Hpd: What Went Wrong and Why: Houston Police Department Problems in the 70s and 80s



The State Law That Prevented Chiefs from Controlling Officers


In the 1940s, mayors and police chiefs ruled with iron fists. Mayors returned political favors with special treatment, and police chiefs, if they wanted to keep their job, went along.



The Texas Legislature created a law in 1947 which offered cities a chance to change that situation greatly. Civil Service offered freedom from political influence - but planted a seed that grew rapidly and became a contagious behavior.



Read how this benevolent law cast the Houston Police Department officers into workers and drones - and how the chiefs had little power to change them.