Austin police say they aren’t part of F1 escorts

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Since Formula 1 started racing in Austin in 2012, Aaron Camp said the cascade of police escorts disrupting traffic to transport attendees to and from the Circuit of the Americas in late October has gotten “worse and worse.”

The Austin Police Department is largely not involved in these operations, the department said. Instead, private companies hire off-duty peace officers from across the state to conduct the escorts for thousands of dollars.

For Camp, it feels like the “wealthy and the ultra-wealthy are kind of able to play by a separate set of rules than the rest of us,” he said. “These convoys were shutting down traffic and making it very difficult to travel.”

Camp was not alone in his frustration during the annual Austin F1 race from Oct. 22 to 25, part of an international racing series held at speedways around the world. The Austin event draws thousands of attendees each year, and Visit Austin, the city’s official tourism marketing arm, estimates the 2026 event could generate more than $1 billion in economic activity.

Locals took their frustration out on social media, including Reddit. The “Everything Austin, Texas” message board was flooded with complaints, with many users saying escorts could put commuters in danger by forcing them to move quickly out of the way, believing they were responding to an emergency. Videos of the escorts show multiple, often unmarked black vehicles using sirens and flashing red and blue lights to transport attendees.

Camp, who posted on Reddit, encouraged frustrated users to submit complaints to the Austin police about the operations. However, Austin police did not have an official role in providing those police escorts, the department said.

The frustration extended beyond social media. In response to the outcry, some local leaders, including those from the Austin Police Department, are calling on Texas lawmakers to consider stricter regulations governing these operations.

Those responsible for the convoys are “basically selling the law to the highest bidder, and it’s ridiculous,” Camp said.

Are these operations legal?

In a statement to Austin Current, APD said it is aware of the escorts and shares “concerns about these activities.”

“APD has contacted state and local agencies to better understand which agencies were involved,” Assistant Police Chief JJ Schmidt said in a statement. We “are working with local and state agencies and appropriate stakeholders to discuss potential legislative changes.”

Texas law allows peace officers to use emergency lights and sirens in certain circumstances, including when responding to an emergency call, pursuing a suspect, responding to a fire alarm, diverting traffic for a public safety concern or conducting a police escort — the provision that appears to allow for the operations seen over the F1 weekend.

Austin City Council Member Vanessa Fuentes said she’d like to see stricter rules for police escorts during private events. However, the council’s authority is limited.

“Texas law has left a gap in accountability, and I urge state leaders to work with APD and local partners to bring real legislative oversight to police escorts,” said Fuentes, whose district includes COTA. “Austinites deserve to feel safe on our roads, especially during our biggest events … I will not support any practice that puts residents or visitors at risk, especially when our roads and highways are already being pushed to their limits.”

If not APD, then who?

APD said the weekend escorts were “coordinated through an F1 representative.” Neither Formula One nor the Circuit of the Americas has replied to interview requests from the Current. Several third-party businesses in Austin also advertise “total police escorts” for the annual race.

Austin Current attempted to contact some businesses advertising the escorts. Those businesses either did not respond or did not wish to discuss the issue. One business advertised a police escort package for $6,000 during Formula 1 weekend.

Another organization, Off Duty ATX, explained its process on its website. A customer submits a “hire an officer” form, which the company reviews before connecting the customer with a certified peace officer in the Austin area.

Austin Police Association President Michael Bullock said very few Austin police officers are permitted to conduct escorts under APD policy. Qualified motor officers are usually the only APD officers permitted to do that kind of work, which must be “approved through the chain of command,” he said. Officers are prohibited from working secondary employment while on duty.

“I would say the vast majority of everything that people saw was outside agencies, not Austin,” Bullock said.

Additionally, if an APD officer was moonlighting as an off-duty police escort, they generally would not be permitted to use department resources, including marked police vehicles. Some resources, such as radios and body-worn cameras, are expected to be used, Bullock said. This means the financial burden of hiring an off-duty officer for a police escort is on the individual or business, not the taxpayer.

Bullock said officers from agencies across the state often come to Austin to conduct the escorts.

“I do have concerns about how prevalent the practice has become,” Bullock said. “A lot of times APD catches the blame for things when a lot of the time it’s not us.”