Harold Hurtt

Harold Hurtt
Born	Campbell County, Virginia
Police career
Department	Houston Police Department
Country	2004-2009
Years of service	1977 - Present
Rank	Phoenix PD Patrolman - 1968 chief of the Oxnard, California, Police Department - 1992 Phoenix Police Chief - 1998 Houston Police Chief - 2004

Harold L. Hurtt, is a Director for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as director for the Office of State and Local Coordination. Which includes outreach programs and coordinating communications between Law enforcement of various outside agencies.^[1] Hurt previously served as The Houston Police Department's police chief from 2004 until 2009.^[2]

Career

Hurtt started his career after being his service in the Air force in Phoenix, Arizona in 1968, going through the ranks until he became the Assistant Chief. In 1992, he accepted the Chief position for the Oxnard, California, and then in 1998 was hired by Phoenix Police Department.^[3] as chief.

Education

Hurtt earned a B.A. in sociology from Arizona State University in 1977 and an M.A. in organizational management from the University of Phoenix in 1991.^[4]

Career highlights

Dress code and Facial beard controversy

Shortly after taking office, he required police to cover up tattoos with long sleeves, if needed. Additionally, he required all facial hair to be removed, citing that it would prevent gas masks to be used effectively.^[5] This resulted in a group of African American officers to file a lawsuit claiming that they have skin conditions called Pseudofolliculitis barbae or Acne keloidalis nuchae that makes it painful to shave.^[6] The city supported Chief Hurtt's new policy and approved $150,000 for legal defense against the suit.^[7] The suit was eventually tossed out.^[8]

Tasers

Houston became the first major city in the nation to fully arm the entire Police Department with tasers with the passage of an authorization of $4.7 million in November 2004, which was a result of a controversial shooting the previous year.^[9] Chief Hurtt, was hoping to repeat the success he had when he was Chief of the Phoenix Police Department with reducing police shootings.^[10]

Evidence facility compromised

Because of missing evidence in several cases, including missing drugs and guns, the chief eventually ordered a new evidence building that was completed in 2009.^[11][12]

Crime Lab

Chief Hurtt was initially brought in to help bring the lab back from scandals involving that left many cases suspect.^[13] Within two years, the crime lab regained its accreditation and returned to full operation.^[14]

Mobility Response Team

On July 2, 2007, Mayor White and Chief Hurtt unveiled the Mobility Response Team (MRT). The new teams responds to various traffic issues around the immediate Downtown Houston area and free up Police officers who otherwise would be directing traffic around accidents and major events.^[15] The department was started with 21 personnel and a $1.8 Million budget a year.^[16] On March 3, 2009 March 3, A series of investigative reports by KTRK's Wayne Dolcefino put in question on the effectiveness, ethics, and work practices of The Mobility Response Team. After the report, one supervisor has been reassigned and the whole MRT unit faced an internal affairs investigation.^[17]

Criticism

Hurtt has been widely criticised for his policies condoning illegal immigration, refusing to hand over arrested illegal aliens over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which have brought Houston to the status of being called a sanctuary city. In 2006, Houston police officer Rodney Johnson was shot four times in the head during a routine traffic stop by a once-deported illegal alien who had been arrested and released three times in the city.

His widow, Joslyn Johnson, herself a sergeant in the Houston PD, filed suit against Hurtt, the city and the police department, stating that the department's failure to discover the gunman's immigration status and report him to federal authorities enabled him to stay "at large" in the country. Hurtt's policies have been blamed for enabling illegal immigrants to kill two police officers and seriously injure another in Phoenix, Arizona before he left in 2005.^[18]

Resignation

It was reported that during the 2009 Houston Mayoral Election, that candidates Peter Hoyt Brown, Annise Parker, and Roy Morales said that they would replace Hurtt if they become mayor. Upon Annise Parker's win, Hurtt tendered his resignation on December 15, to be effective on the 30th. Hurtt was replaced with interim police chief, Charles McClelland, a 33 year veteran of the force. ^{[19] [20]}

^[21]

References