Police Complaint Records and Public Access
City Council meeting · Monday, August 17 at 10:00 AM
The decision
Should the city give Council a summary of police misconduct complaints and assess what it would take to create a public online database?
Who notices: Austin residents who have filed police complaints and officers named in allegations could be affected.
Plain-language summary based on official city records. Written with AI assistance.
Your potential impact
Before · In your neighborhood
The records at issue concern police misconduct complaints and related information commonly called the “G-file.”
After · What could change
The City Manager would provide the summary and assess costs and legal, technology, and day-to-day operating barriers. Passing this item would not itself launch a public database.
The trade-offs
Potential benefits
Austin taxpayers
Studying costs and technical barriers before building a database could help avoid spending on a system that is difficult to run.
Possible tradeoff, inferred from the proposal. Not a reported position of this group.
Possible concerns
Officers named in misconduct complaints
Officers could face reputational harm if a future database makes allegations public without clearly distinguishing complaints from confirmed misconduct.
Possible tradeoff, inferred from the proposal. Not a reported position of this group.
Over the years
Austin residents seeking police complaint records
Residents could eventually look up misconduct allegations online rather than seek records individually, if the city later creates the database.
Possible longer-term effect, inferred from the proposal. Not a guaranteed outcome.
Email your rep
Austin City Council decides
Your area
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Where things stand
Listed council meeting: August 17, 2026
A final vote result isn't available on this page yet. That doesn't mean a vote hasn't happened. The official record in Sources & transparency below has the City's latest status and meeting details.
Sources & transparency
Plain-language summary based on official city records, written with AI assistance and checked by a person against the official text.
Checked Oct 16, 2026
Read the official record
Approve a resolution directing the City Manager to provide Council with a summary list of complaints of police misconduct and related information commonly referred to as the “G-file,” and directing the City Manager to provide Council with an assessment of costs, as well as any legal, technological, or operational barriers, to develop a publicly accessible online database of information related to allegations of misconduct.