Why are these officers still on the street?
If you did your job like they do theirs, you'd likely be fired - but not at HPD
"Criminal justice professor Larry Hoover said HPD's disciplinary system of gradually imposing more severe suspensions, coupled with the ability of an officer to appeal a firing to an arbitrator, makes it hard to get rid of bad officers."
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7493564.html
Amen! Unions are bad, period! They are especially bad when representing pubic employees. There is no "other side" when politicians are opposing their benefactors.
I have to disagree with the last part. Citizens are responsible for their government. Houstonians have been negligent in that responsibility by allowing HPD to behave as it has.
If they get hit hard enough in the pocket, they'll either wake up to their duty or have their city turn into Detroit.