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New Harris Co. policy regarding drug arrest sparking disagreements between DA's office, local law enforcement
FOX 26 Reporter Sherman Desselle spoke with the Houston Police Union about the new Harris County policy regarding drug arrests.
HARRIS COUNTY, Texas - Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg gave more insight into the pending policy change on low-level drug arrests.
In a memo obtained by FOX 26's Greg Groogan, Ogg asks local law enforcement to refrain from taking suspects into custody for possessing less than four grams of narcotics, which is considered a relatively small amount.
SUGGESTED: Low level drug offenders in Harris County to avoid arrest pending lab testing, DA says
During the Tuesday press conference on addressing the criminal case backlog issue in the county, Ogg told Groogan this will shorten the time between the case filing and the disposition of the case.
"This means people will not languish in jail as long, cases will not crowd up dockets as long, and we will continue to prioritize the serious violent crimes over those cases," says Ogg. "If there's a public safety threat, there's an exception to the policy."
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Houston Police Union President Douglas Griffith tells FOX 26 some cases can take weeks or even months to review at the Forensic Science Center, so he understands the rationale behind the policy. He also believes it would end up as a burden for the arresting officers.
"What she's trying to do is prevent judges from kicking these cases due to no probable cause," says Griffith. "Without the testing, these judges can claim if they don't have the test back, then there's no probable cause that its narcotics, and they kick the case. Then our officers have to go and file. It's a perfect storm for law enforcement. It won't just affect Houston, it'll be Harris County Sheriff's, the constables. It'll be Baytown, all the 37 municipalities that are within the city limits of Houston."
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Ogg said Tuesday she has been in meetings with HCSO and HPD on the policy and plans on discussing it publicly next week.
"All possession cases under a certain amount will continue to receive treatment. All we've done is change the timing of the filing," says Ogg.