Houston police union sounds alarm on lack of manpower, slams local judges 'refusing to do their job'
Harris County reportedly has over 700 open murder warrants
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
Houston is among the major cities in America witnessing a spike in violent crime, including over 700 open arrest warrants in Harris County for murder. Houston Police Officers' Union President Mark Griffith joined "Fox & Friends" Wednesday to address the lack of action from local judges and officials as crime continues to rise in the Lone Star State's largest city.
TEXAS' HARRIS COUNTY HAS MORE THAN 700 OPEN MURDER WARRANTS, 25K OPEN FELONY WARRANTS: REPORT
MARK GRIFFITH: Well, a lot of the issues have to do with the fact that our court system has not done their job. We have so many of these warrants that they allow them out on very low bonds, and they just don't show back up for court. That's going to be the majority of these cases. Our courts have been closed, and the judges have refused to do their job. We have many of these warrants out there. As you said, for murder over the weekend, we had a murder suspect out on a felony bond for murder, go out and kill again, a 23-year-old college student. This should never happen. We have over 16 people that are out on capital murder bonds.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
…
Well, understand our department, the Houston Police Department, we're about 2,000 officers short. What we should be Harris County Sheriff's Department is the same way. Our county officials have done nothing. The mayor has given us extra classes every year, but Harris County has not grown whatsoever, and they are responsible for keeping up and keeping track of those warrants. We receive them, but we don't have the manpower to go out there and search for [suspects] the way we should.
WATCH THE FULL VIDEO BELOW:
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}