Houston Mayor's Task Force on Police Reform makes 104 recommendations

HOUSTON - The Mayor's Task Force on Police Reform has now made its recommendations. This comes after months of meetings. The Task Force is making 104 recommendations.

The group divided its research into six areas that they believe need addressing including Community Policing, Independent Oversight, Power Dynamics, Crisis Intervention, Field Readiness
and Clear Expectations.

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The task force was put together in June after the death of George Floyd. The group's chair, Larry Payne, says after careful research they believe several things need to be addressed.

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"Balance the power dynamics between the HPD and Houstonians by releasing body-worn camera footage of critical incidents in a consistent and timely manner, further restricting the use of force, treating people with due respect, and committing to fundamental transparency by releasing audit and performance data on a regular basis."

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“That was phase one (coming up with the recommendations). Now we go to phase two. I'm not ruling anything out without first sitting down and talking with them (the task force) asking how did you get to this point, why? Let's drill a little bit deeper,” says Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner.

Chief Art Acevedo released a statement saying in part, “The department is committed to excellence in policing... and look forward to receiving the task force recommendations."

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Some of the proposed changes include releasing police bodycam video involving a controversial incident within 24 hours and clarifying what would justify the use of deadly force. For instance, the task force says if someone is unarmed, running away, driving away or in a parked car, deadly force should not be allowed.

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“This is a transformation moment for our city as we seek to improve how policing is done in our community, as people are calling for reform and demand we address social and racial injustices,” said Turner.