The following is from the Houston Chronicle:
Houston Police Chief Noe Diaz and his executive chief were no-shows Tuesday at a long-planned city council hearing to discuss the agency’s cooperation with federal immigration authorities, spurring heavy criticism from council members about the department’s lack of transparency.
The tense exchange was the latest in a series of contentious debates at City Hall this year over the role the Houston Police Department has played in an immigration crackdown that began early in President Donald Trump’s second administration.
City attorneys explained Diaz and Executive Chief Thomas Hardin’s absence from the Tuesday hearing as driven by a recent lawsuit a Honduran citizen filed against the city. That suit was filed three weeks ago, however, and Diaz and Hardin were listed on the committee agenda as recently as Monday afternoon.The lone HPD speaker at the Tuesday hearing was Jim Mallard, a division manager in the office of data governance. Under a barrage of questions from council, city attorneys instructed Mallard not to answer, saying he was prevented from doing so by attorney-client privilege, or Mallard declined to answer, saying he couldn’t speak to most policy questions. Mallard did answer basic questions about data listed in the one-page report.
After taking questions from council members, Mallard quickly left the room. An HPD spokesperson declined to let him answer reporters’ questions and referred inquiries to the city attorney’s office.
“I just want to say that the HPD representative left the room before the public had time to speak,” Council Member Alejandra Salinas said. “Apparently, they think it’s not worth their time hearing the public speak on this matter.”
Salinas, who led efforts this spring to pass the ordinance briefly limiting the police department’s relationship with ICE, questioned whether Diaz needed to skip the hearing and accused city attorneys of misusing attorney-client privilege in preventing the discussion.
Salinas noted HPD leaders had rescheduled the hearing for Tuesday after the Honduran man sued the city, but never said department brass wouldn’t attend.
“From our conversations, the chief seems to think they’re doing the right thing,” Salinas said. “If they truly believed that, I have no idea why they’re afraid to explain their actions.”
“You all have been at the civic club and super neighborhood meetings,” said Robert Gallegos, a former council member who spoke during the comment period. “We are upset and scared. We thought we’d get some answers this morning, but it has unfortunately turned into a dog-and-pony show.”
Council Member Joaquin Martinez said the council had been discussing how HPD had seen a breakdown of community trust in the last year, and felt it was important for department leaders to address it.
“I’m disappointed no one from HPD’s command staff is here,” Martinez said.
Report a crime, and HPD will call ICE if you are not here legally, at least sometimes
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