Tag Archives: HPOU

Is ShotSpotter working?

This story would suggest the answer is No. Houston city leaders deployed the gunshot surveillance system ShotSpotter to strengthen police responses in neighborhoods where gunfire too often rings out. But three years into its deployment, crime statistics show the technology hasn’t made a … Continue reading

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SCOTx rules for city on pay parity, for firefighters on collective bargaining

I’m going to approach this one at first via dueling press releases. First, from the HPFFA: The Supreme Court of Texas has ruled that the City of Houston violated the state constitution in refusing to honor voter-approved fair pay and … Continue reading

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

SCOTx hears firefighter pay parity arguments

Lots at stake here. More than four years after Houston voters approved a measure that would grant firefighters equal pay with police officers, the legal battle to decide the referendum’s fate landed Tuesday in the hands of the Supreme Court of Texas. The … Continue reading

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How’s that city push to get its employees vaccinated going?

Not bad, actually. Nearly three months after Mayor Sylvester Turner signed an executive order requiring Houston’s 21,000 city employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine, receive a medical or religious exemption, or submit COVID-19 test results every two weeks, compliance with … Continue reading

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Mayor Turner orders unvaxxed city employees to get tested twice a week

So maybe get vaccinated, and avoid all the hassle. Unvaccinated city workers must get tested for COVID-19 twice a month and report their results to the human resources department, Mayor Sylvester Turner announced Wednesday. Turner signed an executive order implementing … Continue reading

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Appeals court overturns verdict in firefighter pay parity lawsuit

Wow. An appeals court on Thursday reversed a ruling that declared Houston firefighters’ pay-parity measure unconstitutional, a major win for the fire union and one that could have far-reaching effects on city finances. The fire union won approval of a … Continue reading

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Where are we with Houston police reform?

It feels like it’s been on the back burner for awhile, but we’re about to get some action this month. Houston officials are developing a system for residents to report police misconduct online and will announce changes later this month … Continue reading

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Mayor will support the task force recommendations

Good start, now let’s get it going. Mayor Sylvester Turner on Wednesday endorsed “almost all” the 104 recommendations laid out last week by his Task Force on Policing Reform. Speaking at a virtual city council meeting, Turner said a few … Continue reading

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

Enforcing the mask order

Those of you who haven’t been wearing your mask when out in public, shame on you. And also, there may now be consequences for your dumb refusal to do the right thing. Houston law enforcement officials will begin issuing fines … Continue reading

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 23 Comments

What are we going to do about that Independent Police Oversight Board?

The easy answer is “make it better”, it’s how you do that that’s harder. As protests over George Floyd’s death swept the nation, activists in Houston cried out for police reform. Among their demands: Give us an independent police watchdog. … Continue reading

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The current status on local police reform efforts

Well, the budget amendment process didn’t do much. City Council on Wednesday unanimously approved Mayor Sylvester Turner’s $5.1 billion budget for the next fiscal year, slightly increasing funds for the Houston Police Department even as some cities are under pressure … Continue reading

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Budget amendments and a fight over police reform

That’s your City Council agenda for today. City council members have authored more than four dozen amendments to Mayor Sylvester Turner’s proposed budget to trim spending, create new sources of revenue and expand police accountability measures. Council members will take … Continue reading

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Executive action on police reform

It’s a start. Mayor Sylvester Turner on Tuesday announced he would sign an executive order to enact some immediate reforms aimed at curtailing police violence, including requiring Houston officers to give verbal warning and exhaust all other options before firing … Continue reading

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The George Floyd March

Impressive. Sixty thousand people joined the family of George Floyd as well as elected officials and religious leaders today in a peaceful Houston march from Discovery Green to City Hall organized by rappers and civic activists Trae tha Truth, Bun … Continue reading

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 45 Comments

Last bail lawsuit hearing

At least I assume it’s the last one. I’ve been thinking this was all over but for the formality for months now, so what do I know? Dianna Williams has witnessed the “collateral damage” of jailing on the fabric of … Continue reading

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Do you believe in magical thinking?

I did not read this long profile of Tony Buzbee, because life is short and we all have better things to do. I did briefly scan the print version a bit, and in doing so I noticed the following paragraph, … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2019 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Mediation fails again

Not really a surprise. A third round of mediation between Mayor Sylvester Turner and the Houston firefighters union concluded in an apparent impasse Thursday afternoon, ending another attempt to resolve the long-running contract dispute and sending a lawsuit over the … Continue reading

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Mediation 3.0

Third time’s the charm, right? The Houston firefighters union and Mayor Sylvester Turner’s administration will return to mediation Aug. 1 in the hopes of working out a new contract amid a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Proposition B. The ballot … Continue reading

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Back to mediation

Give it another sixty days. Maybe it’ll be different this time. A Texas appeals court Thursday ordered the Houston firefighters union and Mayor Sylvester Turner’s administration back to mediation in the hope the two sides will agree to a new … Continue reading

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Prop B ruled unconstitutional

Oh, my. A state district judge on Wednesday ruled Proposition B, the voter-approved measure that grants Houston firefighters the same pay as police of corresponding rank and seniority, unconstitutional and void. The ruling came in a lawsuit brought in November … Continue reading

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Firefighters get Prop B back pay

Good for them. The city of Houston on Friday issued lump-sum paychecks to more than 3,900 firefighters, a move Mayor Sylvester Turner said reflects the implementation, retroactive to Jan. 1, of Proposition B, the measure granting firefighters the same pay … Continue reading

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Mediation fails to achieve Prop B agreement

I have three things to say about this. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner on Friday said a court-appointed mediator has declared negotiations between the city and firefighters union over the implementation of Proposition B at impasse, potentially leaving the future of … Continue reading

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Mediation ordered in Prop B lawsuit

This ought to be interesting. A state district judge on Thursday ordered the city, the Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association and the Houston Police Officers’ Union to enter into mediation as they seek to resolve lingering differences over the implementation … Continue reading

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

Restraining order lifted on firefighter pay referendum

Back to the planning stage. A state district judge on Tuesday dissolved a temporary restraining order blocking implementation of the voter-approved charter amendment granting pay parity to Houston firefighters and denied further attempts by the city and police union to … Continue reading

Posted in Legal matters, Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

From the “Needlessly overstated answers to simple questions” department

I have three things to say about this: Tony Buzbee, a Houston lawyer who recently announced his plan to run for mayor next year, has offered to “mediate” a long-running pay dispute between the city and firefighters, one week after … Continue reading

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 21 Comments

HPOU files first Prop B lawsuit

And away we go. Courthouse officials were scrambling to find a judge Friday afternoon to hear a lawsuit by the Houston Police Officers Union against the city of Houston and the Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association, that seeks an immediate … Continue reading

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

Looking to hire more cops for Houston

We’ll see about this. The head of the Houston police union announced Wednesday that city leaders had pledged to grow the Houston Police Department ranks by 500 officers over the next five years, far fewer than the city’s police chief … Continue reading

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

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

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

Endorsement watch: The score so far

We’ve had a slew of endorsements for municipal races this past week. I’ve been keeping track of them as best I can on my 2015 Election page. This isn’t always easy to do, because some groups are not very good … Continue reading

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

Endorsement watch: Pushback on the process

The early endorsement by the firefighters’ union – and now the Houston Police Officers Union – of Rep. Sylvester Turner for Mayor has ruffled some feathers. The Houston Police Officers’ Union on Tuesday followed their firefighter counterparts who on Monday … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2015 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

HPD to get a pay raise

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

McClelland wants more money for more cops

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

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HPOU wades into the DA race

They’re all in for incumbent Devon Anderson. The already intense race for Harris County district attorney became more heated Wednesday with the Houston Police Officer’s Union attacking Democratic candidate Kim Ogg, saying that during her time at Crime Stoppers she … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2014 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Ogg challenges Anderson’s handling of Ryan Chandler investigation

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