HPD chief blasted by officers in survey

(7/14/06 - KTRK/HOUSTON) (KTRK) -- There were eye opening results released Thursday afternoon as Houston police officers ranked the performance of their chief and each other.

The much-anticipated release of the police officers union survey was accompanied by some very strong statements by the head of the organization.

"This police car, if you will, is very close to being in a ditch that it can't get out of," said Mark Clark, Executive Director of the Houston Police Officers' Union.

Of the 13 questions, question number 3 is probably the most telling. It reads, "I feel confident in Chief Hurtt's ability to lead the Houston Police Department." Seventy five percent of the respondents either disagreed or strongly disagreed with that statement.

Houston City Councilmember Michael Berry didn't like what he saw.

"We have a serious crime problem right now and we've just been told by a vast majority, a representative sample of officers who are tasked with solving the crime problem, that they don't believe this department's leadership can get it done," he said. "That's as close to a crisis as I can see."

The twelve remaining questions range from discipline procedures to departmental morale. None of the answers painted a rosy picture of HPD. But Chief Hurtt says change is always difficult.

"I'm the person driving change in the organization along with my command staff," he said Thursday. "Any time you're coming to an organization, you're driving change, you expect some resistance."

Mayor Bill White released a statement Thursday, saying in part, "There will always be room for improvement in the performance of each individual's job, from the top to the bottom, and there will always be a natural, healthy tension between management and organized labor." Click here to read Mayor White's full statement.
(Copyright © 2006, KTRK-TV)

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