Civil rights leaders want police union president to resign

HOUSTON (FOX 26) — The backlash Houston Police Officers' Union president Joe Gamaldi is facing for what he said after four officers were shot is far from dying down. In his address to the public on the night of Jan. 28, Gamaldi called out people who spread “anti-cop“ rhetoric, called them "dirtbags," and said that they’ve got their number and are going to be keeping track of them.

One civil rights group is considering those statements a threat and calling for an investigation that would result in Gamaldi ultimately stepping down.

Civil rights attorney Randall Kallinen, along with the Greater Houston Coalition for Justice, want an investigation to determine if the Houston Police Department is keeping tabs on local civil rights leaders and activists who have spoken out against police.

"We want the Department of Justice to come in and see if there are secret files an individual such as, you know, the kind of activists who just merely want to go out and prove the police interaction with the public,” Kallinen tells FOX 26 News.

The group is hoping to restore transparency, but ultimately want Gamaldi to resign.

FOX 26 had an opportunity to speak with Joe Gamaldi about the Jan. 28 drug bust, but he did not want to comment about the coalition calling for his resignation.