Are Whitmire and the new HPD Chief advocating for excessive use of force by HPD? The $10,000 bonus for the cadets is great and I was going to write about that, but then I read the article in the Houston Chronicle and was surprised to read what Whitmire stated. Why were they picking on police in Travis County?
“They do their job, follow the law, follow their training. They’re getting in trouble in Austin,” Whitmire said. “I know for a fact that there’s some chatter in the Austin Police Department — understaffed, under-resourced and they have a very aggressive DA that sometimes goes to lengths to, what he would say, ‘hold officers accountable.’”
Whitmire said that the scrutiny of officers in Austin had cultivated an attitude where police choose not to intervene in certain situations for fear of being disciplined.
I decided to do some research on what the Travis County DA was doing. It seems that the City of Austin has had to pay over $20 million to residents for excessive use of force by some police officers.
The indictments were announced in February 2022. Travis County District Attorney José Garza said then, that the facts discovered through his office’s investigation of the incidents were “disturbing,” and that many protesters injured by law enforcement during the protests were “innocent bystanders.”
Several people also filed civil lawsuits against APD officers, the department and the city. Some of those cases have settled for millions of dollars. The city has paid out more than $20 million for civil lawsuits and eight civil suits remain pending tied to those protests.
Holding police officers responsible was a major element of Garza’s platform during his run for the district attorney seat. When he took office in January 2021, he said a major goal was to get excessive use-of-force cases by police officers in front of grand juries.
“It is so important that our community have faith and trust in our criminal justice system,” Garza told KXAN after he took office. “That they have faith if a law enforcement officer engages in misconduct, that if a law enforcement officer breaks the law, that they will be held accountable. So, that is our goal.”
If I understand correctly, if some police officers are accused of abusing residents, then the rest of the police will hold back and not do their job.
Most police officers are great, and many go through their entire careers without ever being complained about. However, the mayor of Houston seems to be indicating that the police have carte blanche to do as they please without worrying about charges being brought.
Someone forgot to give Tyreek Hill the driving while Black, especially if one is driving an expensive car. You treat those police officers out on the street like they the mastas from yesterday at the plantation. It may have been much worse for Mr. Hill without the video cameras. On the street, the police are judge, jury, and executioner.
A few quotes from the article in the Washington Post.
After the officer knocks on Hill’s window, he rolls it down and tells the officer not to do that. As Hill is asked why he is not wearing a seat belt, he repeatedly tells the officer, “Don’t knock on my window like that.”
After Hill hands his license to the officer, he says: “Just give me my ticket, bro, so I can go. I’m going to be late. Do what you’ve got to do.”
After that comment, Hill rolls his window back up, causing the officer to ask him to keep it down. Soon, the officer raises his voice as he repeats the command, and he tells Hill: “As a matter of fact, get out of the car. Get out of the car right now. We’re not playing this game.”
At that point, another officer can be seen opening Hill’s car door and pulling the player out of the vehicle. Three officers join in pushing Hill to the ground, with one of them telling him, “What part of that don’t you understand?”
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