13 Investigates: Woman assaulted while sleeping among HPD cases suspended due to staff

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- As Houston Mayor John Whitmire announced an independent panel to review the police department's handling of more than 261,000 cases that were not investigated due to lack of staff, 13 Investigates is learning more about those alleged crimes.

ABC13 obtained copies of sexual assault and other incident reports that the Houston Police Department marked with an "SL" code, meaning the cases were suspended due to lack of personnel.
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In one report, a 35-year-old woman alleges someone entered her apartment, and she woke up to that person "kissing her buttocks," according to an HPD report.

That case happened in 2018 and wasn't followed up due to a lack of personnel.

RELATED: Houston Police Department remains disorganized and without answers as their biggest scandal unfolds


Houston police Chief Troy Finner said officers first started using the "SL" code in 2016. He said when he learned about it, he told officers in November 2021 to stop using the code, but since then, 13 Investigates found the code has been used more than 114,200 times.
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In another report we obtained, a 33-year-old complained to police that he was "sexually assaulted by the (suspect) who is a friend of a friend."



It appears the suspect is someone the victim knew and could identify and lead police to if they had investigated, but it was assigned the lack of personnel code.
That incident was reported to police in February, just weeks before Finner released a statement on Feb. 16 saying, "I have learned a significant number of adult assault cases were suspended due to 'Lack of Personnel,' which is unacceptable. Sexual assaults are some of the most traumatic crimes for victims and their families."

RELATED: HPD code suspending cases 'manipulated' Houston crime rate in prior admins, Mayor Whitmire says

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Another incident that received the lack of personnel code was described as "Injury to a child - Aggravated assault with a deadly weapon."

In another report, a man said, "his power steering failed while driving. (The) mechanic found a broken steering rod that appears to have been cut by a power tool."

He wanted police to investigate who did it, but the case was marked as "lack of personnel."

Contact 13 Investigates

Do you think your case was suspended due to a lack of HPD personnel? As 13 Investigates continues looking into this, we want to hear from you. (On mobile? You can open our form by tapping here.)