Fletcher’s police bill would hamper hurricane response
As hurricane season continues, Houston’s chief of police is warning that House Democrats’ recent police reform bill, which Lizzie Fletcher voted for, would hamper his department’s hurricane response and ability to rescue citizens in floods.
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Houston Police Chief says proposed legislation will hurt hurricane rescue efforts
Texas Business Daily
Juliette Fairley
August 26, 2020
https://txbusinessdaily.com/stories/549299048-houston-police-chief-says-proposed-legislation-will-hurt-hurricane-rescue-efforts
If H.R. 7120 is enacted into law, the Houston Police Department will be required to revert back to using dump trucks when executing rescues during hurricane season — and with Hurricane Laura looming, the city’s chief of police is concerned.
“They’re not as effective and not designed to seat passengers,” Art Acevedo, chief of the Houston Police Department, told Texas Business Daily. “Dump trucks don’t have the bench seats and they’re not as safe as the military trucks that have actual benches along both sides.”
The police department has been using retired deuce-and-a-half and five-ton trucks inherited from the military, which are capable of driving through eight to nine feet of water, according to media reports.
“When you use dump trucks for rescue missions, you’re taking them away from other missions in terms of debris that we have to deal with at the same time that we’re dealing with storms,” Acevedo said.
However, H.R. 7120, also known as the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2020, would restrict the transfer of military equipment to police under the 1033 program. U.S. Rep. Lizzie Fletcher (D-Houston) was among those in Congress who voted in favor of the bill as H.R. 7120 passed through the House in June, which could have huge consequences for Houston’s resources for disaster response.
“The folks who want to see this type of legislation passed need to ask themselves what is the intent?” Acevedo asked in an interview with the Houston Chronicle. “The intent is to pretend like you’re doing something to address the so-called militarization of police.”
Wired reported that over 30 years, the 1033 program has transferred $7.4 billion of military equipment to more than 8,000 U.S. law enforcement agencies.
Findings of Congress within Sec. 365 of the proposed legislation include the following:
(11) A July 2017 Government Accountability Office allegedly found deficiencies with the administration of the 1033 program.
(13) Weapons, explosives such as flash-bang grenades, mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicles, long-range acoustic devices, aircraft capable of being modified to carry armament that are combat-coded, and silencers are considered controlled by the military and are eligible for transfer under the 1033 program.
“Elected officials, at times, make decisions based on emotion, not on facts, and the operational requirements of police departments,” Acevedo told Texas Business Daily. “We’re just getting ready right now to face Hurricane Laura on the three-year anniversary of Hurricane Harvey. When we limit that type of equipment, we are putting the safety of the American people at risk.”
Hurricane Harvey dumped 27 trillion gallons of rainwater over the Lone Star State, causing approximately $125 billion in damage, according to a Texas A&M University study. Chief Acevedo testified before Congress that police reform and criminal justice reform is about training, not equipment.
“We need to ensure that when departments receive surplus military equipment, regardless of what the equipment is, that they are required to have a policy in place for proper training, oversight and supervision for using the equipment,” he said.