HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — The Houston Police Department has finally released a cache of internal documents exposing the controversial practice of suspending thousands of criminal investigations, many involving serious offenses, due to staffing shortages.
These records, obtained only after a lengthy public information request battle, include revealing internal communications leading up to a Friday night social media post in which HPD admitted it had failed to investigate a significant number of sexual assault cases.
The fallout would soon lead to intense scrutiny and top-level resignations, including Chief Troy Finner, who retired exactly one year ago.
But the story goes deeper.
In February of last year, then-Chief Finner publicly expressed frustration over unsolved adult sex crime cases, initially estimating around 4,000 affected reports. But within days, that number exploded to more than 260,000 cases across a wide range of crimes, robbery, theft, and assaults that were never investigated. The scandal would lead to Finner’s retirement and trigger a sweeping internal affairs investigation.
Now, 13 Investigates has obtained those internal statements.
One lieutenant from the Special Victims Division revealed he was aware of the controversial case-suspension code as far back as 2016, and was never told to stop until last year. This directly contradicts Finner’s assertion that he ordered the practice to stop in 2021.
Several other commanders also contradicted statements made by the chief and his assistant chiefs, further muddying the department’s timeline of accountability. Another statement revealed that a 2016 state audit flagged concerns about the suspension code, but no corrective action was taken.
The more than 100 pages of documents detail exactly who knew what, and when. HPD fought hard to keep them out of public view.
“It’s been over a year since I first requested them,” said 13 Investigates producer Sarah Rafique, who filed the records request in April 2024. Despite the Texas Attorney General ordering HPD to release the records in June, it wasn’t until nearly a year later, just before 6 p.m. Wednesday evening, that the documents finally appeared in Rafique’s inbox.
“It just shows they did not want this information to get out,” said Rafique. “They were trying to withhold public information that is of interest to everyone.”
The documents offer a rare look into how senior leadership responded to the fallout and tried to protect themselves.
HPD referred 13 Investigates to the department’s final report on the matter, in response to a request for comment.
Mayor John Whitmire told 13 Investigates, “In my administration, officers were told to end codes as soon as they were discovered. Immediately.”
This is a developing story.
Keep up with the Houston Police Department with us on Que Onda Magazine.