Police officers' union asking Chief Finner to recuse himself from HPD suspended cases investigation

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- After an independent panel was tasked to review the Houston Police Department's handling of more than 261,000 cases suspended due to lack of staff, Chief Troy Finner is being asked not to be part of that investigation.

In a letter sent to Finner and Mayor John Whitmire, the Houston Police Officers' Union requested the chief "be recused from any involvement in the investigative findings or outcomes in the case." The union's letter also cites "an inherent conflict of interest among HPD leadership" as part of the reason.

"At the end of the day, we have to make sure the public is comfortable with our investigation," Doug Griffith, HPOU president, said.

The union added that for the public to trust the investigation's outcome, Finner needs to get his hands off it.

"Chief Finner simply cannot be in charge of an investigation (that he) has a vested interest in the outcome," HPOU counsel Aaron Suder said.

Griffith thinks the investigation should be sent to an outside source like the attorney general, allowing HPD to focus on the work and giving the public no chance to second guess the investigative outcome.

"If we're spending hundreds of manpower hours on an internal investigation when we should be investigating these crimes that were missed, then we need to prioritize," Griffith said.

The union's letter to the mayor and chief on Monday said just that. Whitmire and Finner have yet to respond to the union. Suder said they needed to at least try to press the issue.

"Hope springs eternal. We always hope HPD will do the right thing and that city leadership will do the right thing. We're prepared for them not to do the right thing," Suder said.

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 that the code has been used more than 114,200 times.

Whitmire has vowed to personally report the panel's findings to Houstonians rather than having the information funnel through HPD.

"We want transparency, credibility, accountability, not only (about) how this happened, but you're witnessing what we're doing about it, but (also) what we're doing to prevent it in the future," Whitmire said last week.

Panel members include former councilwoman and state Rep. Ellen Cohen, current Texas Ranger Jeff Owles, city attorney Arturo Michel, Houston deputy inspector general overseeing police reform and accountability Christina Nowak, and reverend and Harris County Sheriff's Chaplin Leon Preston.

Finner has previously stated that about 130 investigators have reviewed more than 3,000 reports and visited 752 homes since he first announced the problem.

"I want to remind people, I'm the one who went to the mayor and said, 'You know what? This code was used in the wrong way.' I want to open up everything," Finner said.

So far, two assistant chiefs have been demoted.

The police union believes Finner's involvement and previous statements should also be subjects of the investigation, as they allege facts he's provided have yet to be proven accurate.

The letter also questions Finner's knowledge of the SL code, when the discovery was made, and if the code was only relabeled and continued to be practiced.

"We wish to make clear that we are respectful of Chief Finner and his many years of distinguished service with the Houston Police Department, and we are not casting aspersions on his character," the union stated. "We only request that a truly fair and impartial investigation be conducted."

The union said they don't want history to repeat itself after saying it saw those in higher positions claim they had no idea what was happening in their department and placed blame on their subordinates.

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