HPD Captain Mark Aguirre and Sergeant Ken Wenzel have been indicted on charges of official oppression stemming from their role in the K-Mart Kiddie Roundup.
For the record, “official oppression”, which sounds vaguely Orwellian to me, is a Class A misdemeanor, meaning punishment of a fine of up to $4000 and/or imprisonment for up to one year. The definition of official oppression in the state penal code is here.
As noted before, there’s much trash talking and a vow to take this case to trial by Aguirre’s lawyer. The local TV newsies are probably wetting their pants over this.
It should be noted that whatever cheap entertainment we may get out of this, there is one undeniably Good Thing that has resulted from this snafu:
Acting Police Chief Tim Oettmeier told Houston City Council in September that any future operations on the scale of the controversial Kmart raid will have to be approved by the police chief in writing.
“Large-scale, multidivisional operations … will not take place without a proper review and written approval of the chief of police,” he said.
“All future operations of this magnitude will be monitored as they are executed and reviewed in a timely manner to ensure proper accountability has been maintained.”
Amen.