CENTER LINE, Mich. — Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke boasted Monday that the more than $6 million he raised online within a day of announcing his White House bid, the most reported by any 2020 candidate, was helping to create “the largest grassroots campaign this country has ever seen.”
The “record-breaking” $6.1 million collected last week came “without a dime” from political action committees, corporations or special interests, O’Rourke spokesman Chris Evans tweeted. The figure is just above what Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders reported for his first day as a 2020 candidate.
O’Rourke, a former Texas congressman, jumped into the presidential race on Thursday after months of speculation, shaking up the already packed Democratic field and pledging to win over voters from across the political spectrum.
“Thank you to everyone who’s helping to build the largest grassroots campaign this country has ever seen, funded completely by people — not PACs, not lobbyists, not corporations and not special interests,” O’Rourke told reporters in Center Line, a Detroit suburb. “It’s one of the best ways to bring the country together to make sure that we are listening to one another and not that entrenchment of wealth and power and privilege that defines so much of our politics from before.”

 

AUSTIN POLICE PROMISE MORE
SECURITY AFTER VIOLENT WEEKEND
AUSTIN — Austin’s police chief is pledging more security for the city’s entertainment district following multiple shootings over the weekend as the South by Southwest Festival drew to a close.
Austin officers responded to three separate shootings starting Saturday morning that occurred within a four-hour span, sending five people to the hospital, the Austin American-Statesman reported. Two more shootings occurred within 24 hours, including officers exchanging gunfire early Sunday with an unidentified man near where the annual SXSW festival was held.
The weeklong festival melding tech, politics and entertainment ended Sunday evening.
Police Chief Brian Manley said none of the shootings appear to be related, calling the weekend of violence “unacceptable.”
“We are not going to let our entertainment district be turned into a place where shootings become the common occurrence,” Manley said.
Manley plans to meet with department leaders this week to ensure the district has additional officers on duty.
Austin police believe the officer-involved shooting was triggered by a minor collision between a Maserati Levante and a Chevrolet Monte Carlo. The vehicles then drove to another intersection, stopped at a traffic light and a man from the Maserati punched someone inside of the Chevrolet. Surveillance cameras show a muzzle flash from inside the Chevrolet, indicating that one of the car’s occupants fired a weapon at the attacker, Manley said.
When officers arrived, the wounded man shot at police and four officers returned fire, according to Manley. Both the Maserati and the Chevrolet drove off, and police announced Sunday afternoon that the Maserati was located with the body of a deceased man inside. Police haven’t identified the deceased male.
Investigators are still searching for the Chevrolet and other suspects involved in the shooting.

 

CHARGES AGAINST 3 DALLAS OFFICERS
DROPPED IN ARREST DEATH
DALLAS — Prosecutors have dismissed charges against three Dallas police officers who were indicted after a man they arrested and physically restrained died in 2016.
The Dallas County District Attorney’s Office dropped the misdemeanor deadly conduct charges against Sgt. Kevin Mansell and Officers Danny Vasquez and Dustin Dillard.
Their cases arose from the death of Anthony Timpa , who was arrested for erratic behavior and later died at a hospital. Police say the 32-year-old was combative.
The Dallas County Medical Examiner ruled the death a homicide, saying Timpa died of cardiac arrest caused by the effects of cocaine and the stress of physical restraint.
In 2017, a grand jury concluded the officers acted recklessly during the arrest. The District Attorney’s office says three medical examiners said they don’t believe the officers were reckless.