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The Houston Police Department’s internal investigation reviewing more than a quarter of a million dropped cases is expected to wrap up by the end of the month, according to HPD Chief Troy Finner.
During a two-hour-long meeting with community members and reporters on Tuesday, Finner said that findings from the department's internal investigation, which began in February, should be ready by the end of April. However, according to Finner, the current investigation is just the beginning.
“There will be spin-off investigations,” Finner said. “This is the magnitude of the investigation that we have to do, and it’s gonna take some time.”
Back in February, Finner announced that a code used to represent a lack of personnel was used to suspend more than 264,000 cases over the last eight years. During the Tuesday meeting, Finner said that 67,533 cases have been reviewed. He added that 3,883 of the 4,017 dropped sexual assault cases have also been reviewed. Additionally, the chief said that 256 interviews have been scheduled in connection to those dropped sexual assault cases.
Finner added that some charges have been filed as a result of the current investigation, but didn’t provide a specific number.
Throughout the meeting, Finner maintained that he had first heard about the code during an executive command meeting on Nov. 4, 2021 — one day before the Astroworld tragedy. Finner says he ordered his staff to stop using the code during this meeting. However, Finner claims the code was still used and that he was unaware of this until a few months ago.
Towards the beginning of the internal investigation, two assistant chiefs were demoted and 100 officers were assigned to review the suspended sexual assault cases. According to Finner, the two demotions weren’t a disciplinary action.
Additionally, Finner acknowledged that James Jones, a former executive assistant chief, had recently resigned from the department. Finner said Jones was questioned as part of the internal investigation, but didn’t confirm whether his resignation was in connection to the probe.
During the meeting, Finner was also questioned about his own involvement in HPD’s internal investigation. This comes two weeks after the Houston Police Officers Union requested that the investigation be removed from under the purview of Finner and transferred to an outside law enforcement agency – a request that Finner believes to be unnecessary.
"We're capable of completing our own investigations," Finner said. "I'm not gonna entangle myself in that sideshow with the union."
Finner says he hasn’t been questioned in connection to the probe and didn’t confirm whether investigators will question him at all.
During Tuesday’s meeting, Finner also spoke about the department’s records management system, which the chief called an “antiquated dinosaur.” He said the code is “hardwired” into the system and that removing it out would crash the entire system. According to Finner, the department is expecting to implement a new system by summer 2025.
Finner has previously said officers began using the code in 2016, although during Tuesday’s meeting, he clarified that he was told that information in the current RMS system doesn’t go back any further than 2016. Finner couldn’t confirm if the same system — or the code — was used prior to 2016.
After Tuesday’s meeting, several questions were left unanswered, although the chief said more information about who created the code and how the code persisted throughout the years would be shared “really soon.”
"I own it. We own it as a department," Finner said. "I didn't start it, but I'm damn sure gonna end it."