 Andrew Innerarity / Chronicle With the portraits of past Houston police chiefs in the background, fired HPD Capt. Mark Aguirre leaves police headquarters on Wednesday |
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."
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.
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.
Andrew Innerarity / Chronicle With the portraits of past Houston police chiefs in the background, fired HPD Capt. Mark Aguirre leaves police headquarters on Wednesday |
"And damn it, I wanted to hang around and get mine".
Not that it matters. The man is dumber than a bag of hammers.
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.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.