HPD, HAWC and city leaders address domestic and gun violence in Houston; officials raise awareness for victims
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month and on Monday, several key leaders addressed how the violence is impacting the City of Houston and the resources available to victims and their families.
4 hurt after string of shootings in close proximity in northwest Houston neighborhood, police say
HOUSTON โ Four people are hurt after a string of shootings broke out just minutes apart from each other in northwest Houston Tuesday, police said. Police said three men and a woman were found shot at the three different nearby locations-- Stallings Drive near Genemuary Street, Stallings Drive near Whitehead Street, and Beckley Street near Ellington Street. Investigators said they are still trying to determine if all three shootings are connected. The first man told officers he was shot in the leg by someone who sprayed his house with bullets. Police said a third man crashed his car into a ditch at some point after he was shot in the neck.
17 people shot this weekend in Houston, including four teenagers
HOUSTON โ Between Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 17 people including four teenagers were shot in Houston, the most of any weekend this year and part of a growing trend of violence in the city. โWe havenโt seen this kind of violence, since the late 80s and early 90s when crack first hit the streets here in Houston,โ said Doug Griffith, the president of the Houston Police Officers Union. Mayor Sylvester Turner began his Monday press conference addressing the shootings, instead of COVID-19, calling his administrationโs commitment to reducing crime โour top priority.โโWe cannot blame everything on the pandemic in Houston,โ Turner said. โWe have a situation that we need to address in our city.โOf the 17 people shot over the weekend, six did not survive their injuries. โOur community/region had too much gun violence this weekend.
1 wounded, 1 charged as road rage shootings continue to rise in Houston
HOUSTON โ Houston police say road rage incidents are on the rise. Road rage was to blame again on Monday when a Katy man was shot and wounded by an irate drive near Katy. Sammon said the freeway ramp narrows from three lanes to two lanes to one, and thatโs where the trouble started. Even wounded, Sammon said it wasnโt hard for him to identify the vehicle to police, as the ownerโs business name and phone number were on the back window. He is charged with a 2nd-degree felony, which means he could face up to 20 years in prison if heโs convicted.
HPD investigating 3 shootings in north Houston in less than 2 hours
HOUSTON โ Houston Police Department is investigating three shootings across different locations in north Houston. Around 2:30 p.m., police responded to reports of a major crash at West Little York Road and De Priest Street. Less than an hour later, another shooting occurred at Knox Street and West Little York Road. Shortly after, there was a third shooting on the 800 block of De Priest Street. Anyone with information on these cases is asked to call the HPD homicide division at 713-308-3600 or Crime Stoppers Houston at 713-222-TIPS.
Woman killed, 3 injured in southeast Houston shootings, police say
HOUSTON โ An investigation is underway after a shooting that left a woman dead in southeast Houston Wednesday, police said. Officers said they responded to reports of a shooting in the 4600 block of Aledo Street around 10:26 p.m. Southeast officers are at a shooting at 4624 Aledo St. One patient transported to an area hospital. #hounews CC13 โ Houston Police (@houstonpolice) October 29, 2020Police said the woman was transported to the hospital by an ambulance, where she was pronounced dead. #hounews CC13 โ Houston Police (@houstonpolice) October 29, 2020According to investigators, two other gunshot victims arrived at the hospital in unknown conditions.
Police contracts can stand in the way of accountability
A police officer engages with a protester Wednesday, July 1, 2020, in Seattle, where streets had been blocked off in an area demonstrators had occupied for weeks. Seattle police showed up in force earlier in the day at the "occupied" protest zone, tore down demonstrators' tents and used bicycles to herd the protesters after the mayor ordered the area cleared following two fatal shootings in less than two weeks. The "Capitol Hill Occupied Protest" zone was set up near downtown following the death of George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
Police contracts can stand in the way of accountability
Collective bargaining agreements for officers provide protections that stand in the way of accountability, even when the federal government is overseeing an agency through a consent decree, experts said. Contracts designed to ensure officers receive fair wages and benefits have spilled over into public policy. These examples bolster the hypothesis that some union contract provisions may impede effective investigations of police misconduct and shield problematic officers from discipline, Rushin said. The city entered into a settlement agreement, or consent decree, the following year and passed an accountability measure for additional oversight. One Seattle officer who benefited from the union contract in recent years was Cynthia Whitlach.
The Latest: Warren won't prosecute peaceful protesters
Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren, right, speaks during a news conference Monday, June 15, 2020, in Tampa, Fla. Warren announced his decision not to prosecute dozens of protesters arrested on charges of unlawful assembly during a Black Lives Matter march on June 2. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)TOP OF THE HOUR: Florida state attorney won't prosecute peaceful protesters. State Attorney Andrew Warren in Tampa said that his office wont be filing charges against 67 protesters who were arrested two weeks ago in downtown Tampa. The prosecutors office will also work to expunge the arrest records of the protesters who were taken into custody, he said. In these unlawful assembly cases, there is no value in filing charges, Warren said at a news conference.