As the Austin City Council convened inside City Hall Thursday morning to take up the proposed budget, activists gathered in front of the building to demand better funding for mental health support services after the killing of Anthoneil Williams II.

Williams was fatally shot by Austin Police at a park last week after allegedly calling 911 to report a young man brandishing a gun. Responding officers fired dozens of shots at Williams after he lifted his shirt and reached for his waist band. Williams was unarmed.

The officers involved in the shooting have been placed on administrative leave while the shooting is investigated.

Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis has characterized the shooting as potentially a “suicide by police.”

Chas Moore, founder of the Austin Justice Coalition, doesn’t agree with that claim. He said Austin needs to do better in responding to 911 calls from people who may be having mental health crises.

“We need better options,” Moore said. “Instead of Anthoneil having a better option, he got the option that we always have available .… They are coming with open arms alright, but not the arms that we are talking about. He got the open arms of the Austin Police Department, but he did not get the open arms that he deserved.”

A proposed city budget for the next fiscal year calls for about $5.1 million in cuts to social services contracts, including mental health programs. It also calls for increasing the police budget by nearly $25 million.

“It does not make sense that we keep putting millions and millions and millions of dollars into a police department that has proven time and time again that they cannot provide the care that our community deserves,” Moore said.

Annette Price, executive director of Grassroots Leadership, said every dollar the city spends on police is a dollar that is not spent on people and systems that prevent crises.

“We could have a crisis counselor that responds within minutes,” Price said. “We could have mental health professionals available 24/7. And we can have peer support specialists trained to talk a person down, deescalate, listen and help. But instead we have trigger-happy cops with guns pointed at our children.”

State law in Texas penalizes cities if they reduce police funding. Scott Delgado with the Party for Socialism and Liberation said activists would ideally want the City Council to cut the police budget, but because of the limitations of state law, they’re asking the council to keep it flat.

“A lot of social services in this city, specifically mental healthcare, are underfunded,” Delgado said. “They need more money to properly handle the increase in population that has happened in Austin over the past five to six years.”

As Austin City Council members listened to public testimony on the proposed budget Thursday afternoon, protestors stormed the chambers demanding justice for Williams. The meeting was briefly paused to allow city staff and the council to reset.

Thursday evening, roughly 70 demonstrators and criminal justice advocates rallied outside City Hall to reiterate earlier calls for accountability in Williams’ shooting and reductions of APD’s proposed budget increase in favor of social services.

Shelby Evans, an organizer with Hands Off Central Texas and a former city staffer, urged Austinites to reach out to their elected officials — particularly those in City Hall as budget season ramps up. She said when people “took to the streets and got loud” in 2020 to protest police killings, council members listened.

“Action needs to be sustained,” she said. “Change can only last as long as our attention spans. So we have to continue to demand better, even if it’s hard.”

The rally came a day after APD released additional footage from the community playscape where Williams was shot. The footage seemingly shows Williams show up, sit down on a line of limestone bricks for five minutes before officers arrive just after 4 a.m. last Friday.

Williams then retreats behind the playscape. Officers did not have their weapons drawn on approach but quickly drew them when Williams’ hand seemingly moved toward his waistband. Williams falls to the ground after a volley of more than a dozen shots from at least one officer. He’s seen moving behind the playscape, and two officers fire on him again while he is on the ground.

By 4:02 a.m., at least two officers can be seen reloading their guns as the video ends. APD’s standard duty weapon, the Smith & Wesson M&P, holds at least 17 9mm rounds.

Activists have called on Travis County District Attorney José Garza to prosecute the officers who fatally shot Williams. In a statement Wednesday, Garza’s office said his office will review the incident once APD’s Special Investigations Unit has completed its review.

“Our hearts go out to the family and friends of Anthoneil Williams II,” the statement read. “We are committed to ensuring a thorough review.”