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Democrat Austin mayor slammed after he’s caught falling asleep during fallen officer’s funeral

October 4, 2022 | | Print Article

Austin Mayor Steve Adler, who led the charge in defunding the city’s police department, evidently nodded off during the funeral for a fallen police officer named Anthony “Tony” Martin on Monday and was torched over it by police advocates.

Texas Commission on Law Enforcement member Justin Berry, who is also a senior officer at the Austin Police Department, stated that he believed Adler had dozed off during the service. Following that, he received a photo of the mayor apparently sound asleep.

“It’s very disheartening to have the mayor of the City of Austin – who was one of the ones that spearheaded all the defunding of Austin Police Department by a third of our budget, who voted to take away officers’ pay stipends back in 2017, which had a huge financial impact on our families – to continue to go down a pathway that just shows nothing but the utmost disrespect and contempt,” Berry disgustedly told Fox News Digital in an interview.

“If you’re going to defund and destroy a police department as their mayor then attend a highly respected officer’s funeral, perhaps do not continue to disrespect that officer’s family, friends, and others by falling asleep,” Berry tweeted.

“You have time and time again shown nothing but contempt and utmost disrespect towards the men and women of the Austin Police Department but also our families @MayorAdler,” Berry added.

After realizing that he was caught catching Zs during the funeral, Adler rushed to apologize… sort of.

“I want to express my deepest apologies to the family of Officer Martin. Officer Martin died 10 days ago and will forever be honored as a hero. This moment should be about him and his family, including his two daughters whose words today pierced my heart as a father,” Adler disingenuously told Fox News Digital in a statement.

“I hold Officer Martin in the highest regard. May his memory be a blessing to his family, and to the city he served,” Adler added.

Martin perished in a tragic car crash on September 23 while returning home after working the night shift. He leaves behind his parents, wife, three children, and one granddaughter. Martin joined the Austin Police Department in 2006 after serving two decades in the Air Force.

“I have endless memories that I hold in my heart, but sadly that’s all I have now,” his daughter, Ashley, heartbreakingly noted at the funeral on Monday. “My dad was always my hero, my protector, and my inspiration. He was my fearless leader. No matter how scary the path was, I knew I could follow him.”

During his eight years in office, Adler, who is an ardent leftist, has been at odds with the police force. He was behind the city slashing approximately a third of its police budget in August 2020.

That egregious move was overturned in 2021 when the city council returned $133 million to the police department’s budget in accordance with a law passed by the Texas legislature, bringing its total to a record high of $442.8 million, according to the Austin-American Statesman.

Also while Adler has been at the helm, police academy classes have reportedly been canceled or delayed. A record number of officers have jumped ship and departed the force as well.

Morale in the Austin Police Department has reportedly taken a severe and widespread hit. The department is understaffed and had roughly 250 vacancies at the end of September.

“It was really a one-two punch, with COVID hitting in March of 2020 and then the George Floyd incident happening in May,” Austin Police Chief Joseph Chacon asserted at the Texas Tribune Festival on Sept. 24. “Between those two, I saw a record number of people resigning and retiring.”

“We just had a massive survey done that showed how highly displeased officers are towards the city… and then, less than a week later, he does this stuff,” Berry, who is one of 19 officers that were indicted earlier this year for their role in breaking up a 2020 Black Lives Matter riot, stated on Monday according to Fox News.

Charley Wilkison, the executive director of the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas, bluntly commented to the media outlet that the mayor’s actions show “his contempt for officers working extra shifts, risking their lives to protect their community.”

“Cabo-California Dreaming during a hero’s funeral. After DEfunding the police department, destroying the public’s safety, the Reimagineer in Chief shows his contempt for officers working extra shifts, risking their lives to protect their community. The worst ATX Mayor of all time,” he tweeted referring to Adler infamously going to Mexico on a trip during the pandemic.

Fox News contributor Leo Terrell slammed Adler for falling asleep at the funeral. On “Fox & Friends” Tuesday, he charged that Adler’s actions show his “disrespect for law enforcement” and he lambasted the woke policies of the Democratic mayor.

“It shows the ultimate disrespect for law enforcement in the city of Austin. This guy is not a friend of law enforcement at all because he slashed the city budget. When it comes to law enforcement, police stipends, this man, this mayor is a woke Democrat. The sad part about the city of Austin – the city of Austin is the southern version of New York City. That city council does not support law enforcement. He is a reflection of that and there is no excuse for him to fall asleep at a one-hour memorial,” Terrell said, blasting the mayor for his shameful actions at the service, stating there is just no excuse for it.

(Video Credit: Fox News)

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Terresa Monroe-Hamilton
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