11/27/2007

WHEN MAYOR WYNN ATTACKS II


Austin's Mayor Will Wynn lost his cool again,
according to the Statesman article today. This time the Mayor "spewed a fog of profanity" after a truck blocked traffic. Since the 311 call was released to the media, the Mayor went into "spin mode" with some homespun remarks for the Statesman:

"I spewed a fog of profanity that is still floating down Shoal Creek someplace," Wynn said. "I'm sorry if my language offended (the construction workers') sensibilities."
The fact is, Mayor Wynn has a history of uncontrollable anger. Yup, the same Mayor, who along with Sen. Kirk Watson and others voted to toll our Austin freeways with nearly 1 Billion tax dollars.

Mayor Will Wynn broke the law by putting his hands on someone that didn't want to be touched o
n March 17th 2006. (The Texas Penal Code, Title 5, Chapter 22, Assaulting Offenses § 22.01(3))

Mayor Wynn grabbed a student by the throat at a late night party, after the Mayor was being teased about his name.
The party took place at the community outdoor area of Mayor Wynn's apartment complex, on 800 W. 5th Street. Mayor Wynn grabbed Johnson and forcibly removed him.

The victim, Luke A. Johnson filed an Austin Police Department report against the Mayor for "Assault by Contact".

Hours earlier, I saw the Mayor at Opal Devine's on 5th Street at 3:00 pm. I was drinking a coke as I waited for my associate for a meeting. I noticed the mayor was not standing totally balanced - just about everyone was getting trashed since it was St. Patrick's Day.

A KVUE report says that Johnson called the police and said that Mayor Will Wynn choked him. Johnson said he was taken to a hospital and has X-rays documenting his injuries. The Statesman did a Metro brief while the San Antonio Express produced a whole article.

What was the Mayor's spin of this outburst? He requests a full time police officer to keep HIM safe. Perhaps Mayor Wynn is right about having a full time cop escort him - that could protect the public from the Mayor.

Since March 2006, every few months, I've asked for the public records about this incident, and I've been denied every time. Like some in the press, I wanted to contact Luke Johnson to ask his version of what happened. Requests for the public information have been blocked by the city every time:
Dear City of Austin,

With the rights granted to me under the Texas Government Code, Chapter 552, I request these documents:


1) A full incident report of March 17th, 2006, 13:07, report # 2006-761976 involving Mayor Will Wynn assault on Luke A. Johnson (born 1/4/1980)


2) The officer's written portion of the incident report of March 17th, 2006, 13:07, report #2006-761976 involving Mayor Will Wynn assault on Luke A. Johnson.


3) 911 tape (cd preferred) and CAD report made by Luke A. Johnson on March 17th, 2006, 13:07, report #2006-761976 involving Mayor Will Wynn assault on Luke A. Johnson.


Thank You,

Sal Costello
On Nov 14, 2007 the City last responded that records will still be held back:

"Grace, Cary" <Cary.Grace@ci.austin.tx.us> wrote:

Mr. Costello,

Sergeant Rick Shirley in APD's Integrity Crimes Unit contacted the County Attorney's Office today as a result of your request, and the prosecutor's office advised Sgt. Shirley that the status of the case is still unchanged. Accordingly, APD continues to rely on the AG's ruling that allows it to withhold the requested information at this time.
As always, please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Cary Grace
The authorities say the case is still "ongoing" - a loophole the bureaucrats use to keep the unlawful and embarrassing incident a secret. We all know there will be NO case against the Mayor. What favors do the bureaucrats get in return? Who knows.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Statute of limitations for all misdemeanors is two years (and I can't imagine this assault rising to the level of a felony). So come March 19th of 2008 I don't see how they can continue to withhold the information after that. But they probably will anyway.