Results tagged “houstonpoliceofficers”

Today’s Photo of the Day comes from flickr user and Houstonist photo contributor j-a-x. This lush greenery was photographed along Buffalo Bayou just a short hop from downtown near the Houston Police Officers' Memorial. __________________________________________________________ If you have a passion for Houston and photography, consider joining over 444 of Houston's best photographers in the Houstonist Flickr Photo Group. If Houstonist uses your photo for Photo Of The Day, submit it here. For more great...

Today through Friday, HPD will be observing National Police Week with a number of activities. The purpose of this week is to increase public awareness of the role of police officers and to remember and honor those who have given the ultimate sacrifice of their lives so that we live in safety and peace. Here's a rundown of what's going on in Houston to honor our hard-working police officers: Daily pre-scheduled tours and demonstrations at...

An odd story from HPD headquarters: Early Sunday morning, officers shot and killed a woman who lunged at them inside the building's lobby. It happened just after 2 a.m., when 42-year-old Marnell Villarreal showed up at the HPD building at 1200 Travis wanting to talk to an investigator. According to KTRK, officers sent her away because she had brought a weapon into the building before. She paced outside for a while, then came back into...

Good morning, Houston. Or should we say happy National Zucchini Bread Day? Yep, April 25 is the day to celebrate the delicious Southern tradition — so why not hit the kitchen and whip up a batch based on Emeril's recipe? And don't forget to send your friends a National Zucchini Bread Day e-card. No, seriously. >> Appeals court: Bible fight moot: The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled yesterday that the legal battle...

You've driven passed it a zillion times. You were probably in the midst of sipping a bit of your super chai metro coffee or applying some sort of eye make-up when you spotted the distinctive blue of the HPD cruiser parked out front. You slammed on your brakes in a last ditch attempt to stave off a ticket. Then you noticed that the police car was empty; no sirens were blaring after you. Your foot...

Details are starting to come out about HPD's new chase policy, which bars officers from chasing minor traffic offenders who refuse to stop and gives them the option of chasing major offenders, according to the Chronicle. If you didn't know there was a new policy, well, you're not alone: KHOU reports that it learned about the policy change when frustrated police officers began calling the station last night — there was apparently no official word...

The Chronicle checks in today on a slew of city ordinances that seem to be going largely — or totally — unenforced, including a ban put into effect last year on "pocket bikes," quick little motorcycles that councilmembers said were a nuisance and a hazard. Though riding the cycles on public streets was already illegal, City Council spent three meetings and hours of debate before passing an ordinance banning them in May 2005, a move...

HPD Chief Harold Hurtt is starting to respond to the complaints leveled against him in the police officers' union survey, saying officers were mistaken in calling him an overly strict disciplinarian. As a matter of fact, KHOU reports, he's practically a lovable old teddy bear in a uniform:

HPD Chief Harold Hurtt avoided a crash yesterday, and a group of his supporters are trying to help him avoid another one — the one that could be headed his way when the results of a police union survey come down. The survey, you'll remember, found that 75 percent of respondents said they had little or no confidence in Hurtt's ability to lead HPD. About 2,300 officers responded to the Houston Police Officers' Union survey,...

It looks like the gloves are coming off with regard to the Houston Police Officers' Union survey: Mark Clark, the union's executive director, tells KPRC he wants HPD Chief Harold Hurtt fired if he doesn't change. About 2,300 officers — roughly half of those on the force — responded to the 13-question survey, which dealt with conditions in the police department and Hurtt's ability to lead it. And the results weren't good for the chief: Seventy-five percent of respondents said they don't feel confident in Hurtt's ability to lead.

Fed up with what they claim is incompetent leadership by HPD Chief Harold Hurtt, the Houston Police Officers' Union has asked its members to rate Hurtt's competency. The rating will be done through a mail survey that was recently sent to 4,700 HPD officers, with the main question being whether Hurtt is able to run the department. In a statement on the union's website, President Hans Marticiuc said the survey has been several months in...

Ever wondered where you could find a traffic cop when you needed one? Well, soon it may not be that hard: Under a proposal from Mayor Bill White, HPD's traffic force may get some help from civilians. The suggestion of an average Joe traffic force is part of the mayor's FY 2007 budget proposal, which he sent to City Council this week.

To try to calm Taser critics, HPD is looking into equipping all its 3,700 Tasers with tiny cameras. Twenty officers across the city are now carrying video-equipped Tasers, which the department thinks might prove police are justified in using the weapons (or, we suppose, might show the opposite). Problem is, the cameras are part of modified Taser battery packs, so they only activate when the Tasers are turned on. That means the tapes only show the shot and what happens after it, not what provoked it. But is that a problem?

HPD investigators say 11 Katrina evacuees have been linked to a string of violent crimes in Houston; eight are in custody, but police are still looking for the other three A wrecker driver who crashed into a car on the East Loop on Wednesday, killing its driver, may not have been headed to a Safe Clear call, investigators say Houston-based Halliburton said it will spin off a minority stake in controversial subsidiary KBR, which has...