Ricochet is the best place on the internet to discuss the issues of the day, either through commenting on posts or writing your own for our active and dynamic community in a fully moderated environment. In addition, the Ricochet Audio Network offers over 50 original podcasts with new episodes released every day.
After Santa Fe Shooting, Houston’s Police Chief Plays Politics
My most recent column over at PJ Media concerns Art Acevedo, chief of the Houston Police Department, who has risen to national attention in the wake of the school shooting in Santa Fe, Texas. The night of the shooting, Acevedo took to Facebook and posted an impassioned plea for “action” from lawmakers to address gun violence. What this action should be he did not specify, neither in the post nor in the many media appearances he has made since, except to call for a law requiring secure storage of firearms when children are present.
Such a law has been on the books in Texas since 1995 (scroll down to section 46.13), so it’s still unclear what recommendations Chief Acevedo would make. What is clear is that he is enjoying his moment in the sun, having been covered in glowing terms by CBS, the New York Times, and Rolling Stone, among many others.
The point of my PJ Media piece was not ridicule Chief Acevedo, but merely to point out that he, as a police chief, does not necessarily speak for his officers when making pronouncements on public policy. Sadly, that is what he has tried to do in a Twitter spat he’s had with the National Rifle Association’s Dana Loesch, during which he claimed to stand with rank-and-file officers on issues related to gun control. Worse, from the perspective of his officers, Acevedo’s tweets at the NRA were embarrassingly sophomoric for a man in his position. (And, for a man in his position, he’s pretty thin-skinned; he has blocked me on Twitter over a very mild challenge to his opinions.)
Remember, there is a vast difference between the political positions of most police chiefs and those of their subordinates, whose experiences have taught them that legislative remedies for atrocities like that which occurred in Santa Fe are a fantasy.
Published in General
There is a difference between admin cops, grant writers, and street cops.
My gosh! You were BLOCKED ON TWITTER. I feel so sorry for you.
To simplify, police chiefs, unlike sheriffs, are creatures of the city political leadership. They are hired and fired at the whim of their political bosses. Big cities are mostly run by Democrats, so the police chief is really the front man for the Democratic Party. Support from the ranks of civil-service protected officers is optional and not a prerequisite for job retention.
I’m not bothered that he blocked me. I just mentioned it because I found it surprising that he was bothered enough by my challenge that he blocked me. As he revealed in his Facebook post, he wants to engage in the gun-control debate, but only with people who agree with him.
From the Austin American-Statesman when it was announced Acevedo was leaving Austin for Houston:
This guy has always been more PR than anything.
No surprise. Houston is just another red zone.
That’s sort of the impression I have. In small towns, the police chief is going to be someone who started at the bottom and worked his/her way up. It seems like in many large cities, you get the job by being politically connected.
I was just made aware of this:
https://empowertexans.com/central-texas/disgraced-chief-falls-upward/
Unbelievable!!
All discussions with gun grabbers or Democrats or leftists are 100% worthless. They know nothing about policy and it’s always 100% about electioneering. No Republican anywhere should give them an inch on anything.
You will not be surprised to learn that Chief Acevedo is a California transplant and is rumored to have his sights set on running for governor of Texas.
Good luck with that.
Do these politicops not watch the news? You had better bring your A-game when you go up against Dana Loesch. And I don’t mean the NRA – I mean Dana Loesch. Last fight:
Dana Loesch: 1 Scott Israel: 0
I listen to Dana frequently (danaloeschradio.com), and I think her response to public attacks can best be described as “Bring it, Bee~otch!” Privately, she recently had to move due to credible threats to her and her family – Photos of her home and children with her address posted online with calls to attack them. But even with that, she won’t back down. Concerning the future of the Twitter spat you reference above, I think we’ll soon see with Acevedo:
Dana Loesch: 2 Politicops: 0
The guns against which Chief Acevedo called for action were 1870s and 1902 technology. Either he was letting slip a gun-grabbing agenda, or acknowledging the “something,” about we must take action, isn’t guns.