Days after Houston City Council Member Letitia Plummer published a series of police reform goals in the form of budget amendments, five other Houston City Council Members published a letter calling for a similar slate of wide-ranging changes.
The letter calls for Mayor Sylvester Turner to consider implementing the 20-plus reforms over the next 90 days. They push for a restructuring of the Independent Police Oversight Board, increased scrutiny over previous police shootings as well as stricter reporting methods for future shootings and requiring a “duty to intervene” policy, among other policy changes.
With the addition of Plummer’s reforms, every black Houston City Council member has signed onto reform measures. The letter stated the council members, Tiffany Thomas, Carolyn Evans-Shabazz, Edward Pollard, Jerry Davis and Martha Castex-Tatum, met with Houston Police Department leadership to discuss their goals.
"We even shared our unsavory personal experiences with law enforcement—some as recently as last year,” the letter read, referring to the meeting. “We also listened and learned about practices and policies that are in place within the Houston Police Department and those that are not.”
