Houston Police Chief Bradford Indicted

Houston Chronicle ^ | September 6, 2002

[Dog Gone]

HPD Chief Bradford indicted

Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle

Houston Police Chief C.O. Bradford, who has come under fire for a recent mass arrest at a westside Kmart, has been indicted by a Harris County grand jury over perjury allegations unrelated to the Kmart incident.

Perjury is a third-degree felony, punishable by two to 10 years in prison.

Bradford testified before the grand jury about allegations that he lied under oath during a May disciplinary hearing for Capt. Mark Aguirre, who led the controversial Aug. 18 Kmart raid that ended with 273 arrests.

The rift between Bradford and Aguirre deepened Tuesday as the two testified before the grand jury investigating the perjury allegations against Bradford.

Grand jurors looked into Aguirre's allegations that Bradford lied during Aguirre's civil-service grievance hearing in May.

Aguirre was reprimanded in November 2001 after a subordinate complained that the captain had used profanity with him. Aguirre appealed that reprimand and was granted a hearing before the Civil Service Commission. Bradford testified under oath at that hearing that he had never used profanity with his subordinates, testimony later contradicted by J.L. Breshears, HPD's executive assistant chief.

It was Bradford's testimony, and Breshears' contradiction, that sparked the grand jury's perjury investigation.

"This issue has been out there since May," Bradford said on his way to testify Tuesday. "This is an opportunity for me to respond to the allegations. I look forward to testifying before the grand jury."

Terry Yates, Aguirre's attorney, said Aguirre would not comment on his testimony. Yates said grand jurors are giving the case a full hearing, far better than the treatment he said Aguirre is getting from HPD in an unrelated incident.

Aguirre, a 23-year HPD veteran, was suspended with pay Aug. 24 for his role in a police raid at a Kmart parking lot a week earlier that led to the arrests of 273 people, mostly teenagers. The arrests sparked accusations of harassment.

Aguirre, who was the senior officer on duty the night of the arrests, said HPD's administration was fully aware of the planned arrests, but that Bradford was making him a scapegoat.

Aguirre said the arrests were intended to crack down on illegal drag racers who use the Kmart parking lot on Westheimer as a staging area. Although officers found no drag racing that night, they arrested hundreds on such charges of attempted trespassing. Many of those arrested said they were customers swept up in the raids and that police ignored evidence they had done nothing wrong.

The arrests, which are being investigated by HPD's internal affairs division, led to the suspension of Aguirre and 12 other police supervisors and a $100 million federal lawsuit against the city.

[js1138]

Does anyone besides me suspect that the K-Mart fiasco might have been a set-up to get Aguirre?

[Grut]

...might have been a set-up to get Aguirre?

If so, then Aguirre must have been in on it.

[js1138]

Nobody said he was real bright.

[Dog Gone]

I don't think so. The deep background on Aguirre is that he'd been conducting similar sweeps of homeless people and transients around the bus terminal downtown. He liked doing arrests of people he considered undesirable as a way of "cleaning up neighborhoods." Any pretext would do.

But until that weekend, he hadn't tried on middle class citizens, only those who were unlikely to complain.

By all accounts, he fought for control of the planned K-Mart raid.

I don't think there's much doubt that Bradford and Aguirre don't like each other, but I don't think Bradford set him up, unless you mean that Bradford knew what might happen and didn't try to prevent it.

Bradford and Aguirre are BOTH idiots.

[stumpy]

After clintoon, perjury is merely a "civil" offense. Pay a fine (or set up a legal fund to have somebody ELSE pay YOUR fine).

[js1138]

If you tell a moron to play in heavy traffic, you're setting him up.

;)

[dtel]

If they look too closely at Harris County LEO, they better have hazmat suits and bring some strong fumigant.
This could get real ugly.

[scab4faa]

Ping

[gunnedah]

This dude may need Bill Clinton to defend him.

[anymouse]

So when do they go after mayor LeePeeBrown?

[Thud]

This is grand entertainment!

[Dog Gone]

It is our little Peyton Place. It's quite entertaining, especially if you live outside the city limits and won't be on the hook for the mess they're making.

[Thud]

20 years ago I persuaded a judge to order the arrest of every narcotics officer in my county. He stayed the warrants and, when the returns came in, found the courtroom clogged with camera crews. We reconvened in the jury room only to find that that the officers had written Free the Modesto Ten on the blackboard.

[Dog Gone]

Somehow, that doesn't sound catchy enough to become a national slogan. ;-)

[sport]

Didn't bill clinton demonestrate that perjury is not a crime?

[BIGZ]

Anyone have a picture of Bradford.

[socal_parrot]

[Dog Gone]

Good looking man, but very dumb to swear under oath that he had never used profanity.

This is Houston, *&(#@!, and everyone uses profanity once in a while.

[jackbill]

Oh, are we talking another Affirmative Action case here? Surprise, surprise.