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Are Houston Police Corrupt?
By admin | July 30, 2010
In every town there are people who respect the police force and people who cannot stand the police force. In every town there are “good cops” and “bad cops.” In Houston, however, there seems to be a growing consensus that the Houston police are little more than bullies hiding behind a badge, doing what they can to terrorize the citizens of a great city.
Sure there are probably some people who incite the ill will of police officers, but a look at some of the city’s local forums and sites that report on police actions will show you: Houston police are kinda iffy. It doesn’t stop with police officers, even the security staffers in Houston seem to be on some kind of power trip.
One man who was visiting the Texas Renaissance Festival with his wife and two young children had his throat grabbed and his arm twisted behind his back and was forcibly removed from the festival and threatened with jail time after simply asking a security officer where a restroom was located. The question was asked near closing time, and the man was not allowed to alert his family to where he was being taken.
In one incident, a police offer shot and killed a teenage boy in a case of mistaken identity and was only given six months time served.
In Bellaire, two young men were injured (one was shot in the chest) after a police officer forced them to the ground and accused them of driving a stolen vehicle. The young men were unarmed and the police officer didn’t identify himself as an officer of the law, he simply ran at the men ordering them to the ground and shoving the mother of one of the young men against a wall when she came outside to see what was happening.
In October 2008 five officers were given a deal after being proven guilty of taking bribes to overlook illegal goings on in a variety of Houston cantinas. The police officers told the cantina owners to pay them to keep from being arrested and they were allowed to plea down to minimal sentencing and fines.
One police officer forced a woman to have sex with him after he arrested her for shoplifting and was able to plea down to a misdemeanor for tampering with a government record.
What do you think of all of this? What are the police officers like in your area of Houston? Have you had any unpleasant run ins or are the officers in your neighborhood friendly and honorable? Certainly there are plenty of police officers who are great at their jobs and do provide valuable service to the communities they serve. What has your experience with your local law enforcement been like? Do you feel safe or are you just as afraid of the police department in your neighborhood as you are of any criminals that might be running around?
For more information on Houston, Texas visit http://www.houstonblog.org and http://www.houstonmicroblog.com.