Houston mayor wants third-party review after 264,000 HPD cases suspended
HOUSTON - It is the most comprehensive, most far-reaching scandal to strike the Houston Police Department in the 21st century - more than a quarter million criminal cases very quietly ignored, purportedly, for lack of manpower.
Houston Police Chief Troy Finner says he welcomes the mayor’s decision to launch an independent third-party review into HPD's handling of approximately 264,00 incident reports that were suspended with a code "lack of personnel."
"The Mayor and I have spoken almost daily about this matter, and I appreciate his continued support of HPD and my administration," Chief Finner said in a statement.
Of the many challenges inherited by Mayor John Whitmire, this may well prove the most daunting.
"I can't believe that there wasn't some police officer or some administrator that didn't sound the alarm about - 'You all know what's going on over there?' up to 200,000 plus cases, a wide range of offenses, certainly the sexual assault. I can't believe someone didn't get me off to the side and say you know we got a code that we are using, that we don't investigate stuff because we don't have the staffing," said Mayor John Whitmire.
On Wednesday, Whitmire said he has confidence in HPD’s internal review, but a panel is being established to conduct a third-party review, as well.
"I trust and believe Police Chief Troy Finner is doing the best he can to manage the internal investigation, get to the bottom of it, and hold people accountable," Mayor Whitmire said. "The independent panel will be people I also trust to review and validate the outcome and help bring closure to the victims."
In the coming days, the mayor will release the names of those who will serve on the independent panel.
FOX 26 asked Whitmire if the Police Officers Union was, in any way, complicit to a "coverup."
"I don't know the best label. I hesitate to say cover-up. I don't know the motivation for a cover-up," said Whitmire.
As for accountability, the Mayor assured Houstonians, they would get it.
"He (Chief Finner) is already holding people accountable, but we are going to hold him accountable. We are going to review his work product and then y'alll hold me accountable," said Whitmire. "I am deeply concerned about how and why this happened. The public wants answers and accountability. This process of appointing an independent panel will validate the investigation's integrity."
Last month, Chief Finner identified 4,017 cases of alleged sexual assault administratively suspended for "lack of personnel," dating back as far as 2016.
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On Feb. 26, Chief Finner said the review had expanded to other divisions. He said that review showed that around 264,000 incident reports since 2016 were suspended with the "lack of personnel" code, representing about 10% of the 2.8 million incident reports filed with HPD in the past eight years.
Last week, Chief Finner said the department was continuing to review sexual assault incident reports and contact potential victims. He said additional personnel was being moved to other investigative divisions to address incident reports that involve crimes against people.
The full statement released by Chief Finner on Wednesday reads:
"I welcome and support Mayor Whitmire’s decision to establish an independent third party to review the Houston Police Department’s handling of the 264,000 incident reports "suspended – lack of personnel."
The Mayor and I have spoken almost daily about this matter and I appreciate his continued support of HPD and my administration.
Today’s announcement by the Mayor is a vital part of the transparency and accountability I have been promising since announcing this review process on February 16.
I will have a news conference at 11:30 a.m. tomorrow (Thursday) to provide an update on our internal review process, our efforts to contact victims and what comes next."