This past Saturday the Houston Police Department held their third city wide town hall meeting in an attempt to foster meaningful dialogue between the department and Houstonians. The town hall was held at Texas Southern University and attended by Chief Charles McClelland, District Attorney Devon Anderson, and other officials with HPD. Chief Charles McClelland said the meeting comes after a record low number of internal affairs complaints filed by citizens. Not everyone was satisfied with the town hall, however.
A coalition of area activists led by End Mass Incarceration Houston , the New Black Panthers and Alianza Mexicana held a peaceful rally to challenge the narrative being offered by the department. The activists say the police are not protecting and serving the people of Houston but rather protecting “a system which increasingly denies The People their Right to Dignity, their Right to Respect, to Economic Opportunity and the Right to Life itself.” Michael Allen of End Mass Incarceration Houston said the officers are coming in to poor communities and looking for opportunities to victimize people.