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Houston PD's Aguirre claims he was used as scapegoat
Houston Chronicle ^ | January 30, 2003 | KRISTEN MACK

Posted on 01/30/2003 6:24:19 AM PST by Dog Gone

The Houston police captain who ordered the arrests of 303 people at westside raids was fired Wednesday, ending a five-month investigation that tarnished the careers of 32 officers and cost the department $123,000.

Acting Police Chief Tim Oettmeier announced Mark Aguirre's firing during his report to City Council on the August raids targeting drag racing. He said 31 other officers were disciplined.

"The intentional bad acts of a certain few were exacerbated by an ignorance of the law, ineffective management, lackadaisical supervision and just plain sloppy police work," Oettmeier said.

In Aguirre's first public comment since late August, he lambasted Oettmeier and the Houston Police Department, saying they made him a scapegoat for a dysfunctional department.

"They treated me like a department piñata," Aguirre said. "This department is hopelessly corrupt, and this is a grotesque charade posing as justice."

Aguirre, indicted on five counts of official oppression in connection with the raids at the Kmart and James Coney Island parking lots, had been suspended since August.

His lawyer, Terry Yates, said Aguirre will be exonerated at his trial and will prove that he followed procedure and did nothing illegal.

"What we witnessed was nothing more than the political lynching of Aguirre, and they used Oettmeier as the henchman," Yates said.

Aguirre's firing came a day after Sgt. Ken Wenzel, also indicted on five counts of official oppression, announced he was resigning rather than possibly face termination. Wenzel, from the South Central Patrol Division, quit just hours before a scheduled hearing with Oettmeier on Tuesday.

The Aug. 18 raid at the Kmart in the 8400 block of Westheimer was planned to target drag racers. When no racers were found, officers arrested 278 people on charges of trespassing and curfew violations. Another 25 were arrested the night before at the nearby James Coney Island.

The arrests sparked a public uproar, and all the charges were dismissed and are being expunged at the city's expense, which could cost $165,000. Several lawsuits have been filed against the city and HPD.

"It would have been impossible to prove any of the criminal cases in court," Oettmeier said of the raids. "There was a blatant disregard of policy and procedures."

The game plan Aguirre executed was not approved by the assistant chief, Oettmeier said. Officers herded people with little guidance and did not ask non-customers to leave or face arrest, as the law requires, he said.

Another 30 officers involved in the raids have been disciplined -- ranging from demotions, suspensions and written reprimands.

Oettmeier said those officers were disciplined because of their conduct, including the way they treated people and their responsibility to know laws and procedures.

Several council members questioned the repercussions an officer would face if they questioned a superior's orders. Hans Marticiuc, president of the Houston Police Officers Union, said officers who question orders are suspended on the spot.

"It's well established that you don't question authority in this department," he said. "This department is ... managed by discipline. There is no room or toleration for questioning authority."

Officers who went on the raids followed what they believed to be lawful orders, Marticiuc said. Even those who questioned the legality ahead of time were assured the plan was sanctioned and that the higher-ups would support them, he said.

"The city is covering its behind on the backs of officers," Marticiuc said. "The department, as well as the city, is looking to limit liability. What we're looking for is leadership to take us out of this rut we appear to be in."

Oettmeier conceded there is a fine line between questioning an order and directly disobeying it, and that there is no template on how to handle a situation.

While council members thought Oettmeier handled himself well and took responsibility for the debacle, they feel it is important now to create department policies to ensure this isn't repeated.

"We have not established a procedure, and you have to do that to protect your rank-and-file officers, otherwise you force them to make subjective judgments that are open to political criticism and that's no way to police," Councilman Michael Berry said.

After the raids led to the largest internal investigation in HPD history, Oettmeier acknowledged that officers are looking for direction from management.

Councilman Gabriel Vasquez said the probe suggested there is a systemic problem in HPD.

"Somewhere there was a breakdown in the accountability system of control," he said.

It will be up to Police Chief C.O. Bradford to establish follow-up procedures and make corrective actions, Oettmeier said.

Bradford, acquitted last week of aggravated perjury charges in an unrelated matter, was on leave during most of the investigation. He was reinstated, but has been on vacation since, leaving Oettmeier to deliver the news to council. Bradford had no part in the disciplinary decisions, Oettmeier said.

"I have some sense of relief that the investigation is closed, but there is a significant aftermath we have to deal with," he said. "It's premature how to suggest we are going to remedy it."


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; News/Current Events; US: Texas
KEYWORDS: kmartraid
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Raid's toll on HPD

The Houston Police Department disciplined 32 officers -- including 14 supervisors -- for last year's mass arrests. All the suspensions starting this week are without pay. Officers' names were not released publicly.

Capt. Mark Aguirre: fired.

Sgt. Ken Wenzel: resigned.

One assistant chief: seven-day suspension.

One captain: two written reprimands.

One lieutenant: demoted to sergeant.

One lieutenant: two written reprimands.

Three sergeants: 84-day suspensions.

One sergeant: 49-day suspension.

One sergeant: 28-day suspension.

Three sergeants: seven-day suspensions.

One officer: 30-day suspension.

Eight officers: One- to eight-day suspensions.

Nine officers: Written reprimands.

1 posted on 01/30/2003 6:24:19 AM PST by Dog Gone
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To: Dog Gone
Nope. He deserved it.
2 posted on 01/30/2003 6:25:46 AM PST by PBRSTREETGANG
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To: PBRSTREETGANG
I agree. You can't just arrest 300 people for just standing there, and expect to keep you job.
3 posted on 01/30/2003 6:26:57 AM PST by RolandBurnam
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To: Dog Gone
You got there first with this one.

Shall I ping the usual suspects?
4 posted on 01/30/2003 6:36:42 AM PST by No Truce With Kings
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To: PBRSTREETGANG
Aguirre certainly deserved to be fired, and he deserves to be prosecuted for what he did.

My objection is that the Houston Police Department believes it is now putting this behind it, without a full airing of the facts.

For example, we know that someone in the police department bought NO TRESPASSING signs and posted them at the parking lot that night in order to give the appearance that the arrests might be justified.

That was an act of conspiracy and it's being glossed over.

This raid was a repeat of a much smaller raid at a different location the night before. Why didn't alarm bells go off with police management? Mass arrests are highly unusual.

Fortunately, the Department won't be able to sweep all this under the rug with this firing and the suspensions to unnamed officers for unnamed offenses. There is the criminal trial of Aguirre upcoming, and the lawsuits filed by those wrongfully arrested.

But at least one bad cop is off the street permanently in Houston, and that's good news.

5 posted on 01/30/2003 6:45:24 AM PST by Dog Gone
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To: No Truce With Kings
Yes, please.
6 posted on 01/30/2003 6:45:50 AM PST by Dog Gone
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To: All
If memory serves, those Stormtroopers even arrested a woman in her car at a drive-up window, who had a couple of kids in the car with her.

I say to Hell with them all. No sympathy from me on this.
7 posted on 01/30/2003 6:48:23 AM PST by JoJo Gunn
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To: niki; justlurking; isthisnickcool; eastforker; sweetliberty; Thud; Double Tap; PatrioticAmerican; ..
Ping to those that might want to see how it finally ended.
8 posted on 01/30/2003 9:03:18 AM PST by No Truce With Kings
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To: No Truce With Kings
Aguirre
Andrew Innerarity / Chronicle
With the portraits of past Houston police chiefs in the background, fired HPD Capt. Mark Aguirre leaves police headquarters on Wednesday

9 posted on 01/30/2003 9:27:00 AM PST by Dog Gone
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To: Dog Gone
>>"They treated me like a department piñata," Aguirre said. "This department is hopelessly corrupt, and this is a grotesque charade posing as justice." <<

He has no concept that he has done anything wrong. Which underscores the need for his removal.

The man is delusional and dangerous.
10 posted on 01/30/2003 9:35:13 AM PST by SerpentDove (Game. Set. Match.)
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To: Dog Gone
Good! The more of these fascist bastards that are removed, the better!
11 posted on 01/30/2003 9:40:28 AM PST by PatrioticAmerican (Let's all pay our fair share...make the poor pay taxes! They pay nothing!)
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To: Dog Gone
Bump to your #5!
12 posted on 01/30/2003 9:40:55 AM PST by PatrioticAmerican (Let's all pay our fair share...make the poor pay taxes! They pay nothing!)
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To: SerpentDove
""They treated me like a department piñata," Aguirre said. "This department is hopelessly corrupt, and this is a grotesque charade posing as justice.""

He helped create that corruption, and now he complains that it bit him.
13 posted on 01/30/2003 9:41:46 AM PST by PatrioticAmerican (Let's all pay our fair share...make the poor pay taxes! They pay nothing!)
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To: PBRSTREETGANG
That he deserved to be fired and that he is being used as a scapegoat to protect higher-ups who also deserve to be fired are not mutually exclusive.
14 posted on 01/30/2003 9:43:53 AM PST by steve-b
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To: PBRSTREETGANG
"This department is hopelessly corrupt, and this is a grotesque charade posing as justice."

"And damn it, I wanted to hang around and get mine".

15 posted on 01/30/2003 9:45:13 AM PST by Wolfie
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To: Dog Gone
The Devil made him do it.
16 posted on 01/30/2003 10:04:55 AM PST by Thud
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To: Dog Gone
So when is LeePeeBrown going to resign over this? /sarcasm

I guess his alabi is that he was swerving across Westhiemer Blvd. and crashing into an oncoming car at the time. He couldn't possibly have been working closely with the HPD to crack down on dragracing on Westhiemer, if he himself was driving recklessly a mere few blocks from the K-Mart lot at the time. :)
17 posted on 01/30/2003 10:19:36 AM PST by anymouse
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To: anymouse
When is the Mayor EVER going to say anything about this?

Not that it matters. The man is dumber than a bag of hammers.

18 posted on 01/30/2003 10:25:28 AM PST by Dog Gone
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To: steve-b
Fair enough. What I was saying was that to the extent that he thinks he was fired merely because he was being made a scapegoat, he is mistaken. He deserved to be fired based on his actions and statements alone.

Are there others out there who are deserving of blame that are trying to protect themselves? Most likely, but that will come out in Aguirre's lawsuit.

19 posted on 01/30/2003 10:33:47 AM PST by PBRSTREETGANG
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To: PBRSTREETGANG
Meant Aguirre's trial.
20 posted on 01/30/2003 10:36:34 AM PST by PBRSTREETGANG
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