What has Austin, Texas, police chief Art Acevedo so riled up? Was it the claim that Acevedo supports universal background checks for guns? That claim is true:

https://twitter.com/ArtAcevedo/status/336135908728385536

https://twitter.com/ArtAcevedo/status/336191216595124224

What about the claim that Acevedo opposes enforcement of federal immigration laws?

Acevedo is on record supporting legislation that would prevent police from inquiring about the immigration status of crime victims and witnesses.

And he supports a bill that would allow illegal aliens “to get special permits to drive and obtain auto insurance if they pass criminal background checks and pay a $150 fee.”

Perhaps there is something in @JohnGaltTx’s tweet that inaccurate. If so, Acevedo could have responded by pointing out the error. Instead, he engaged in ad hominem attacks.

@dmbatten Shameful @ArtAcevedo. You are a public servant. You should apologize. — Not William Metz (@WO4TG) May 19, 2013

When another Twitter user called out Acevedo for mocking his critics, the police chief doubled down:

https://twitter.com/ArtAcevedo/status/336238523223011328

No one is arguing that Acevedo doesn’t enjoy the same First Amendment rights as other citizens. That is a straw man.

The point is that it is unseemly for a high-ranking public official to address critics in such a childish, vitriolic manner. Acevedo is the police chief for a major city, after all, not (as far as we know) an anonymous commenter at Democratic Underground or Daily Kos.

Hat tip: @WO4TG

Update, 8:47 pm ET:

Shortly after this post was published, Acevdeo deleted the following tweets:

https://twitter.com/ArtAcevedo/status/336228004315426816

http://twitter.com/#!/ArtAcevedo/status/336238523223011328

Too bad for him: Twitchy is forever.