HPOU Strength Unity Through Texas’ Largest Police Union The Publication of the Houston Police Officers’ Union www.HPOU.org Vol. XXXX No. 4 April 2014 The President’s Message Manpower, Manpower, Manpower! Ray Hunt In last month’s article regarding manpower, two issues got the attention of veteran officers at HPD. I was first asked where I had gotten the number that we are at least 1,500 officers understaffed. That number came from a September 2009 editorial written by then-Police Chief Harold Hurtt. HPOU night at the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo saw two young men catch the HPOU-sponsored calf in the Calf Scramble on the last Friday night of the three-week My personal estimation is much higher simply based on comparable show. No. 16 scrambler is Taylor Field of Hillsboro, who is depicted with HPD Calf cities, calls-for-service load and the number of cases with leads that our Scramble Posse member Chase Cormier, Field’s ag teacher Laura George, HPOU President Ray Hunt, 2nd Vice President Joe Gamaldi and 1st Vice President Doug investigators are unable to work. Griffith. LIVESTOCK SHOW PHOTO That same article in 2009 showed that Washington, DC, Chicago, Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York City have an average of 4.6 See more on the officers-per-1,000 population. Former Chief Hurtt went on to explain Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo that for Houston to reach a staffing level of 4.6 officers-per-1,000, we on page 16A-17A would need 5,000 more officers than we had in 2009. We have had no measurable net gain in the last 10 years. NON-PROFIT ORG. Houston Police Officers’ Union U.S. Postage The second statement in last month’s article that a veteran officer 1600 State Street PAID advised me was “very telling” was that the current academy class of 30 Houston, Texas 77007 Houston, Texas Permit No. 7227 (now 29) would not even keep up with the number retiring during that academy class. Several reasons have been cited for the small number, but I believe pay, lack of DROP and retirement at 55 are keys. A $5,000 hiring bonus is in the works and should increase the numbers for the next class. However, simply staying around the attrition level is not ever going to increase staffing at the Houston Police Department. It’s time for our city leaders to listen to the alarms. ‘Blue Outs’ Non-profit Statement: Badge & Gun is published monthly at no subscription charge. Send Correspondence and Address Changes (include mailing label) Many of you have probably read or heard City Council speaking of To: BADGE & GUN 1600 State Street Houston, TX 77007. Telephone: 713-237-0282. HFD’s “Brown Outs” in the City of Houston. Continues on Page 4 Page 1A Badge & Gun • April 2014 BadgeGun April 2014 Issue.indd 1 4/2/14 11:17 PM HPOU Board of Directors Executive Board Ray Hunt Doug Griffith Joseph Gamaldi Will Reiser President 1st Vice-President 2nd Vice-President Secretary (281) 701-5428 (713) 501-4991 (832) 283-9492 (281) 923-1626 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Board Members J.G. Garza Gary Hicks Jeff Wagner Robert Breiding David Riggs Terry Wolfe Don Egdorf Bubba Caldwell Director 1 Director 2 Director 3 Director 4 Director 5 Director 6 Director 7 Director 8 (832) 875-1377 (832) 368-6283 (832) 512-8732 (713) 854-6391 (281) 387-8935 (832) 341-0165 (713) 240-6033 (281) 924-4498 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Joseph Castaneda Rebecca Dallas Rosalinda Ybanez Timothy Whitaker Luis Menedez-Sierra Robert Sandoval Stephen Augustine Tom Hayes Director 9 Director 10 Director 11 Director 12 Director 13 Director 14 Director 15 Director 16 (281) 795-5051 (832) 419-9589 (832) 293-1495 (832) 606-9502 (832) 513-5110 (281) 924-6369 (832) 677-0137 (281) 924-3015 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Bill Booth Terry Seagler John Yencha Colton Pervil Director 17 Director 18 Director 19 Director 20 (281) 924-3016 (832) 494-8244 (832) 731-9361 (832) 291-9004 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Mark Clark Executive Director Tim Butler Joslyn Johnson Randy Upton Cole Lester Dana Hitzman (832) 200-3434 Treasurer Parliamentarian Sergeant at Arms Assistant Secretary 2nd Assistant Secretary [email protected] (713) 204-4372 (832) 642-9899 (281) 352-6236 (281) 924-3003 (832) 731-7501 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Page 2A Badge & Gun • April 2014 BadgeGun April 2014 Issue.indd 2 4/2/14 11:17 PM Editorial Page BADGE& GUN HPOU PAC’s Endorsement Voice of the Houston Police Officers’ Union Published monthly at no subscription charge in May 27 Runoff by the: THE HPOU PAC COMMITTEE HAS ISSUED A LIST of its endorsements in the May 27 runoff election. The PAC found that these runoff candidates can best represent the Union’s interests in state Houston Police Officers’ Union politics and at the Courthouse. 1600 State Street, Houston, TX 77007 Ph: 832-200-3400 • Toll free: 1-800-846-1167 Fax: 832-200-3470 Early voting in the runoff begins May 17 and lasts through May 23, four days before the actual runoff E-mail: [email protected] election. The PAC endorsements: Website address: www.HPOU.org Legal Department: 832-200-3420 Lieutenant Governor Legal Dept Fax: 832-200-3426 Dan Patrick (R) Insurance: 832-200-3410 Badge & Gun is the official publication of the State Attorney General Houston Police Officers’ Union. Badge & Gun is Ken Paxton (R) published monthly under the supervision of its Board of Directors. However, opinions expressed by individual Board members or any other writer State Agriculture Commissioner in this publication do not necessarily reflect the Sid Miller (R) opinion of the entire Board of Directors. Editorial submissions are welcomed and encouraged. All submissions must be received by the 7th of State Representative, District 129 (Clear Lake area) the month. Dennis Paul (R) ADVERTISEMENT IN THE BADGE & GUN DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, State Representative, District 132 (Katy area) A WARRANTY OR A GUARANTEE BY Mike Scofield (R) THE UNION. Judge, 247th District Court POSTMASTER: M. L. “Meca” Walker (R) Send address changes to Badge & Gun 1600 State Street Judge, 311th District Court Houston, TX 77007 Alicia Franklin (R) Fax: 832-200-3470 County Criminal Court at Law No. 10 Dan J. Spjut (R) Justice of the Peace, Precinct 4, Place 2 Laryssa Korduba (R) Important Numbers ATO: 713-223-4ATO Badge & Gun: 832-200-3400 HPOU Offices: 832-200-3400 1-800-846-1167 Insurance Fax: 832-200-3470 Legal Services: 832-200-3420 Legal Fax: 832-200-3426 email: [email protected] www.hpou.org Page 3A Badge & Gun • April 2014 BadgeGun April 2014 Issue.indd 3 4/2/14 11:17 PM Continues from Pay Page 1 Everyone wants their neighborhood protected and wants an officer to These refer to times when trucks or ambulances have to be taken out of show up quickly when called, but no one seems to be willing to do what service because of staffing levels due to vacation, sick or emergency time it takes to make that happen. taken by our firefighters. We must increase the number of police officers in Houston in order to Many of our leaders were hitting the panic button when they heard keep this city AND our officers safe. One cannot want more services these were taking place. They moved quickly to find funding to prevent from the City of Houston and be unwilling to increase taxes or have a this from happening. public safety fee to pay for the services. While I applaud their efforts to keep this city safe, I feel it’s time to alert It’s past time to act! them of the “Blue Outs” at the Houston Police Department that have been taking place for at least the last 50 years. We have a minimum staffing level at HPD, but drastic measures are not taken when we fall below that level. As a patrol officer for 18 years, I found that every night we had patrol cars sitting empty for entire shifts due to vacations, sick officers or family emergencies resulting in an officer taking off at the last minute. These “Blue Outs” simply mean those in the beat or other beats just work harder and run more calls to cover those slots, some officers running very serious calls with one person. We do not bring in persons for overtime to make sure all vehicles are on the streets or that each beat has multiple officers. That would blow our budget every year, just as the fire department has seen. While I would welcome a policy at HPD that required the department to make sure all slots were filled each day, evening, and night, we would never stay in budget. Page 4A Badge & Gun • April 2014 BadgeGun April 2014 Issue.indd 4 4/2/14 11:17 PM Page 5A Badge & Gun • April 2014 BadgeGun April 2014 Issue.indd 5 4/2/14 11:17 PM AN ‘AMIGO’ DEAL FOR YOUR SPORTS COLLECTIBLES! Tom Kennedy is a long-time Houston sports memorabilia dealer who doesn’t believe in HPD Officers paying retail. Here are some examples: ITEM PRICE ‘AMIGO’ PRICE Signed Duke Snider Ball $100 $75 Signed Biggio Ball 199 $165 Signed Bagwell Ball $149 $115 Signed Stan “The Man” Musial Ball $199 $135 Signed Yogi Berra Ball $95 $75 ALL SIGNED ITEMS COME WITH PSA DNA AUTHENTICATION! CALL TOM FOR SPECIAL REQUESTS FOR AUTOGRAPHED ITEMS 713-825-2273 Tom Kennedy’s Collectibles (Since 1972) at Thompson’s Antique Center of Texas 9950 Hempstead Road (The Old Penney Location in Northwest Mall) Page 6A Badge & Gun • April 2014 BadgeGun April 2014 Issue.indd 6 4/2/14 11:17 PM Sgt.