Houston Mayor Whitmire announces independent panel to review HPD's suspended cases
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Mayor John Whitmire has announced an independent panel will review the Houston Police Department's handling of suspended cases. This comes weeks after Houston police announced 264,000 cases were not investigated because of a lack of investigators.
The mayor did not immediately say who would serve on the panel but told ABC13 that an announcement would be released in the coming days. That seems to be the pattern with this whole mess - small updates are given, and then part two of that update will come at some point. The fluid timeline has been frustrating for victims and victim advocates Eyewitness News has heard from.
"Don't give up hope. Bug them. Let them know you still want to be a part of your case. You want justice done for what was done to you," Amy Smith with the Harris County Domestic Violence Council said.
After eight years of cases being suspended, getting a case looked at may take more than just reminding investigators.
With 264,000 cases left uninvestigated, we're starting to see some of the first repercussions for a code many say never should have existed.
PREVIOUS REPORT: Houston Mayor Whitmire has 'full confidence in the chief' after 260K cases found to be suspended
The code is a title assigned to a case when it was determined there weren't enough investigators to work it.
"It's a very serious matter, and it is shocking to me. Someone who works in criminal justice for the last 30 years, chair of a committee in Austin, and I can't believe there wasn't some police officer or some administrator to sound the alarm about what's going on over there," Whitmire said.
ABC13 learned assistant chiefs Kevin Deese and Ernest Garcia were demoted over the failure. Assistant chiefs are in charge of signing off on changes to the Houston police handbook, which, as of last week, still contained the code allowing cases to go to the wayside.
Police would not say if Desse and Garcia had a hand in approving the handbook or what position they were demoted to.
RELATED: Code still in Houston police handbook despite Chief Finner asking for its removal 2 years ago
On Wednesday, Houston Police Union Vice President Ken Nealy said they also haven't been given many answers.
"We did recently have the chief of police demote some people off the command side as assistant chief. We're not sure why he made that decision. It is his decision. We really won't speak on that," Nealy said.
ABC13 has filed a number of open records requests, asking surrounding agencies if they have a similar practice of setting cases aside because they don't have the manpower. Of those who have responded, it's been a resounding "no" across the board.
After weeks of no one being made available to us, HPD officials are scheduled to speak to the press on Thursday at 11:30 a.m.
For more news updates, follow Lileana Pearson on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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