Tag Archives: Larry Satterwaite

HPD’s worsening response times

Posted on November 17, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Putting a pin in this for later. City leaders blamed an increased lag in police response times in 2024, in part, on the fallout from a scandal in which 264,000 cases were suspended citing a lack of personnel. Police leaders, … Continue reading →

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HPD has a new Chief

Posted on August 3, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Meet the new guy. Months of searching for Houston’s next full-time police chief ended with Mayor John Whitmire naming J. Noe Diaz, leader of the less than 100-person Katy Police Department, as Troy Finner’s replacement in charge of the nation’s … Continue reading →

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HPD releases a dropped cases report

Posted on August 2, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Kudos for the serious review, but boy did this go on for a long time without anyone doing anything about it. Between 2016 and 2024, Houston Police Department leaders had multiple opportunities to question — and potentially stop — the … Continue reading →

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License plate scanning

Posted on June 22, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

HPD does a lot of it. How much is too much? As Houston public safety leaders continue to decry what they say are staffing shortages, the police department has come to rely on a license plate scanning technology more than … Continue reading →

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Mayor Whitmire wants to get rid of ShotSpotter

Posted on June 10, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Fine by me. Mayor John Whitmire revealed plans to scrap the city’s $3.5 million ShotSpotter program, positioning Houston as the latest city government to abandon the controversial gunshot detection technology after a brief experiment. “I think it is a gimmick,” … Continue reading →

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More on the Finner departure

Posted on May 10, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

That email was the final straw. After months of controversy surrounding the Houston Police Department’s practice of suspending cases due to short staffing, the revelation Tuesday that Chief Troy Finner was on an email discussing one such case in 2018 … Continue reading →

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HPD Chief Finner retires

Posted on May 9, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

This came suddenly. Troy Finner has stepped down as chief of the Houston Police Department, Mayor John Whitmire announced in a late-night, four-paragraph email to city employees Tuesday. “I have accepted the retirement of Troy Finner as Chief of Police, … Continue reading →

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All but one of the Astroworld wrongful death lawsuits have been settled

Posted on May 9, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

A big day in court yesterday. Nine of the 10 wrongful death lawsuits filed after a deadly crowd surge at the 2021 Astroworld music festival have been settled, including one that was set to go to trial this week, an … Continue reading →

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