Police get $1M to fight gun, gang violence
Added funds will be used to pay overtime to officers working ‘hot spots’ around town
Houston Police have received $1 million to cover overtime costs related to gun and gang violence investigations, an allocation announced by Mayor Sylvester Turner just hours after an 18-year-old was charged with murder int he drive-by shooting of an 8-year-old boy.
Houston Police have received $1 million to cover overtime costs related to gun and gang violence investigations. The allocation, announced Friday by Mayor Sylvester Turner, came just hours after 18-year-old Devonte Lockett was charged with murder in a drive-by shooting that killed an 8-year-old last month.
The March 1 shooting that killed Tristian Hutchins and injured his 5-year-old sister has become a rallying cry for community leaders. Days after the shooting, Turner joined other officials in their pleas for information in Hutchins’ killing, and for steps to be taken to curtail the gun violence that has killed 10 other children in Houston since December 2016.
“Our hearts remain heavy because 8-year-old Tristian Hutchins should not have been shot and he certainly did not deserve to die,” Turner said Friday. “I said then, and I’ll say it again today: We are going to stand and fight for all of the children in our city. This will not be the new normal.”
Police Chief Art Acevedo said he was not immediately sure how many hours of overtime $1 million would fund, but said the department has already been “surging” officers to some “hot spots” of violence around town.
“The bottom line is that’s a lot of money,” he said. “And it’s not just the overtime. We’re actually doing some joint investigations on gang members, and they shouldn’t be resting right now because before they know it we’ll be coming for them, trust me.”
Since Acevedo took over the department in late 2016, HPD department has increasingly shifted its focus to gang and gun violence by deploying more officers at night, when violence more often occurs, and intensi-
fying its focus on aggravated assaults as a way to stem homicides.
“There’s a direct correlation between police presence, police activity and bad outcomes,” he said. “When police presence goes up, when police activity goes up — whether it’s stops or arrests — the bad things go down.”
Police have declined to name the gang in which Lockett was a member, only noting that it is active in the Third Ward. Lockett previously had been sentenced to 20 days in jail for a misdemeanor weapons charge, court records show, and was shot in the face last September — a shooting that left him a scar, Acevedo said.
He was arrested Thursday evening outside a convenience store near the intersection of Scott and Dennis, the chief said.
‘Put down your arms’
U.S. Rep Sheila Jackson Lee — a ranking member of the Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations subcommittee — said at the news conference Friday that she will work to put Houston at “the front of the line” to receive federal funding to combat gangs.
“Even though it looks like the federal government is distant, there are ways that we should be able to collaborate,” she said.
She also called on civilians and officers to unify to prevent more violence.
“It’s important today to say that the police is a community, and the community is the police,” she said. “For those who view the police as anything other than community, now is the time to put down your arms and your barriers.”
Turner and Jackson Lee also highlighted programs and initiatives that they say could revitalize poorer communities and provide opportunities to children and young adults —including 18year-old Lockett — before they turn to gang life.
Last month, Turner announced a commission to study gun violence in the city that will likely include medical professionals, mental health experts, educators and advocates in the LGBT community.
‘One homicide too many’
Though Houston’s homicide rate is still low compared to many American cities — and dropped 11 percent between 2016 and 2017 — Turner said leaders should focus on reducing violence now, rather than later.
“One homicide in our city is one homicide too many,” he said. “It’s important to stop and arrest it now, before it gets to any sort of stage that really just causes a great deal of distress.”
Acevedo also reiterated Friday his vow to pressure lawmakers to strengthen gun laws and punishments for felons who are caught in possession of firearms. Among the proposals the chief has floated are rules that would revoke bond or parole for felons caught with guns.
He said he and other Houston-area leaders have received assurances from the state’s parole board that such changes will be implemented.