Houston Chronicle: HPD hired a former jail guard who quit after allegations of abuse. Now, groups want reform

Criminal justice reform groups on Thursday again called on Houston’s leaders to step up in light of new reports alleging abuse, physical violence and lack of accountability by Houston law enforcement.

The newest call for reforms came in light of TV news reports showing a former Harris County jail guard, identified as Deven Ortiz, repeatedly throwing a female jail inmate to the ground.

Standing in front of City Hall on Thursday, a handful of criminal justice and reform activists said Ortiz’s apparent job-hopping was another example of things that needed to be fixed at local agencies.

“Some serious questions need to be asked,” said Nicholas Little, the chairman for criminal justice of the Houston branch of the NAACP. “Do law enforcement organizations not talk to each other about incidents from previous agencies when vetting possible employees? How was he able to get through this process? This unfortunate example undermines the very fairness of applicants who apply to our law enforcement agencies every day.”

The Honey Brown Hope Foundation called for a comprehensive investigation into all recently hired officers at the police department, a root cause analysis into what failures led to Ortiz’s employment and major policy reform for it called a “critical system breakdown.” 

“People are crying out for justice to be served,” said Tammie Lang Campbell, the foundation’s founder.  

Campbell said she wanted the group’s message to be heard by city leaders who say they are “very strong on criminal justice and standing against crime.”