Current:Home > MyHouston mayor says police chief is out amid probe into thousands of dropped cases-LoTradeCoin
Houston mayor says police chief is out amid probe into thousands of dropped cases
View Date:2024-12-23 21:53:06
HOUSTON (AP) — The mayor of Houston has accepted the retirement of the city’s police chief as the department investigates why thousands of cases including sexual assault crimes were dropped, a city spokesperson said Wednesday.
Mayor John Whitmire accepted the retirement of Police Chief Troy Finner, who is stepping away following reports Tuesday that he was aware of a code used to drop the cases, years before acknowledging its existence.
Whitmire appointed assistant Chief Larry Satterwhite as acting chief and will discuss the chief’s retirement during a City Council meeting Wednesday, according to spokesperson Mary Benton.
Finner’s retirement comes as police investigate the dropping of more 4,000 sexual assault cases that are among more than 264,000 incident reports never submitted for investigation due to staffing issues during the past eight years.
Finner, who joined the Houston police department in 1990 and became chief in 2021, announced the investigation in March after revealing that officers were assigning an internal code to the unsubmitted cases that cited a lack of personnel available.
Finner apologized at that point, saying he had ordered officers to stop in November 2021 after finding out for the first time that officers had been using the code to justify dropping cases. Despite this, he said, he learned on Feb. 7 of this year that it was still being used to dismiss a significant number of adult sexual assault cases.
On Tuesday, several Houston TV stations reported that Finner was included and responded to an email in 2018 referring to the suspended cases.
Finner posted a statement on X saying he did not remember that email until he was shown a copy of it on Tuesday. “I have always been truthful and have never set out to mislead anyone about anything,” Finner wrote.
“Even though the phrase ‘suspended lack of personnel’ was included in the 2018 email, there was nothing that alerted me to its existence as a code or how it was applied within the department,” Finner wrote.
veryGood! (9634)
Related
- NYC bans unusual practice of forcing tenants to pay real estate brokers hired by landlords
- Biden apologizes to Ukrainian President Zelenskyy for holdup on military aid: We're still in
- New Jersey businessman who pleaded guilty to trying to bribe Sen. Bob Menendez with Mercedes testifies in corruption trial
- Judge orders temporary halt to UC academic workers’ strike over war in Gaza
- See Megan Fox, Machine Gun Kelly, Brian Austin Green and Sharna Burgess' Blended Family Photos
- Glen Powell Shares His One Rule for Dating After Finding Fame
- New York City police officer arrested in New Jersey road rage shooting, authorities say
- Kia issues 'park outside' recall for over 460,000 Telluride vehicles due to fire risk
- Champions Classic is for elite teams. So why is Michigan State still here? | Opinion
- Appeals court upholds conviction of British national linked to Islamic State
Ranking
- All Social Security retirees should do this by Nov. 20
- The Brat Pack met the Rat Pack when Andrew McCarthy, Rob Lowe partied with Sammy Davis Jr.
- Elizabeth Smart Reveals How She Manages Her Worries About Her Own Kids' Safety
- Northern lights forecast: Why skywatchers should stay on alert for another week
- Full House's John Stamos Shares Message to Costar Dave Coulier Amid Cancer Battle
- Rare 7-foot fish washed ashore on Oregon’s coast garners worldwide attention
- The 42 Best Amazon Deals Right Now: $8 Adidas Shorts, $4.50 Revlon Foundation & More Discounts
- Who are the highest-paid players in the WNBA? A list of the top 10 salaries in 2024.
Recommendation
-
AIT Community Introduce
-
New York governor defends blocking plan that would toll Manhattan drivers to pay for subway repairs
-
Former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows pleads not guilty in Arizona’s fake elector case
-
Judge says fair trial impossible and drops murder charges against parents in 1989 killing of boy
-
Vegas Sphere reports revenue decline despite hosting UFC 306, Eagles residency
-
A man in Mexico died with one form of bird flu, but US officials remain focused on another
-
Edmonton Oilers vs. Florida Panthers is a Stanley Cup Final of teams far apart in every way
-
Louisville, Kentucky, Moves Toward Cleaning Up Its ‘Gully of the Drums’ After More Than Four Decades