Houston Police Chief Forced Out Over Probation Controversy – Corrections Officer

HOUSTON – boss Troy Finner of the Houston Police Department was forced out after being asked if he was aware of a code that suspended hundreds of thousands of cases years earlier than the timeline he had shared with the public ABC13.

In March, Finner apologized after it was revealed that his agency had closed 264,000 criminal investigations over the past eight years due to staffing shortages, the attorney previously reported.

Finner acknowledged that the crime reports were never submitted for investigation because officials assigned each one an internal code that indicated a lack of available personnel. The number represents about 10% of the 2.8 million crime reports filed with HPD during the period in question. The neglected cases included more than 4,000 reports of sexual assault.

“I apologize to the victims, their families and our citizens for the use of the code in sexual assaults and other violent crimes against individuals,” Finner said during a news conference in March. “These are not the trauma-informed, victim-centered services they deserve. This code should never have been used and will never be used again.”

The internal code was first created in 2016 as part of the department’s records management system. Finner took over as head of the department in 2021. The code was used in the two administrations before him.

The chief issued an order in November 2021 for officers to stop using the code. However, according to Fox News, in February 2024 he reportedly found that it was still being used to dismiss a large number of adult sexual assault cases.

The March revelation also revealed that two deputy chiefs had been demoted because of their roles in the matter while the internal investigation was ongoing.

On Tuesday, Houston Mayor John Whitmire notified HPD officials of the matter via email Deputy Chief Larry Satterwhite will become acting police chief, replacing Finner, ABC 13 reported.

Whitmire said in his email to law enforcement officials that he accepted Finner’s retirement effective Tuesday at 10:31 p.m.

“This decision is made with full confidence in Acting Chief Satterwhite’s ability to lead and maintain the high standards of our department,” the email reads in part.

During a city council meeting Wednesday morning, Whitmire said, “I hope we will support the agency, Chief Satterwhite, who most of you know. “I’ve worked with him for years. He has been with the department for 34 years. He was actually the acting chief when Chief Finner left town. I know the department and Houstonians work well with Chief Satterwhite.”

However, Whitmire did not provide further details about what led to the decision to replace Finner ABC 13 concluded that Finner was aware of the code’s use prior to February.

“I want to thank Chief Finner for his many years of public service,” Whitmire said. “I will probably have more to say in a press release about how this happened. But it is my responsibility to ensure the public safety of all Houstonians. And the decision was made.”

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