Houston’s police chief, Troy Finner, has faced questions about the mishandling of over 264,000 cases filed with the department in the past eight years. In a meeting with reporters and community leaders, Finner admitted that the scandal has damaged public trust in the police department. The incident reports, which included cases of sexual assaults and property crimes, were never submitted for investigation due to a lack of available personnel. Finner did not attribute this issue to broader cultural problems within the department but acknowledged the need for accountability.
Despite declining to provide details on accountability measures, Finner mentioned an ongoing internal affairs investigation set to be completed by the end of April. Mayor John Whitmire has also established an independent panel to review how the police handled the dropped cases, leading to the demotion of two assistant chiefs. Of the 264,000 incident reports, the police department has reviewed 67,533 so far. Finner emphasized that the department’s top priority is reaching out to individuals who reported sexual assaults, with over 3,800 cases already reviewed.
The internal code used to dismiss incident reports was created in 2016, before Finner became chief in April 2021. Finner only became aware of officers using the code in November 2021 and ordered it to stop, but discovered in February 2022 that it was still being utilized to dismiss a significant number of adult sexual assault cases. Finner admitted that he may have failed to follow up on the issue due to various challenges faced by the department, including a spike in crime during the pandemic, officer shortages, and the Astroworld music festival tragedy. Despite these challenges, Finner emphasized his responsibility as chief.
Community activists, including Cesar Espinosa of FIEL, a Houston-based civil rights group, attended the meeting and called for full transparency in the ongoing investigation and any resulting punishments. Espinosa stressed the importance of understanding what happened and preventing similar incidents in the future to avoid a sense of “business as usual.” Finner expressed a commitment to improving the department’s operations and ensuring accountability for the mishandled cases. The outcome of the internal affairs investigation and the actions taken by the police department will be closely monitored by the community and local leaders.
