Tag Archives: Charles McClelland

More on the HPD dropped cases

Posted on March 10, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Mayor Whitmire wants some answers. Houston Mayor John Whitmire on Wednesday called for an independent investigation into the Houston Police Department over how and why more than 264,000 cases were declared suspended for lack of personnel. “I trust and believe … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Rape kit backlog lawsuit dismissed

Posted on August 4, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Interesting. A federal judge has dismissed a 2017 lawsuit two rape victims filed against Houston’s current mayor and police chief and five sets of predecessors, among others, for allowing a backlog of rape kits to accumulate over decades without being … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Lawsuit filed over untested rape kits

Posted on October 3, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

This could be a big deal. A former Houston woman is suing the City of Houston and a long list of current and former mayors and police chiefs for failing to investigate a backlog of more than 6,000 untested rape … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Lawsuit filed over untested rape kits

Mayor Turner picks Austin PD Chief for HPD

Posted on November 18, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: In a sweeping announcement, Mayor Sylvester Turner named four new department directors and a reappointment Thursday. Pending City Council confirmation, Art Acevedo of Austin will assume the position of police chief and El Paso’s Samuel Pena will … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

We now have data about police shootings of civilians

Posted on September 7, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron reviews the first year’s worth of data. Texas police reported shooting 159 people in the first year that the state tracked such cases under a groundbreaking new law. Officers in Houston shot 31 of them – compared to … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

HPD wants control of crime scene forensics for officer-involved shootings

Posted on August 30, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

No. Houston’s acting Police Chief Martha Montalvo, with the support of the powerful Houston Police Officers Union, has made a behind-closed-doors bid to take back control over the troubled Crime Scene Unit from the city’s independent forensic science lab. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Roadside drug tests

Posted on July 24, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Maybe this isn’t such a good idea. A Houston police officer pulled Barry Demings over as he headed to work in Beaumont and plucked a spot of white powder off the floorboard of Demings’ year-old Ford Explorer. Demings had just … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

On finding the next HPD Chief

Posted on June 2, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t know about this. Mayor Sylvester Turner has chosen to select Houston’s next police chief through a private executive search firm, taking the position that the applications and résumés of job candidates do not have to be made available … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Turner names interim HPD chief

Posted on February 21, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Congratulations, Chief Montalvo. Mayor Sylvester Turner has tapped 36-year Houston Police Department veteran Martha Montalvo to lead the department while his team conducts a nationwide search for a new permanent chief. Montalvo, 56, has served as chief of staff to … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Turner names interim HPD chief

HPD Chief McClelland to retire

Posted on February 3, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Mayor Sylvester Turner today announced that he has accepted the retirement of Houston Police Chief Charles McClelland, effective February 26, 2016. McClelland was sworn in as a police officer in September 1977. He rose through the ranks … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

When should body camera video be released?

Posted on December 27, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

HPD is still working on it. As the Houston Police Department begins rolling out body cameras among the rank and file, Chief Charles A. McClelland said the department is changing its policy governing how and when HPD releases videos collected … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Would you like to sit in armed or unarmed?

Posted on November 30, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

From Houstonia: Imagine it’s a Saturday afternoon. You stop into Whataburger to pick up lunch with your kids in tow, the only thing on your mind remembering which kid doesn’t want ketchup on his burger, which kid only wants ketchup … Continue reading →

Posted in Bidness | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Council approves body camera contract

Posted on November 20, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Moving forward. City Council approved a $3.4 million contract Wednesday to equip Houston Police Department officers with body-worn cameras despite some lingering concerns that key pieces of the city’s policy for the equipment have not been finalized. Councilmen Mike Laster, … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Turner’s police plan

Posted on August 16, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Time to look at a major policy proposal, from Mayoral candidate Sylvester Turner. Mayoral candidate Sylvester Turner unveiled a plan Thursday to expand the Houston Police Department by 540 officers by 2020, an effort he said is needed to help … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2015 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

There are too many questions that need to be answered before we can talk about expanding HPD

Posted on June 16, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Chief McClelland is going to have to start answering them if he wants support for increasing HPD’s budget. Houston Police Chief Charles McClelland last year asked City Council for $105 million over five years to hire hundreds of new officers, … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Early returns on body cameras are positive

Posted on May 29, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

So far so good. The majority of 100 Houston Police Department officers who have field tested body cameras over a recent two-month period called it a positive experience, though many expressed concern that the technology could endanger officer safety or … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

HPD to get a pay raise

Posted on February 11, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Mayor Parker and the police union agree to a new contract. The Houston Police Department hopes a new union contract that targets raises primarily to younger officers will ward off recruiting struggles that have forced it to offer bonuses to … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

2015 Mayoral manifesto: Public safety

Posted on February 5, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Preliminaries Transportation When I first started thinking about this series a couple of months ago, this section was all going to be about the budget. We’ve covered this ground before – public safety is about 65% of the total city … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2015 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Now what do we do with those body cameras?

Posted on February 5, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

KPRC addresses an important question. HPD has been running a pilot program regarding body cameras for more than a year. 100 officers are currently wearing a body camera. The department has yet to finalize a policy on the use of … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Now what do we do with those body cameras?

Mayor Parker wants body cameras for HPD

Posted on December 6, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Houston won’t wait for federal funding before buying body cameras for all of the city’s uniformed police officers, Mayor Annise Parker said Wednesday, as activists launched a petition drive for an ordinance essentially mandating the mayor’s plans. Both the … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Mayor Parker wants body cameras for HPD

A “Mike Brown Law” for Houston

Posted on December 2, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: COMMUNITY TOWN HALL 12/4 TO DEMAND MIKE BROWN LAW HOUSTON- Hundreds plan to attend a town hall organized by Houston Justice, a grassroots activist group aimed at local criminal justice reform. The first goal is to pass … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on A “Mike Brown Law” for Houston

McClelland wants more money for more cops

Posted on October 31, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

And I want some answers before we go along with this request. Houston Police Chief Charles McClelland asked city leaders Tuesday for an additional $105 million over five years to hire hundreds of new officers as part of a plan … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Body cameras for HPD

Posted on September 5, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I’ll be very interested to see how this goes. Houston Police Chief Charles McClelland is asking City Hall for $8 million to equip 3,500 police officers over three years with small body cameras to record encounters between law enforcement and … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Ogg challenges Anderson’s handling of Ryan Chandler investigation

Posted on August 23, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

This gets a little complicated, so stay with me. A county prosecutor who was engaged to fired Houston homicide detective Sgt. Ryan Chandler emailed him an office database search of all his cases as he was under investigation for possible … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment, Election 2014 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

We need more context to the HPD no-investigations issue

Posted on June 23, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Regular commenter Steven Houston left this feedback on my “More reaction to the HPD no-investigations report” post. It raises some good points and helped me focus my thinking on a couple of things, so I wanted to reproduce it and … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on We need more context to the HPD no-investigations issue

More reaction to the HPD no-investigations report

Posted on June 10, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I’m not the only one that wasn’t impressed by Chief McClelland’s response. [Burglary victim Heather] Heinke’s experience is not unusual in the nation’s fourth-largest city. A recent HPD staffing study says that 15,000 burglaries and thefts, 3,000 hit-and-run crashes and … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

McClelland’s response

Posted on June 8, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I have to say, I’m not impressed. Defending his department’s failure to investigate thousands of crimes last year, Police Chief Charles McClelland on Thursday said the understaffed Houston Police Department does not and should not have a goal of aggressively … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on McClelland’s response

Those uninvestigated criminal cases

Posted on June 5, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

To say the least, this is big news. The Houston Police Department, already reeling from a scandal involving shoddy work in its homicide unit, was dealt another blow Monday when a report revealed that some 20,000 burglary, theft, assault and … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Murder by numbers 2013

Posted on January 4, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The beginning of the new year means a look back at the homicide count for the previous year. Homicides are up in unincorporated Harris County, where the Sheriff’s Office is reporting a nearly 20 percent uptick in 2013, preliminary year-end … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Murder by numbers 2013

Police cameras

Posted on December 31, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

It’s disappointing that Houston lags behind other cities in using dashboard cameras in police cars, but I am glad to see we are trying to catch up. Houston police have fewer dashboard cameras than any major Texas law enforcement agency, … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

More security cameras coming

Posted on December 28, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

You’re being recorded, like it or not. Houston is adding 180 downtown surveillance cameras despite shrinking national security grants and research showing that video feeds only sometimes improve public safety. By early next year, the Houston Police Department will have … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Bradford calls for review of HPD oversight

Posted on November 27, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

He’s right that something needs to be done to ensure that people feel confident in the system. Houston City Councilman and former Police Chief C.O. “Brad” Bradford said citizens have lost faith in the city’s oversight of the use of … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Bradford calls for review of HPD oversight

Rape kit backlog eliminated

Posted on August 26, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

More good news. For the first time in its history, the Houston Police Department doesn’t have a backlog of rape kits that haven’t been tested. The backlog, which at one point totalled 6,600 untested rape kits, was eliminated by sending … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Red light camera tickets begin again tomorrow

Posted on July 23, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Drive appropriately. You have been warned. Houston police will begin issuing red-light camera citations Sunday at 50 intersections around the city, the latest maneuver in a protracted court battle over the controversial but lucrative traffic surveillance system. Police Chief Charles … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , | 8 Comments