13 Investigates obtained an email from 2018 that questions when HPD Chief Troy Finner first heard a case was being put on hold due to staffing shortages.

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — 13 Investigates obtained an email from 2018 that questions when Houston Police Department Chief Troy Finner first heard a case was being dropped due to staffing shortages.

In February, Finner said 260,000 incident reports had been suspended due to staffing shortages since 2016. He has since claimed he first learned that the “locked” code was created in 2016 and that it was used in two previous governments before his appointment as chief in April 2021.

“I was first made aware of this code in a Special Victims Division briefing in November 2021. At that time, I told them the code was unacceptable and I would never use it again,” Finner said during a March 7 news conference.

SEE ALSO: 13 Examines what has happened since HPD’s “locked” code was identified as a problem a decade ago

However, an email obtained by 13 Investigates indicates that he knew the code had been used at least once in 2018.

The July 20, 2018, email was addressed to several high-ranking HPD leaders, including then-Chief Art Acevedo and Finner, who was executive deputy chief at the time.

The email mentions a specific case of road rage that was marked “Suspended – Shortage of Staff.”

It says the case was labeled that way even though a witness identified a suspect.

Finner responded to the email by saying: “This is unacceptable, take a look at this and contact me.”

The email does not report any issues with the blocked code or indicate how often it is used.

However, it has raised questions about Finner’s timeline when he first heard about the code.

Thirteen investigators contacted HPD Tuesday morning and asked about the email. Late in the afternoon, Finner issued a statement emphasizing that he had been open, never tried to deceive anyone, and had not remembered the email until Tuesday:

“I have always been honest and have never tried to mislead anyone about anything, including this investigation. Until I was shown the email today, I had no memory of it. I have since been informed that it was already part of the internal investigation.” I promised an independent and thorough investigation and my ignorance of this email serves as evidence of my independence.

While that 2018 email included the phrase “pending staffing shortage,” there is nothing that alerted me to the fact that it was a code or how it was applied within the department.

In that email to the Chief of Police, a copy was sent to me regarding a traffic offense investigation that was not properly investigated. At the time, I was deputy chief of patrol operations. I forwarded the email to the commander, saying it was unacceptable and to ensure the case was properly investigated.

I remain committed to reporting to the fullest extent permitted by law upon completion of the internal investigation. I will then address the media and the public.”

HPD asks victims whose contact information has changed since the time of their report to call (713) 308-1180 or email [email protected].

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