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.

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  1. Doug Watt Member
    Doug Watt
    @DougWatt

    There is a difference between admin cops, grant writers, and street cops.

    • #1
  2. Jim McConnell Member
    Jim McConnell
    @JimMcConnell

     My gosh! You were BLOCKED ON TWITTER. I feel so sorry for you.

    • #2
  3. Clifford A. Brown Member
    Clifford A. Brown
    @CliffordBrown

    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.

    • #3
  4. Jack Dunphy Member
    Jack Dunphy
    @JackDunphy

    Jim McConnell (View Comment):

    My gosh! You were BLOCKED ON TWITTER. I feel so sorry for you.

    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.

    • #4
  5. EJHill Podcaster
    EJHill
    @EJHill

    From the Austin American-Statesman when it was announced Acevedo was leaving Austin for Houston:

    But at times, what critics viewed as his desire for popularity was seen as a distraction that overshadowed his commitment to officers – that he put his own career above standing with them.

    “The general consensus among cops is that the most dangerous place in town was between Acevedo and a camera,” said Wayne Vincent, a retired officer and a former president of the police union. “I think it is fair to say that a lot of officers thought he seemed to be more interested in having press conferences about him than were necessary for the operation of the Police Department.”

    That tension was evident after Acevedo stood with members from groups such as Black Lives Matter four days after a police shooting in February, questioning the officer’s actions. At that time, some speculated that the move was a ploy by Acevedo to show prospective employers, including Houston, his willingness to work with the minority community.

    This guy has always been more PR than anything.

    • #5
  6. Chuckles Coolidge
    Chuckles
    @Chuckles

    No surprise.  Houston is just another red zone.

    • #6
  7. Randy Weivoda Moderator
    Randy Weivoda
    @RandyWeivoda

    Clifford A. Brown (View Comment):

    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.

    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.

    • #7
  8. Jack Dunphy Member
    Jack Dunphy
    @JackDunphy

    I was just made aware of this:

    https://empowertexans.com/central-texas/disgraced-chief-falls-upward/

    • #8
  9. George Townsend Inactive
    George Townsend
    @GeorgeTownsend

    Jack Dunphy (View Comment):

    I was just made aware of this:

    https://empowertexans.com/central-texas/disgraced-chief-falls-upward/

    Unbelievable!!

    • #9
  10. RufusRJones Member
    RufusRJones
    @RufusRJones

    Jack Dunphy (View Comment):

    Jim McConnell (View Comment):

    My gosh! You were BLOCKED ON TWITTER. I feel so sorry for you.

    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.

    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.

    • #10
  11. Nathanael Ferguson Contributor
    Nathanael Ferguson
    @NathanaelFerguson

    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.

    • #11
  12. Jack Dunphy Member
    Jack Dunphy
    @JackDunphy

    Nathanael Ferguson (View Comment):

    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.

    • #12
  13. Eeyore Member
    Eeyore
    @Eeyore

    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

    • #13
  14. Clifford A. Brown Member
    Clifford A. Brown
    @CliffordBrown

    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.

    • #14
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