture in the department that tolerated violence and injustice toward minorities. Former officer Bryan Richter pulled King out of a car and violently arrested her after pulling her over for speeding, and another officer lectured her about the “violent tendencies” of Black people while taking her to jail. Supervisors never alerted top department executives to the matter, which caught Acevedo by surprise.

Criticism for his performance often was off-set by support from some members of the community and the celebrity status Acevedo cultivated through his availability to the local media and by a near-constant presence in events such as parades and rallies.

Acevedo left Austin to become Houston’s police chief just as Austin's crime lab fell under intense scrutiny for its operations. Issues within the facility led to multiple convictions being overturned and several other cases still being litigated. The Police Department no longer oversees the city’s forensic science department.

While In Houston, Acevedo, who worked there as police chief for four years, drew national attention by calling for gun control and standing with protesters after the death of George Floyd, The Associated Press reported.

Acevedo inaccurately blamed Austin “radicals” for some unrest that occurred during Houston protests against police brutality in a post on X, formerly Twitter. The post claimed “radicals” attempted to “hijack” a Houston march honoring Floyd.

When he first joined the Houston Police Department, Acevedo shifted administrative structure and the department’s patrol districts, the Houston Chronicle reported. Acevedo put more officers on weekend and night shifts, and he created new units within the department.

He left Houston in 2021 and moved to Miami to be its police chief.

While in Miami, Acevedo again made national headlines after clashing with city leadership, and he was fired after six months on the job, The Associated Press reported. He had been recruited by Miami Mayor Francis Suarez.

Acevedo, the Miami Herald reported, fired several top-level police officials after an internal investigation into damage to a city-issued SUV early in his tenure.

Afterward, city leaders began criticizing him and launched an investigation into his appointment, the AP reported.

When he was fired in 2021, several reasons were cited by Miami's city manager, the Miami Herald reported. The city manager in a memo said Acevedo “lost the confidence and trust” of his title and, on different occasions, used improper language, including one instance when he told officers the "Cuban Mafia" was running the police department. Acevedo, who was born in Cuba, later apologized and said he didn't know the term was offensive and used by Fidel Castro.

Additionally, the Miami Herald reported, the city manager said Acevedo did not report weeks of leave and personal time taken and went against the city manager's orders after paying someone more than was allowed.

Acevedo later sued the city of Miami and commissioners, claiming that his firing was a result of him calling out corruption, the AP reported.

In October, the Los Angeles Times reported the three Miami commissioners accused were under federal investigation. One commissioner whom Acevedo accused in 2021 of criminal activity, Alex Díaz de la Portilla, was arrested in September, the Miami Herald reported.

The lawsuit is still pending, Acevedo said.

He also stirred controversy after he was photographed with members of the extremist group the Proud Boys, one of whom faced charges at the time for the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol insurrection, the Miami Herald reported. Acevedo said he didn't know who they were.

Once ousted, Acevedo joined CNN as a law enforcement analyst, according to his 2021 post on X.

In December 2022, he was sworn in as interim police chief in Aurora and terminated his CNN agreement.

Acevedo came to Aurora on the heels of the death of Elijah McClain in 2019. McClain, a Black man detained by Aurora police and placed in a neck hold while walking home from a convenience store, died after paramedics gave him a fatal dose of ketamine, the AP reported.

The city of Aurora praised Acevedo in a news release announcing his departure, saying, "He was instrumental in streamlining APD’s recruitment and hiring processes, resulting in dramatic increases in academy classes," and that "his strategic crime-fighting approach has contributed to notable decreases in crime across the city."

Decision to appoint Acevedo and create a new position

Garza said that when he first assumed the role of interim city manager in 2023, it became clear that an additional assistant city manager position was needed to solely oversee policing.

“What we find is that there's just not enough hours in the day to deal with the issues and to provide the support to the department that's necessary,” Garza said, adding the new position will help “ensure that they (the Police Department) get the support they need.”

Garza said Acevedo has stressed he has no intention or desire to be Austin’s police chief again.

“I've been there; that's not what I'm there for,” Acevedo said. “I'm there to give everything I can to help her (Henderson’s) team.”

Acevedo said he has known Henderson for many years and is proud of her.

“I just really admire her,” Acevedo said, adding that she has displayed strength and leadership during several “critical” incidents that have happened over the past few months.

There is no timeline for when the city could appoint a new police chief, and Henderson has not publicly said whether she will participate in the selection process.

Acevedo will work from both City Hall and Austin police headquarters, and he will perform no law enforcement function in the administrative job.

“You're monitoring budgets, you're monitoring vacancy rates, you're monitoring all these things that are so critical to make sure we have a well-functioning department,” Garza said.

In addition to serving as a liaison between the department and the city manager's office, Garza said Acevedo will work closely with the City Council, as all assistant city managers do.

Acevedo told the Statesman he has worked closely with Austin Mayor Kirk Watson in different capacities over the years, including during Watson’s time as a state senator.

On the police contract, Acevedo said he feels his experience in law enforcement will help with negotiating and that having a contract will help recruit and retain cadets.

His main goal when he first starts, Acevedo said, is to listen, specifically to the needs of Henderson and the department.

“I want to be a resource,” Acevedo said.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Ex-APD Chief Art Acevedo appointed new Austin assistant city manager