Governor Greg Abbott is looking into a move that would place the Austin Police under state control. Austin's city council last month cut its police department's budget among nationwide calls to defund police. Abbott tweeted on Thursday he's considering a legal strategy to stop city officials' efforts to shift police funding to other social services. The potential legislation would allow the police force of a city with too few officers to be consolidated with the Texas Department of Public Safety. Austin fits the criteria, since it has a population of more than a million and fewer than two officers per thousand residents.
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