As Texas state troopers patrol Austin streets in their dark, imposing SUVs, old patterns follow in tow. Data shows that within the first month of the agency’s partnership with the City of Austin, Latino, and Black residents have been arrested for misdemeanors in disproportionate numbers. One traffic stop has already turned deadly: Department of Public Safety (DPS) troopers shot and killed a man just north of Austin this past weekend.
For neighbors in Dallas, the situation feels like history repeating—troopers were sent there in 2019 under the banner of reducing violent crime. By the time they left, they had made more than 1,000 arrests, and one man had lost his life.
Shandra Hodge’s son Schaston was killed on August 17, 2019, by Texas state troopers who were in Dallas with the blessing of Governor Greg Abbott. In the name of fighting violent crime, the troopers swarmed select parts of the city—namely South Dallas—and began pulling people over for slight traffic violations.
