Gov. Abbott calls out Houston police over sex assault case suspensions

HOUSTON – Texas Governor Greg Abbott is weighing in on the news that thousands of investigations including over 4,000 sexual assault investigations were suspended due to a lack of personnel at the Houston Police Department.

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Abbott references a case where a rape case was suspended due to short staff and the person who allegedly committed the rape went on to commit another one.

• ‘It’s a dark day’: HPD Chief Troy Finner admits he knew about sex assault cases not being investigated since 2021

“He should have never been roaming free on our streets,” Abbott said in the post.

KPRC 2 has not been able to independently verify Abbott’s claim.

• Houston Mayor John Whitmire worries about resource drain as HPD investigates suspension of over 260,000 criminal cases

“I propose cities be legally liable for this negligence,” Abbott went on to say.

The governor’s comment comes several weeks after Houston Police Chief Troy Finner made the announcement that the cases were suspended. In total, over 260,000 cases were suspended, including over 4,000 sexual assault cases.

SEE MORE:

Sexual assault cases not investigated by HPD? Potentially ‘2000 cases’ were ‘suspended’ according to department’s union

Mishandling, delayed response time to sexual assault reports may be ongoing problem in Houston, Harris Co.

TIMELINE: Houston Police Department’s mishandling of sexual assault cases