Community activists have been calling for the resignation of Houston Police Chief Troy Finner after it was revealed that thousands of cases, including serious offenses such as sexual assault, were dropped due to a lack of personnel. On Wednesday, Mayor John Whitmire announced that Finner was retiring effective immediately, a move that surprised even his critics. While some are relieved by Finner’s departure, concerns over the dropped cases continue to linger, and calls for accountability persist.
Finner’s sudden retirement comes after a scandal engulfed the Houston Police Department, involving the dismissal of thousands of cases through the use of a code indicating a lack of personnel dating back to 2016. Finner revealed in February that he had learned of this code in November 2021 and took steps to address it. However, it was discovered that the code was still being applied to sexual assault cases as recently as December 2023. An internal review found that about 264,000 incident reports were suspended due to staffing challenges, with approximately 4,000 reports related to adult sex crimes.
Whitmire stated that the scandal had become a distraction and was affecting operations at the Houston Police Department, leading to Finner’s decision to retire after 34 years of service. Assistant chiefs were demoted and one resigned in connection with the internal investigation. Finner faced renewed scrutiny when it was reported that he knew about the use of the code in 2018, contradicting his previous statements. This discovery was referred to as the “final straw” leading to his retirement by Whitmire.
The Houston Police Department’s ongoing issues go beyond Finner’s departure, as the department has faced staffing challenges with a decline in officers despite the city’s growing population. Finner had expressed a need for an additional 2,000 officers to properly patrol the streets and conduct investigations in the city. Observers believe that addressing these staffing issues is crucial to ensuring public safety and investigating cases effectively. There is a call for more transparency from the department in how federal grant money allocated for hiring additional officers is spent.
Community activists, such as Hai Bui, stress the importance of rebuilding public trust in the police department and ensuring transparency in spending grant money. They want assurance that every dollar allocated for hiring officers is properly tracked and managed. The fallout from the controversy highlights the responsibility to ensure that victims and survivors of crimes receive justice and that no one agency’s inaction hinders that process. Efforts are underway to connect survivors with organizations like the Houston Area Women’s Center for support and assistance. The focus remains on standing up for survivors and ensuring that similar incidents do not happen in the future.
