Tag Archives: police

Javier Ambler

Posted on June 11, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Remember his name. Javier Ambler was driving home from playing poker on March 28, 2019, when he failed to dim the headlights of his SUV to oncoming traffic. A Williamson County sheriff’s deputy initiated a stop and began chasing him … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

DA dismisses charges against most protesters

Posted on June 11, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Good. The Harris County District Attorney’s Office on Tuesday dismissed almost 800 cases filed against protesters arrested during the George Floyd demonstrations last week in Houston. In total, prosecutors dropped 796 charges filed against 654 protesters, District Attorney Kim Ogg … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Executive action on police reform

Posted on June 10, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a start. Mayor Sylvester Turner on Tuesday announced he would sign an executive order to enact some immediate reforms aimed at curtailing police violence, including requiring Houston officers to give verbal warning and exhaust all other options before firing … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Commissioners Court to address police reform

Posted on June 9, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

On the agenda for today. Ten police and criminal justice reform items appear on Tuesday’s agenda; seven by Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis, two by County Judge Lina Hidalgo and one by Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia. They would:  Examine … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Time for a task force

Posted on June 7, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

A good step, but it needs to be followed by real action. Mayor Sylvester Turner plans to appoint a task force to review Houston Police Department policies amid growing calls for reform following local and nationwide protests over the death … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Let’s talk “meaningful reform”

Posted on June 5, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Chief Acevedo brought it up, so let’s go there. Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo’s voice cracked several times and his eyes welled as he railed against the death of George Floyd beneath a policeman’s knee and implored protesters to demonstrate … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

The George Floyd March

Posted on June 3, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Impressive. Sixty thousand people joined the family of George Floyd as well as elected officials and religious leaders today in a peaceful Houston march from Discovery Green to City Hall organized by rappers and civic activists Trae tha Truth, Bun … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 45 Comments

We now have data about police shootings of civilians

Posted on September 7, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron reviews the first year’s worth of data. Texas police reported shooting 159 people in the first year that the state tracked such cases under a groundbreaking new law. Officers in Houston shot 31 of them – compared to … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

“Unholstered”

Posted on September 6, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Some really good work by the Trib here. The Texas Tribune spent almost a year attempting to collect information on police shootings from departments in the state’s 36 largest cities, which have a population of 100,000 or more, and was … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Abbott pushes for hate crime status for targeted killing of police officers

Posted on July 20, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Gov. Greg Abbott wants the targeted killing of a police officer to be deemed a hate crime in Texas and urged lawmakers to send him such a bill to sign … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Who watches the private police departments?

Posted on December 4, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Not good. A veteran state lawmaker said Monday he is outraged by televised images of Rice University police officers striking a suspected bicycle thief with batons and appalled the university can refuse to release details because it is a private … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Fare enforcement for Metro

Posted on May 3, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Dodging the fare on the light rail lines could become more difficult to do. Provided a key piece of state legislation comes through, Metro officials said the plan is to have new monitors in place when the new North, East … Continue reading →

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Cancelling constables

Posted on April 13, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Like Grits, I see this as an opportunity, not a loss. Budget cuts have led two Harris County constables to cancel their security contracts with several area school districts, leaving the districts scrambling for a fix to cover the end … Continue reading →

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Should we do away with school police forces?

Posted on March 24, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Grits makes the case. If public school budgets will be radically cut in Texas, a prospect which for the moment appears all but inevitable, which employees should be eliminated first? Judging from the ongoing debate, maybe campus cops. Jason Embry … Continue reading →

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Walle files bills to address school ticketing

Posted on February 13, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

A couple of weeks ago I noted a Texas Appleseed report that discussed an increase in “Class C misdemeanor ticketing and arrest of students for low-level, non-violent behavior that historically has been handled at the school level”, which it believes … Continue reading →

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Too many tickets

Posted on January 18, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

From Texas Appleseed, via Grits. Class C Ticketing, Arrest of Youth at School is Introducing Thousands to Justice System, Says New Appleseed Report Schools Should Follow Lead of Juvenile Justice Agencies: Restrict Pepper Spray, Taser Use Austin, TX. – A … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Tweet it! The cops!

Posted on April 26, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

New frontiers in social networking and law enforcement. Milwaukee’s department is one of a growing number of police and fire agencies turning to social networking Web sites such as Twitter, which lets users send text-message “tweets” to a mass audience … Continue reading →

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