Question: Why is the Jordan Baker police report is not available?

Chief McClelland: in general by state law, the first page is all that is public in any police report. There are a few exceptions to that rule but I can't release it by state law. 

Question: Can you review your process so judges can call deaf and hard of hearing interpreters to court?

DA Anderson: When I was a judge we had a pool of interpreters to call upon. Nothing should happen in the process until an interpreter arrives. We have equipment also to help with that. I will make sure the court administration knows about this. 

Question: is filing a complaint the only way we can get justice?

Chief McClelland: no it's not. I said we are not perfect. But I need to know what is going on. If it needs to be forwarded to the DA's office then we will. 

Regarding Jordan Baker, we investigated that case, the DA's office investigated that case, and I sent it to the FBI before citizen's asked. Not once was an indictment sent back.

Question: An officer with over 21 complaints was reinstated by arbitration; how can citizens appeal that?

Chief McClelland: the process and procedures that an officer is under regarding complaints is state law. One of the rights is to appeal the discipline decision by arbitrator. If the arbitrator upholds my decision, the officer stays fired. Or the arbitrator could reverse it and they could get their job back. It is binding and their is no appeal. 

Question: Minorities are twice as likely to be pulled over? Does this show a problem with racial profiling?

Chief McClelland: We keep data on all of our traffic stops including racial information. That is sent to city council and the state. If an officer is assigned to a predominately black neighborhood, they will stop more black drivers just based on the neighborhood they work.

We do not have a perfect department. I know there are some who will break the rules but I don't believe it is a wide spread problem. 

Question: Where can we see accountability of use of force complaints?

Chief McClelland: if there is a sustained case of misuse of force (excessive force) then you're fired. One time; there is no second chance.

We make our complaints public. We send them to the media. We will put them on our web site.

Question: What is difference in traffic stops? (one stop was let go, another was searched and place in the patrol car)

Chief McClelland: I cannot speak to the traffic stops because I am only hearing your side of it. If you file a complaint then we can hear the officer's side and any other witnesses. At the end you will be given a notice of the disposition. 

It would be unfair for me to speculate. I was not on the scene. 

I invite you to show me the video personally. 

Question: Are you trained to shoot in the leg to neutralize a threat?

Chief McClelland: Police officers are not trained to shoot to kill. They are trained to shoot for the largest portion of a body. You should try the simulator outside. If we shot to kill we would aim for the head. We are trained to shoot to stop the threat which means shooting for the largest portion of the body.

You should follow commands when an officer tells you to do something.

Question: Officers patrol a white part of town differently than a black part of town

Chief McClelland: if there is a problem you must file a complaint so I can know if there is an issue. If you don't file a complaint then I do not know there is an issue.

Question: There needs to be emphasis on the youth getting job skills

DA Anderson: I am happy to do that. That is why the drug program in Harris County is so successful. They are willing to hire felons because they know they are not violent. 

When people get out of jail, they go right back to committing crime. we are looking at re entry courts to get them job skills.

Chief McClelland: Crime is a social problem. We have to have participation from government, religious, community to fix it. Texas prison is the second largest in the US. The average education of those in prison is the 8th grade. 65,000 are released from prison every year and they have no additional skills. 

The city of Houston is going to participate in re entry. Just because you are a convicted felon would not necessarily keep you from being hired if you have the skill set. 

Question: What are we doing to increase the number of Latino officers and create a town hall meeting in the Latino community?

EAC Montalvo: Thank you for your comments. We have Captain Manzo who is over recruiting and we make an effort to recruit Latinos.

Question: Can you make it a requirement that they understand they are supposed to follow the constitution of the US?

Chief McClelland: Every officer who is a Houston Police Officer has to say that. They honor their oath and all the laws. If anyone has a problem with the constitution you would have to take it up with the legislature. 

Question: HPD is broken and needs to be retrained

Chief McClelland: Racial profiling is illegal. If you feel you are a victim of racial profiling then you need to file a complaint so we can investigate it. 

We are not perfect. You need to help me identify those who are not upholding the law so we can investigate it. 

Question: Citizen requesting a sit down with Chief McClelland and officer he is filing a complaint on

Chief McClelland: we do have a mediation process with our complaints. Sometimes a person is dissatisfied with an officer and they want to tell him/her how they felt. We do talk and people use the word profiling. We need to agree on some common definitions. Profiling is very broad. We can simplify that if we put it in two categories, racial and criminal. 

Racial is illegal because you are only stopping them because of their race. Criminal profiling is legal. It is based on behavior. There is a difference. 

Question: please remember the communication sensitivities with the deaf and hard of hearing

Chief McClelland: we have put special emphasis on the deaf and hard of hearing community. This citizen is a very active participant in our PIP. I don't ever want anything to happen like he described (officer involved shooting in another state)  We have over 1300 officers who are bilingual.

As far as training is concerned, we have video for interpreters at all stations to assist the deaf and hard of hearing. We have also installed video in the patrol cars so if a deaf person gets stopped they can bring the citizen to the car to help communicate. 

We are one of the few agencies that offers these type of resources for the deaf and hard of hearing.

Question: In asking for the death penalty and saying you are taking it personally, do you think you influence the case?

DA Anderson: There's been a long tradition at the DA's office that the district attorney tries cop killer cases. The media always reports when we decide on a death penalty case. 

Jury selection is individual on both the prosecutor and the defense attorney and I don't feel I influenced the case.

Question: Do officers have a right to search cars during a traffic stop? (and others statements and questions)

DA Anderson: Regarding the grand jury leaking I want to hear about that. We don't take charges unless there is probably cause.

Chief McClelland: You're right, no one is saying things are perfect in Houston. You made an important point that there is a gap in some of our programs and initiatives especially with those in their late teens and 20s. There are not a lot of community policing programs addressing them. 

The point is we have a broken relationship with the people I was describing. We need to find a way to positively engage with these citizens. 

Does an officer have the right to search a person's car? It depends on the behavior. Officers may be able to search the immediate area otherwise it must be as a result of an arrest or a warrant. 

All officers go through psychological testing. I am agreeing with you that we have to get better with some segments of the population. 

Question: What happens if a body camera gets turned off before a citizen is assaulted? Also, do you look at biases of officers?

Chief McClelland: regarding body cameras, it is a new concept but not with HPD. We have had body cameras for over a year. That decision was made a long time ago to implement them. It is technology that gets outdated very quickly. 

The international association chief's of police have developed a model policy and have combined that into our policies. There has to be training. Battery life won't allow for the camera to be "turned off." Some situations it is not proper to record, sexual assault suspects, juveniles, etc. There are times when the camera has to be off, but not when they are engaging in police activity.

Everyone has biases. We can't do anything about that because it is a part of where we come from. Our training is situational. What kind of behavior is the person engaging in? We try to eliminate stereotypes. 

Question: I would like to serve on a jury but I never get picked

DA Anderson: If you get a summons the best way you can get on is not to talk. Sit there and look pleasant.

Chief McClelland: I agree with you; you will never hear me use the term thin blue line. I think police officers are a blue fabric that holds societies together. All of us in uniforms we are the public. We are citizens that you have chosen to protect this city. There is no special or different place where we chose these individuals from. They are your relatives, your neighbors.

Question: We need to fix the grand jury system in house; need to examine what it means to be a grand juror

DA Anderson: The DA's office take charges; police has to get approval from us. Then the person goes in front of a magistrate to determine probably cause to continue with the case. It then goes to court if there is.

Every felony in Texas has to go to a grand jury. They listen to facts of the case to determine if the case can continue. It sounds like I have to go and look at the training the grand jury gets. They get a day of training.

If you ever feel you are not getting treated right or if you're lost, you can contact the judge. The judge can explain. The prosecutor also is supposed to explain the law to you.

Question: citizen commented that the system is broken because of police brutality

Chief McClelland: I am against police brutality also. Every police applicant must undergo a psychological examination. I will go back and have a meeting to see what testing instrument we use. The men and women we hire today are smarter are tech savvy come from diverse schools. All of us have baggage that we bring, but at HPD if you take that baggage out, we will separate you. Every agency has those who won't do the right thing, but we need you to bring them to our attention.

City Wide Town Hall Meeting has started

We will be live blogging the Q&A portion of the meeting which should begin around 10:45am.

Live blog will begin shortly.....

If you cannot be here at the City Wide Town Hall Meeting in person, then you can follow the live blog of the Q&A session here, or you can watch the live stream on the HPD YouTube channel AT THIS LINK.