Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said he will announce the future of leadership at the city’s Police Department later this week.

Turner spoke at City Hall on Monday morning after news broke Sunday night that Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo is leaving to take the same job in Miami.

“I hate to see him leave the city of Houston,” Turner said as he congratulated Acevedo on his next chapter.

The mayor said Sunday was the first he had heard about Acevedo’s departure.

Turner said Acevedo, who took the job as chief of the Houston Police Department in 2016, is leaving the department in better shape than he found it.

Acevedo led HPD through some of the city’s most difficult times, such as Hurricane Harvey, the deadly Harding Street police raid, the George Floyd protests, and the recent winter storm.

“Art was the right person at the right time,” Turner said.

In Acevedo’s replacement, Turner said he is looking for someone who is focused on managing the department and its 5,300 officers with the resources that the city has available. He said he also wants someone who has similar community-relations skills as Acevedo.

Turner said that while Acevedo’s last day has not been set, he believes Acevedo will stay on a few more weeks to help with the transition.

Source: www.click2houston.com

Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo is leaving the department for a new job, according to the local police union.

Houston Police Office Union President Doug Griffith confirmed Acevedo has accepted the position to become the next police chief in Miami.

“We appreciate his service to Houston, and wish him the best in Miami,” Griffith said in a statement.

On Monday, Miami officials held a news conference to introduce Avecedo as the city’s new police chief. During the news conference, several of the leaders who spoke praised Acevedo for his dedication and hard work.

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez even called him the “best chief in America.”

“We’re very blessed to have someone in Art who not only has presided over three large departments but is someone who brings a tremendous ability, personality and has the right frame of mind to come in here and make this the best department on the planet.”

Acevedo spoke during the news conference in Miami and said he was not looking for the opportunity, but as a man of faith, he believed that God opened the door for him and it was the time to make a move.

“I love cops. I love good cops … I am here to tell you that when you do the right thing, I will lose my job before I sell you out,” Acevedo said referring to other officers on the force. “But if you want to be a member of the children of the corn that come to work every day figuring out, ‘How can I abuse somebody? How can I make the good look bad?’ I can tell you, you might as well resign because we will not tolerate mediocrity at the Miami Police Department.”

Acevedo served more than four years as HPD chief, leading more than 5,200 police officers and 1,000 support staff.

“I can say leaving will truly be bittersweet,” Acevedo said in an email to the department. “We have been through so much as an extended family; Hurricane Harvey, two World Series, a Super Bowl, Irma, the summer of protests, and most recently, an ice storm of epic proportion. On top of all of this, sadly we have buried 6 of our fallen heroes. No matter the challenge, you have all risen to the occasion, and you have honored the sacrifices of our fallen comrades with resiliency and sustained excellence.”

Acevedo said he “was not looking for this opportunity when it arose, but with the end of Turner’s final term in office fast approaching, and my strong desire to continue serving as a police officer, we decided the timing for this movie was good.”

In the email, Acevedo said executive assistant chiefs Matt Slinkard and Troy Finner “are ready and highly capable” to move the department forward.

Source: www.click2houston.com

Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill reinstated the charge after the former officer, Derek Chauvin, failed to get appellate courts to block it. Cahill had earlier rejected the charge as not warranted by the circumstances of Floyd’s death, but an appellate court ruling in an unrelated case established new grounds.

Chauvin already faced second-degree murder and manslaughter charges. Legal experts say the additional charge helps prosecutors by giving jurors another option to find Chauvin guilty of murder. Cahill told potential jurors after the ruling that he still expects opening statements on March 29.

The dispute over the third-degree murder charge revolved around wording in the law that references an act “eminently dangerous to others.” Cahill’s initial decision to dismiss the charge noted that Chauvin’s conduct might be construed as not dangerous to anyone but Floyd.

But prosecutors sought to revive the charge after the state’s Court of Appeals recently upheld the third-degree murder conviction of another former Minneapolis police officer in the 2017 killing of an Australian woman. They argued that the ruling established precedent that the charge could be brought even in a case where only a single person is endangered.

Arguments over when the precedent from former officer Mohamed Noor’s case took effect went swiftly to the state’s Supreme Court, which on Wednesday said it would not consider Chauvin’s appeal. Cahill said Thursday that he accepts that precedent has been clearly established.

“I feel bound by that and I feel it would be an abuse of discretion not to grant the motion,” he said.

Floyd was declared dead on May 25 after Chauvin, who is white, pressed his knee against the Black man’s neck for about nine minutes. Floyd’s death sparked sometimes violent protests in Minneapolis and beyond, leading to a nationwide reckoning on race.

Jury selection resumed Thursday for the third day as attorneys grappled further with the challenges of seating an impartial and diverse jury in such a high-profile case. By day’s end, the jury included five men and one woman. Cahill said three are white, one is multiracial, one is Hispanic and one is Black.

The sole juror picked Thursday described himself as an outgoing, family-oriented soccer fan for whom the prospect of the trial was “kind of exciting.”

The man, who said his favorite team is the Spanish powerhouse Real Madrid, said he’s also a fan of true crime podcasts and TV shows. He acknowledged under questioning from defense attorney Eric Nelson that he had a “very negative” impression of Chauvin. The man wrote on his questionnaire that he had seen the widely viewed bystander video of Floyd “desperately screaming that he couldn’t breathe” even as other officers stood by and bystanders shouted that Chauvin was killing Floyd.

Yet asked whether he could set his opinions aside and stick to the evidence presented in court, he replied: “I’m willing to see all the evidence and everything, hear witnesses.”

Several other candidates were dismissed, including a woman who said she “can’t unsee the video” of Chauvin pinning Floyd, and a man who said he has doubts about Black Lives Matter and the way the group pursues its goals.

Nelson pressed the woman hard on her ability to be fair despite her strong opinions.

Asked how the events of last summer had affected the community, she replied: “Negatively affected because a life was taken. Positively because a movement has come from it and the whole world knows.” Asked about the property damage during the unrest, she said, ”I felt that was what needed to happen to bring this to the world’s attention.”

“Looking in your heart and looking in your mind can you assure us you can set all of that aside, all of that, and focus only on the evidence that is presented in this courtroom?” Nelson asked.

“I can assure you, but as you mentioned earlier, the video is going to be a big part of the evidence and there’s no changing my mind about that,” she replied.

Cahill dismissed her for cause, sparing Nelson from having to use one of his peremptory strikes. Prosecutor Steve Schleicher objected, saying she might have been subjected to harder questioning than other potential jurors.

At least three weeks have been set aside to complete a jury of 12 plus two alternates. Potential jurors’ identities are being protected and they are not shown on the live-streamed video of the proceedings.

Chauvin and three other officers were fired. The others face an August trial on aiding and abetting charges. The defense hasn’t said whether Chauvin will testify in his own defense.

Source: www.click2houston.com