Affidavit: Austin police official arrested over the weekend on domestic violence charge

Auston Police Chief Data Officer Dr. Jonathan Kringen updates the community on the partnership with the Austin Police and the Texas Department of Public Safety during a press conference at Austin City Hall Friday, April 14, 2023.  Kringen was arrested and charged with misdemeanor assault family violence over the weekend.
Mikala Compton/American-Statesman

Austin American-Statesman
Tony PlohetskiSkye Seipp, Austin American-Statesman
October 24, 2023

A top Austin Police Department official has been arrested and charged with misdemeanor assault family violence and has been placed on leave until further notice, the department confirmed in a statement to the American-Statesman.

Police took Chief Data Officer Jonathan Kringen, who joined the department in July 2020, into custody at 3 a.m. Sunday, and he was released about 16 hours later, according to Travis County Jail records.

Officers responded about 11:45 p.m. on Saturday to an unknown urgent 911 call from a "frantic" woman who told police, "It's starting up," and "My children are home," according to the probable cause affidavit. Court records said an Austin police officer witnessed Kringen grab the woman's face and pin her to a sofa while two children were at his feet.

Responding officers forced their way into the home after witnessing this and said they observed Kringen's right forearm on the woman's bloody face, according to the affidavit. The woman and children were all crying and the room was in "disarray," the court records said.

Kringen and the woman were separated by the officers, the affidavit said, and Kringen had alcohol on his breath and was slurring his speech. Through the initial investigation, officers learned Kringen had vomited in the bed, leading to a dispute over who would be responsible for cleaning it up, court records show.

The fight then escalated, the affidavit said.

Kringen told the Statesman in a text message that he had no comment.

The department said in a statement issued through spokesman Brandon Jones that it "will complete a thorough investigation" but would release no other details because it did not want to jeopardize the investigation.

This summer, Kringen participated in multiple public discussions, including with the Austin City Council, about the controversial partnership between Austin police and the Texas Department of Public Safety.

He said that his data analysis showed a reduction in violent crime, call volume and response times as a result of the partnership and that troopers were deployed to areas of the city where most violent crimes are reported.

After Mayor Kirk Watson ended the partnership, Kringen reported that violent crime had again begun rising in those areas.