Wednesday, April 29, 2026, 11:01 a.m. (Austin time), Austin City Hall
Committee: Public Safety Committee
This joint special meeting of the Mobility and Public Safety Committees covered four items: a briefing on interactions between first responders and autonomous vehicles during emergencies, a briefing on the March 1, 2026 mass shooting on West Sixth Street, a briefing by memo on congressional community funding requests, and discussion of legislative initiatives including amendments to the city's legislative agendas on autonomous vehicles. Vice Chair Qadri opened with videos of Waymo incidents including the March 1 shooting, a railroad crossing, school bus violations, and April 25 incidents cited by Constable Stacy Suits; Waymo did not attend despite reserved seats. Staff from Transportation and Public Works, Austin Fire, Austin Police, and Austin-Travis County EMS described geofencing practices, the cumbersome AV citation process, hand-signal compliance failures, sleeper calls, and state preemption, and offered legislative recommendations. The March 1 briefing described a 57-second response, 17 patients, and three deaths. No action was taken on the legislative item; Chair Ellis said the committee chairs and vice chairs would draft letters to be shared with Council.
0:04 One. It is April 29th, 2026, and this is the special call joint mobility and public safety committee.
0:12 I am the chair of the mobility committee, Paige Ellis.
0:15 And I'm calling this meeting to order at 11:02 am and we are having this meeting here in Austin
0:20 City Hall. I am joined by vice-chair cadre and I also have committee members, lane and Mayor pro
0:27 tem Vela joining me today, and I will kick it over to Council Member of Velásquez to call
0:31 his meeting to order, uh, good morning.
0:34 I will call, uh, the public safety committee meeting to order.
0:37 It is April 29th, 2026 at 11:02 am and this meeting, uh, of the public safety committee.
0:46 We are at City Hall, located at 3 0 1 west second street, Austin, texas.
0:49 And we have a quorum present.
0:51 Uh, vice chair lane Council Member Siegel and Council Member uchin.
0:57 Thank you very much.
0:58 I wanna do a couple of housekeeping items.
1:00 I wanna take up the items in this order just for clarity and fluidity as we run through
1:06 this meeting. The first one will be item number two, the briefing on incidents involving interactions between first
1:12 responders and autonomous vehicles during emergency responses on city roadways.
1:17 And then item number three, a briefing on the March 1st, 2026 shooting incident on west sixth street.
1:23 And then we will go to item four, the briefing by memo.
1:27 And then item number one, discussion and possible action regarding legislative initiatives, including amendments to the city's legislative
1:33 agendas relating to autonomous vehicles.
1:36 Um, Council Member cadre first wanted to host this meeting because of the incident that took place in
1:41 his district. And as vice chair of mobility and the Council Member for district nine, I know that
1:46 this has impacted his district and that he has the bulk of the residents businesses and autonomous vehicles
1:52 that interact with this space.
1:53 So I'm gonna give him a few minutes to lay out, um, what he wants this meeting to
1:57 look like. And then I know that we do have at least one public speaker that we will
2:00 take up right after Council Member cadre's presentation.
2:04 Great. Uh, thank you chair and, uh, thank you chair Velásquez from public safety on, on putting together
2:09 this, uh, you know, really important and timely meeting.
2:12 Uh, I also want to thank our first responders that are here, um, staff.
2:18 Um, and there's, there's two seats reserved, uh, from folks from, from waymo.
2:22 So we'll be seeing them as they, they come in or, or not come in.
2:25 Um, but we're here today to discuss the intersection of public safety and mobility.
2:29 Uh, as it relates to avs on our streets.
2:32 Uh, it's about making sure innovation does not come at the expense of safety.
2:36 And it's also, it's about making sure that our community understands what's happening on our roads and making
2:41 sure that they have a voice, uh, in those conversations.
2:44 So, I want to ground this discussion, um, by first starting a clip that many folks might have
2:49 seen. Um, on March 1st, there was a horrific mass shooting on west sixth street, and a waymo vehicle
2:56 appeared to obstruct first responders trying to reach the scene.
2:59 So if we can, we can play that video
3:07 and yeah,
3:18 we should not have cars.
3:21 <Laugh>. Come on. Go.
3:26 Go. Oh, f**k. I mean, not gonna go any,
3:38 yo, we just need to get in it, I think.
3:50 Should we, I guess, joe to gauge the door.
3:55 So I,
4:47 god bless a pd god bless,
4:57 uh, the, the video that everyone just saw, uh, help bring issues to light.
5:02 But, you know, I think it's worth highlighting that this is not a one-off incident.
5:05 Uh, a waymo, um, also stopped between train tracks and a railroad arm, uh, when a ca metro
5:12 train was passing. I think we also have that video too, to share
5:20 with safety concerns at this railroad crossing for a driverless waymo vehicle in Austin, texas.
5:25 The car stopped between the safety arm and the tracks just as that train passed.
5:30 Waymo says there was no passenger in the car.
5:33 Company says its vehicles have crossed that location hundreds of times without incident, but says it will now
5:38 review that location. Waymo has insisted its self-driving cars are safer than human drivers, despite recent incidents making
5:46 headlines with safety concerns that this railroad crossing from driver, there's, there's also been ongoing reports of vehicles
5:52 not properly following school bus laws, uh, putting children at risk as they cross the street.
5:57 And we have a video of that as well.
7:15 Oh, sorry. Um, and then, um, I just realize it's on loop.
7:20 Um, and then as recently as this last week on April 25th, uh, many of us got in a
7:24 letter from constable, uh, stacy suits.
7:27 Um, as it related to eos, there were two incidents that happened involving a waymo.
7:32 Uh, the first incident involved a, a waymo that proceeded past a barricade at rainbow bend, uh, traveling
7:38 in the incorrect direction down parkway towards peace park.
7:41 And there was a second incident that occurred when a waymo vehicle stopped at the crosswalk located at
7:46 parkway in enfield. Uh, the vehicle was attempting to navigate through a sizable crowd of attendees, but failed
7:52 to adhere, uh, to, uh, instruction given by law enforcement.
7:56 Uh, so these are just a few of examples that have affected our community.
8:00 Uh, we, we as a council have had internal discussions with waymo.
8:03 Uh, our hope was that waymo would show up today, um, because I do think, um, transparency and
8:08 communication, uh, with the public and our constituents is just as important.
8:12 They deserve to understand what happened and to be part of these conversations, and that's why we're hosting
8:17 this, uh, joint public safety mobility meeting.
8:20 Uh, we expect more from companies that are operating on our roads.
8:25 Um, I, I think often it's been said on this staes, and it's been said in conversations with
8:29 constituents, that they feel that our roads are often used, uh, as, as test grounds.
8:34 Um, and that that shouldn't be the case.
8:36 Uh, public safety should come, should come first, um, always.
8:40 So, um, you know, we just want there to be greater transparency, accountability, uh, and, and public understanding.
8:47 Um, and I think that includes making sure that we have stronger technology, clear protocols and better coordination
8:52 with our first responders.
8:55 So I'm looking forward to hearing from city staff on those solutions today.
8:58 Uh, and the state has limited city's ability to direct reg to directly regulate, um, these avs.
9:06 But that doesn't mean that we have to stop leading on public safety.
9:08 That doesn't mean we can't have the conversations, and that doesn't mean that, uh, that that folks in
9:13 our community shouldn't be a part of this conversation.
9:15 So, uh, you know, my hope as we, as we move forward on this, and, you know, we've
9:19 talked to folks, um, like I said around the avs around city staff, um, had a conversation yesterday,
9:25 uh, with, with the teamsters, uh, that this is, this isn't a partisan an issue.
9:28 This is a public safety issue, uh, that I think everyone can, can come together for.
9:32 So, um, with that, I'll, I'll pass it back to, uh, chair Ellis.
9:37 Thank you vice chair cadre.
9:38 Let's turn it over to public comment, and then we will be able to dig into our items
9:42 a bit deeper. And I appreciate all of the public safety and mobility leadership that is here.
9:46 Joining us today, we have two speakers, one for the public safety committee, mr.
9:55 Carlos leon, and then we have miriam schofield to speak on the mobility committee.
10:03 Welcome.
10:13 And I believe will mr. Leon have three minutes or six minutes?
10:16 He'll have six. He signed up for both items.
10:19 Okay. And ms. Schofield will have three minutes.
10:22 That is correct. Okay.
10:24 Go ahead, mr.
11:01 Threatening our public safety.
11:02 Mr. Leon, I hate to interrupt.
11:04 Can you make sure your microphone is on?
11:06 I wanna make sure your, your cords are recorded.
11:08 Absolutely. Right now it's red, it's now green.
11:11 Perfect. We can hear you now.
11:13 Yes. Thank you. Thank you for letting me know.
11:16 I'll start again. Soy carlos leon, first and foremost, s for letting me speak to cap metro issues,
11:24 threatening our public safety, updating my April 23rd testimony to City Council on item 34.
11:31 April 25th, guilty blackmail. Obama driver of bus 2 6 0 9 violated my right to ride, refusing to board me or
11:39 look at cat metro's letter saying I was not banned by not following cat metro rules or constitutional
11:46 law, he flipped the interaction upside down from peaceful law and order to warlike lawlessness and chaos, which
11:54 I protested by slapping the passenger bus windows he drove away.
11:59 Now, kat metro portrays me as violent kat metro's malevolent attack or be attacked.
12:05 Mindset mirrors obama's oppressed or be oppressed binary worldview mind blinding them both to third option, paradigm shift
12:15 to mutually beneficial mutual non-aggression, cat metro respectfully serving all passengers and all passengers respectfully treating cat metro
12:24 instead, certain cat metro drivers continue denying me my fundamental right to interstate travel without due process.
12:32 Also violating the 14th amendment's equal protection clause.
12:36 These attacks appear to be ongoing retaliation against me for publicly informing City Council, cat metro's board and
12:43 Austin transit partnerships board about cat metro misconduct and reporting, senior director public safety and emergency management.
12:53 Darrel jamal's alleged crimes to a pd special investigations unit cc'd to police chief davis.
13:01 The many detailed evidence-based complaints filed through cat metro's online customer comment report system seemed to push jamel
13:10 to previously issue me a fraudulent unwarranted six month suspension from cat metro based on a direct threat
13:18 definition, plagiarized word for word from the americans with disabilities act.
13:24 And repurposed out of context, though colleges expel you for that ceo and president dottie watkins has not
13:32 fired jamel probably because she approved that suspension policy built on that falsehood.
13:39 History shows this corruption continues until appropriate corrective action is taken, for example, because body cam evidence has
13:48 greatly improved how a pd interacts with the public.
13:52 I filed public information requests for bus video documenting driver misconduct.
13:57 However, unlike the office of police oversight, holding a pd officers accountable for their words and actions with
14:04 such evidence, there's nothing similar for cat metro because cat metro's board appears unable and or unwilling to
14:13 do so. Thus, with respect to item one's discussion and possible action regarding legislative initiatives, I say to
14:23 you, create and implement a city ordinance establishing funding and implementing an office of cat metro oversight.
14:32 Similar to the office of police oversight.
14:36 Use city code two dash 15 as a template.
14:39 For example, cat metro oversight should be a robust system of civilian oversight over cat metro, emphasizing transparency,
14:49 ensuring accountability and facilitating enactment of reforms that systematically reduce cat metro criminality and misconduct toward elimination from
14:58 the top down. Publicly releasing cat metro conduct information is part of quality control enforcement.
15:06 However, unlike a pd cat metro subcontracts much of its workforce bus drivers, supervisors, and mechanics from keolis
15:16 transit north america, a private company.
15:19 Thus, because some of those employees mistakenly believe they're not public servants when doing mass transit for cat
15:25 metro, they need their consistently follow cap metro rules, policy and protocols nor constitutional law.
15:33 Some try making up enforcing their own overly restrictive rules.
15:36 Contravening state and or federal law targeting specific passengers for harassment and civil rights violations.
15:43 Two carry on bags and one seat only.
15:45 Are two private carrier restrictions wrongly applied to common carrier cat metro, doing public transportation to wrongly deny
15:53 service to passengers violating texas transportation code 4 51 0.001 part four, defining mass transit as the transportation of
16:02 passengers and hand carried packages or baggage.
16:05 Controlling case law defines the overall framework in via metropolitan transit.
16:11 Ve, the texas supreme court ruled transit authorities like cap metro are legally bound to operate under a
16:16 high degree of care standard, how a very cautious, competent, and prudent person would act under the same