Tag Archives: HPD

Why lawsuits?

Posted on April 7, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

If you’ve wondered why the women who have accused Deshaun Watson of sexual harassment and assault have filed lawsuits against him instead of police reports, this Chron story offers some reasons. The 22 women suing Deshaun Watson for allegedly sexually … Continue reading →

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

HPD now investigating Deshaun Watson

Posted on April 4, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Someone filed a report. Already facing a rash of civil lawsuits, Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson now has been named in a criminal complaint, according to the Houston Police Department. HPD confirmed it “is now conducting an investigation and will … Continue reading →

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

Will there be any criminal complaints filed against Deshaun Watson?

Posted on April 1, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Maybe? It all depends on what Tony Buzbee means, and Lord only knows about that. In his latest Instagram post about the sexual assault allegations against Deshaun Watson, Houston attorney Tony Buzbee said Tuesday that he plans to take evidence … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters, Other sports | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Mayor Turner selects the new HPD Chief

Posted on March 19, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Congratulations, Chief Finner. Houston’s next police chief will be Troy Finner, Mayor Sylvester Turner said Thursday afternoon. Finner is one of outgoing Chief Art Acevedo’s two top assistant chiefs. Turner’s decision comes just days after Acevedo abruptly announced that he … Continue reading →

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Who might succeed Acevedo?

Posted on March 17, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Names are floating about. With Police Chief Art Acevedo announcing his departure from Houston, law enforcement insiders say they believe Mayor Sylvester Turner is likely to select one of Acevedo’s two top assistants — Executive Assistant Chiefs Troy Finner and … Continue reading →

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HPD Chief Art Acevedo leaving

Posted on March 16, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Headed to Miami. Police Chief Art Acevedo is leaving Houston to take over the Miami Police Department, the chief told his officers in an email obtained by the Chronicle. Acevedo informed HPD troops in an email dated Monday, March 15, … Continue reading →

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A closer look at the Aguirre/Hotze debacle

Posted on December 22, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

This WaPo story was pointed out in the comments here, and it’s worth your time to read. I should note that while the Houston Chronicle has not (at least so far) identified the air conditioning repairman that Aguirre attacked, this … Continue reading →

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Aguirre’s arraignment

Posted on December 21, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

The latest update on the Aguirre/Hotze fever-dream “vote fraud” case. An ex-Houston police officer on Friday swore he is “done” with private investigations after being arrested and charged with assaulting an air conditioning repairman he claimed was involved in a … Continue reading →

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

Hotze spews some BS

Posted on December 18, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

That could be a perennial headline, like a pinned tweet, but here it’s for a specific purpose. Conservative activist Steven Hotze said Wednesday he does not know if the former Houston police captain he hired to investigate voter fraud really … Continue reading →

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The real danger of unhinged conspiracy theories

Posted on December 17, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Because sometimes malevolent people act them out, with potentially deadly consequences for others. An air conditioning repairman was driving in south Houston around 5:30 a.m. on Oct. 19 when a black SUV rammed the back of his truck. When he … Continue reading →

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Why can’t we get our jail population down?

Posted on December 6, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I found this story from Thanksgiving weekend frustrating. Harris County’s efforts to reduce its jail population have flatlined, despite more than $7.5 million aimed at alleviating systemic burdens so that the county could attempt to reduce its inmates by a … Continue reading →

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More on police oversight boards

Posted on November 29, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Ours in Houston isn’t very good. Some other cities do it better. We can learn from them. Houston’s police oversight board is the weakest among Texas’ five largest cities and suffers from “a complete lack of transparency and public reporting,” … Continue reading →

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A bill to ban no-knock warrants

Posted on November 16, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Probably won’t go anywhere, but well worth the effort. A bill pre-filed this week by state Rep. Gene Wu would ban no-knock warrants across Texas, marking the first major legislative response to last year’s botched drug raid that led to the deaths of … Continue reading →

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Mayor will support the task force recommendations

Posted on October 11, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

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 →

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Here comes the police reform task force report

Posted on October 3, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Now let’s do something with it. Mayor Sylvester Turner on Wednesday rolled out his task force’s report on policing reform in Houston, but said he needed more time to digest the 153-page report before taking action on its recommendations. The … Continue reading →

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Turner signs cite-and-release order

Posted on October 1, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Mayor Sylvester Turner on Monday signed an executive order authorizing a new cite-and-release program for the Houston Police Department, aiming to let people accused of certain misdemeanors off with a ticket instead of a trip to jail. Turner and … Continue reading →

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HPD adopts cite-and-release

Posted on September 19, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Took them long enough. The Houston Police Department plans to join Harris County’s cite-and-release program, fulfilling advocates’ long-running request to implement the policy they say keeps low-level offenders out of jail and saves law enforcement resources for more serious threats. … Continue reading →

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Cite and release for Houston

Posted on September 15, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Houston is preparing a cite-and-release policy that could let people accused of certain misdemeanors off with a ticket instead of an arrest, perhaps the city’s most significant bid at criminal justice reform since the killing of George Floyd ignited … Continue reading →

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

Five things we could do now for police reform in Houston

Posted on September 2, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Seems like a good list to me. Five city council members on Monday sent a letter to Mayor Sylvester Turner outlining police reforms they said Houston can implement immediately, including a “complete overhaul” of the Independent Police Oversight Board, a … Continue reading →

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Where are we again with the IPOB?

Posted on August 18, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Are we moving forward, or are we standing still? A longtime member of Houston’s Independent Police Oversight Board has resigned, saying the organization’s structure prevents it from providing meaningful oversight of the Houston Police Department and should be disbanded. In … Continue reading →

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Enforcing the mask order

Posted on August 4, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

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 →

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Give reformers a seat at the police collective bargaining table

Posted on July 17, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

This is a clear path forward. Chas Moore watched in shock one night in 2017 as Austin City Council voted on the city’s proposed police contract. He and other criminal justice reformers had spent months observing contract negotiations and lobbying … Continue reading →

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Criticizing the HPD narcotics audit

Posted on July 6, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

It’s good that it was finally released, but that doesn’t mean that all questions have been answered by it. Standing outside the small house where Houston police officers conducted a raid that killed two and grievously wounded their department’s reputation, … Continue reading →

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More and better police data, please

Posted on July 2, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Like this. The Texas Commission on Law Enforcement will ask nearly 2,000 Texas law enforcement agencies to resubmit information legislators intended be used to analyze whether police were treating minority motorists differently — but which turned out to be worthless … Continue reading →

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The lack of testing is becoming a more serious problem

Posted on July 2, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

It was already serious. Now it’s extra serious. As the new coronavirus continues to spread in Texas, leaders of some of the state’s biggest cities said Monday that their testing sites were being strained, forcing them to turn away people … Continue reading →

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Here comes the police task force

Posted on June 26, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Now let’s see them do something. Mayor Sylvester Turner on Wednesday announced the appointment of 45 people to a task force that will review Houston Police Department policies for potential reforms. Laurence “Larry” Payne, a former staffer of Mayor Kathy … Continue reading →

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Steps towards more transparency

Posted on June 22, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Step One: Mayor Sylvester Turner said Friday he is reviewing an internal audit of the Houston Police Department’s embattled narcotics division and will send the results of the probe to state lawmakers who have called for its public release. Turner … Continue reading →

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Release the audit

Posted on June 19, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

That’s my three-word response to this. A growing chorus of elected officials is calling on Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo to release the findings of an internal audit on his department’s narcotics division, arguing that the chief’s refusal to do … Continue reading →

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The current status on local police reform efforts

Posted on June 12, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

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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DA dismisses charges against most protesters

Posted on June 11, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Good. The Harris County District Attorney’s Office on Tuesday dismissed almost 800 cases filed against protesters arrested during the George Floyd demonstrations last week in Houston. In total, prosecutors dropped 796 charges filed against 654 protesters, District Attorney Kim Ogg … Continue reading →

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Budget amendments and a fight over police reform

Posted on June 10, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

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

Posted on June 10, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

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 →

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Time for a task force

Posted on June 7, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

A good step, but it needs to be followed by real action. Mayor Sylvester Turner plans to appoint a task force to review Houston Police Department policies amid growing calls for reform following local and nationwide protests over the death … Continue reading →

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Let’s talk “meaningful reform”

Posted on June 5, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Chief Acevedo brought it up, so let’s go there. Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo’s voice cracked several times and his eyes welled as he railed against the death of George Floyd beneath a policeman’s knee and implored protesters to demonstrate … Continue reading →

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