Criminal Justice Advocates call for Houston Police Chief's removal or restraint
HPD Chief Finner called to resign by activists
Controversy intensified over the quarter million criminal reports Houston police never investigated and at City Hall, there was a call from public safety activists for the police chief to resign. FOX 26 Political Reporter Greg Groogan was there and has the details.
HOUSTON - Controversy is intensifying over the quarter million cases Houston police secretly chose not to investigate, triggering calls for Police Chief Troy Finner's resignation.
Finner is under heavy fire from public safety activists as the scandal continues to deepen.
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"The problem is the victims. The problem is the individuals who will never have justice," said Cynthia Cole.
"I believe the police chief should step down, at least from this investigation," said Randall Kallinen, a Houston civil rights lawyer.
While he lacks definitive proof, Kallinen believes Finner lied to the public when he claimed no knowledge prior to 2021 that a massive number of cases were being permanently shelved.
"Do you think that there were tens of thousands of cases which were just set aside and that the Assistant Chief didn't know about it? That, this was a surprise. Oops, who did this?" said Kallinen.
"I guarantee when it gets to that (command) level, they all know about it," said Jeff Reese, a former peace officer and member of the Greater Houston Coalition For Justice.
In addition to Finner's removal from the internal investigation, the criminal justice advocates called for greater diversity on Houston Mayor John Whitmire's independent review panel.
"We can hang it on one person, or we can hang on ten, but what we better hang it on is that we've got a problem," said Cole.
A request for comment from Finner elicited no response.