The wife of an Austin police officer killed during an off-duty crash said she felt “crushed” after seeing photos that circulated online Monday of the mayor possibly falling asleep at the funeral.
When KXAN reached out after the photos surfaced, the mayor said, “I want to express my deepest apologies to the family of Officer [Anthony] Martin.”
The Austin Police Association shared a statement on Twitter Tuesday morning attributed to Amberlee Martin, whose husband Senior Officer Anthony “Tony” Martin died last week when a driver struck his motorcycle in Liberty Hill. The Austin Police Department said the wreck happened as Officer Martin drove home from his night shift.
“I have been trying to be the strong woman Tony would want me to be. But this Mayor Adler, was crushing…I am crushed,” Amberlee Martin said in the lengthy statement posted by the police union.
The photo in question first appeared on Austin police officer Justin Berry’s Twitter account and shows Mayor Steve Adler with his head slumped onto his chest, his eyes closed and hands folded on his lap. Next to him in the picture are city leaders, including Austin City Manager Spencer Cronk and City Council Member Mackenzie Kelly. In a Twitter thread Monday afternoon about the picture, Berry wrote, “You have time and time again shown nothing but contempt and utmost disrespect towards the men and women of the Austin Police Department but also our families.”
