Turner to launch review of HPD policies
In wake of Floyd protests, task force will seek to ensure police accountability, transparency
Mayor Sylvester Turner plans to appoint a task force to review Houston Police Department policies amid growing calls for reform following nationwide protests over the death of former Houston resident George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody.
Turner’s office said the task force would focus on ensuring accountability and transparency. He announced the task force Thursday night during an hourlong ABC13 town hall on police and community relations.
“It’s so important to hold onto the trust between the community and police because the two have to work together, not be against one another,” Turner said. “Establishing that confidence and that trust is a critical component. That’s why it’s important for all of us to listen, to listen to what people are saying, to listen to the reforms that people want to see put in place, and then to act on those reforms. And we’re going to seek to do that.”
It was not clear Friday when people would be appointed or
when the task force would meet.
The mayor’s announcement came as activists and other public officials have called for changes in Houston, including giving the city’s Independent Police Oversight Board subpoena power to conduct its own investigations. The board widely is seen as weak because it only reviews internal affairs investigations by HPD.
New measures
Some council members have proposed amendments to the city budget — set for debate and a possible vote Wednesday — to enact more extensive changes, though it did not appear Friday that any measure had garnered a consensus.
Conversations about potential reforms began before Floyd’s death, Councilwoman Tiffany Thomas said. After a string of six fatal police shootings here in Houston, several council members met privately with Police Chief Art Acevedo.
Thomas said she would favor strengthening the oversight board; ensuring there are public records of complaints made by both citizens and officers against their colleagues; and creating some sort of research arm to parse data to illuminate other options.
Councilman Ed Pollard has offered a budget amendment to create an online database where residents can view complaints made to the police department. Pollard said the information would boost transparency and give the public and policymakers data to inform reforms. His amendment calls for building off an existing platform, called Project Comport, that is already used in other cities.
Councilwoman Letitia Plummer has proposed the furthest-reaching budget amendment. It would eliminate 199 vacant HPD positions and one of five planned police cadet classes. Plummer seeks to redirect about $11.8 million of the police funding toward reforms, including subpoena-empowered oversight board probes; increased spending on re-entry and My Brother’s Keeper programs; and creation of a mental health unit to respond to some low-risk calls.
It is unclear how many council members are willing to sign onto Plummer’s plan, especially after Turner explicitly rejected reduced spending on police.
In a CNN appearance Thursday, Turner argued the department is stretched thin. Houston has roughly 5,300 officers covering 665 square miles. Chicago has about 12,000 officers for 275 square miles, he said.
“In our city, we need more police officers,” Turner said. “What people want and what they deserve is good policing.”
Turner’s proposal would boost spending on police from $911 million to $930 million. Most of that increase is devoted to paying personnel. Officers are getting a 3 percent raise under a labor contract reached in 2018.
Councilman Mike Knox, the only former police officer on council, said HPD already does many of the things included in calls for reform.
The department has banned chokeholds for decades, equips every officer with body cameras and conducts regular de-escalation and cultural training. Complaints within the department — filed by officers against other officers — outnumber the public complaints the department receives, Knox said.
“There’s no policeman on this planet, that I’m aware of, that thinks what happened in Minnesota was appropriate … and (the officer) is going to probably go to prison, which is where he belongs,” Knox said. “But the fact of the matter is, the Houston Police Department had nothing to do with that. Our policies, and our department, are pretty good. We can always look to improve.”
Floyd, who grew up in Third Ward, was killed in Minneapolis police custody last week after an officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes. That officer faces murder and manslaughter charges; three other officers at the scene — who did not intervene — also face charges.
Floyd’s death sparked protests in all 50 states and a national dialogue about policing and communities of color.
‘Many George Floyds’
Councilwoman Carolyn EvansShabazz — who represents the district where Floyd grew up and is a graduate of Jack Yates High School, his alma mater — said she supports a stronger review board and increased officer training, and she said she thinks those measures further the interests of law enforcement, as well.
“People need to know that someone else in the community, a representative group, is looking at these cases,” Evans-Shabazz said. “The unfortunate thing is there are many George Floyds, and as much as we can, we need to prevent more George Floyds.”