Sunday, October 04, 2015

How much of this should Adrian Garcia get the blame for?


Over the past nine months, the Houston Chronicle has reviewed more than 1,000 disciplinary reports provided by the Harris County Sheriff's Office. Nearly half of those internal affairs investigations from 2010 through May 2015 resulted in discipline against jail staff who often brutalize inmates and attempt to cover up wrongdoing but rarely lose their jobs. Court records show jailers seldom faced criminal charges even in cases where they used excessive force.

"It was like an animal shelter," said Jamarcus Hill, who was jailed in 2013 as a 19-year-old on an auto theft charge. "You do anything - you get punished, you get pepper sprayed. You got to fight for your food, you even have to fight for your shoes."

In June 2009, the Justice Department concluded after its own yearlong investigation that inmates' constitutional protections had been violated by excessive violence and by substandard medical care that led to an "alarming" number of prisoner deaths. The Justice Department has taken no public action since then despite what records show are similar instances of unreported beatings, inmate deaths and medical neglect. Officials provided a letter indicating that the Civil Rights Division has an "ongoing law enforcement proceeding," but provided no specifics.

What policies and procedures -- specifically --  did Garcia put in place to address these atrocities while he was sheriff, from January of 2009 to May of 2015, when, after more than six months of rumor-mongering, he resigned to run for mayor of Houston?

In a recent interview, (Garcia) said that hundreds of disciplinary cases reviewed by the Chronicle resulted from his "commitment to transparency and accountability." He said he put systems in place that addressed Justice Department findings and notes that the average number of annual deaths dropped from about 16 per year from 2001-2006 to roughly 11 during his administration. Still, the jail has become more violent in recent years, with fights, assaults and attacks on staff escalating, the Chronicle's investigation has found, based on the sheriff's own statistics as well as custodial death reports, autopsies, lawsuits and interviews with current and former jail officials, former inmates and attorneys.

Specifics?

In one of his first acts as Harris County sheriff in 2009, Garcia consolidated two separate internal affairs operations -- one that policed the jail and the other that investigated complaints against patrol officers. He formed an Office of Inspector General with a staff of nearly 50. Garcia said he needed to take action to show the Justice Department that his office would address alleged abuses. He also had inherited a "tremendous" backlog of 160 un-investigated complaints that had piled up during the previous administration, he said. The deputies organization supported the move.

The OIG he created had a reputation for conducting thorough investigations.

In one of his final acts as sheriff before resigning to run for mayor, Garcia fired six supervisors, suspended 29 jailers and demoted a major for a neglect case involving a mentally disturbed inmate, Terry Goodwin. Initially jailed for marijuana possession, he was later found incompetent to stand trial.

Yeah, we know all about that.

Garcia said he first learned about the case in 2014 when a whistleblower made it public and an internal investigation began. In a recent interview, Garcia said he was furious after learning of the long-term neglect.

"The framework was there, the system was there to protect the inmates," he said. "Had they followed those policies, we wouldn't be having this conversation."

Harris County recently settled a legal claim filed on Goodwin's behalf for $400,000.

Not Garcia's fault, you see.  Bad apples.  And anyway, jails are terrible places made worse by the crazy people who shouldn't even be in jail, but somewhere being treated for their mental illnesses.  But there is of course no money to fix that, and hasn't been since the Reagan years -- the late '60's in California, when he was governor, and then in the '80's when he was president.  (If you want to do a deep dive into deinstitutionalization, here's a timeline and here's the Wiki.)

The Republican sheriff appointed after Garcia resigned isn't, as you could have guessed, helping Garcia's cause.

The effect that poor training and high turnover have had on the jail's workplace culture has been at the center of a debate Adrian Garcia and Ron Hickman -- the man who replaced him as sheriff -- have waged in the media since Garcia resigned in May.

Both believe low pay is an issue. Detention officers' starting pay is $18 per hour, less than any other county worker except entry level clerks. The guards are forced to work mandatory overtime. Jailers need only 92 hours of training, which they must complete within a year.

In one cost-cutting effort as sheriff, Garcia closed the jail's training academy, saying the department wasted too much time and money on wanna-be jailers who flunked out. Instead, Garcia allowed new-hires to complete training online and slashed overtime pay for detention officers from $26 million in 2009 to $4 million in 2015, according to sheriff's records.

[...]

The one thing both men agree on is that the jail has far too few resources to deal with mental illness among its inmates. About 2,000 take psychotropic medications, while there are only 200 mental health beds.

So there's this huge disaster down at the HCSO, one Garcia inherited, a mess which he claims to have improved, but that the statistics seem to disagree on.  Just a guess, but the FNG Hickman isn't going to make dramatic strides in improving these problems either.

Does Adrian Garcia deserve a promotion to mayor as the result of his record at the SO?  Houston voters get to decide in a few weeks.

Sunday Funnies

Saturday, October 03, 2015

Harris County Greens endorse four Democrats in Houston elections

How's that for outreach?

HCGP Endorses Turner, Peterson, Edwards, McCoy, Proposition 1


At the Harris County Green Party’s September general membership meeting, the members voted to endorse four candidates for local offices and one ballot initiative:

•    Rep. Sylvester Turner for Mayor of Houston
•    Doug Peterson for Houston City Council At Large, Position 3
•    Amanda Edwards, JD, for Houston City Council At Large, Position 4
•    Ann McCoy, PhD, for Houston ISD Board of Trustees, District IV
•    A Yes vote on Proposition 1 to restore the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO)

The HCGP Green Screen Committee helps members determine whether a candidate’s views and record adhere sufficiently to the Green Movement’s Ten Key Values and makes recommendations to the general membership regarding a candidate’s identity (party affiliation and general ideology), integrity, and electoral viability. Current Green Party members who run for public office already have affirmed their commitment to the Ten Key Values, as membership requires.

HCGP understands that State Representative Turner and municipal finance attorney Amanda Edwards have received contributions from corporate entities. While the Green Party as a whole opposes corporate campaign contributions in principle, these candidates have demonstrated progressive bona fides and are less likely than their major opponents to legislate on behalf of their corporate benefactors. In addition, Edwards has identified herself as the only candidate, among seven for Position 4, who supports Proposition 1.

Doug Peterson, retired NASA communications specialist, has devoted himself to transformation of communities to more livable places through citizen-input projects like "Exploration Green Conservancy".

Dr. McCoy, an educational research specialist in the University of Houston System, is running to represent the southern-central portion of the Houston Independent School District. Longtime trustee Paula Harris has opted not to seek re-election for that seat.

Campaign websites:
www.sylvesterturner.com, www.dougpetersonforhouston.com, www.edwardsforhouston.com, annmccoy.nationbuilder.com, houstonunites.org

For more information please contact Harris County Green Party Co-Chairs:
David Collins - greenhouston@myway.com Bernadine Williams - strongflower@gmail.com - (713) 734-0820

So Turner's a good enough pick, and his campaign expressed their delight for the endorsement and asked for the party's logo to put on their supporters page, but I still think that Chris Bell is the most progressive candidate in the race.  Peterson in similar fashion, and because the Greens chose not to endorse the only candidate running under their banner, there might be a story there.  I'm not going to be telling it, however.

Edwards and McCoy make three African Americans out of four on the G-slate, and two women.

This is a good start for the new, younger, more diverse regime for the local Green Party chapter, and something they can build on for the future.  Speaking of that, it looks as if Jill Stein is going to be coming back to Texas -- again -- later this month, about the very same time Hillary Clinton is.  That could be interesting.  And the GP's presidential nominating convention will be also held in Houston next year.  I'll have more details on all these things as they develop.

Update: More from Neil, and don't miss the comments and link from co-chair Collins.

This Week in "The Media is Being Mean to Hillary"

She's late to everything, including her very few public appearances.

At 3:30 p.m. Friday, one hour after Hillary Clinton was scheduled to take the stage at the gym at Broward College here, Vikesh Patel and three of his classmates left without catching a glimpse of the Democratic front-runner in this key Florida county. She was running late from a fundraiser.

"We've been here since one o'clock," said Patel, who doesn't know much about Clinton but whose parents have followed her and her husband for decades. 

He and his classmates were also going to work the rally into a paper for a speech class they're taking.
"I guess we'll have to go see someone else give a speech," Patel said.

Burn. 

In the back of the gym, another student, Nichole Zapata, was rethinking her decision to bring her grandmother to see Clinton speak.

"This is not a good impression," said Zapata, an undecided voter who plans to vote in 2016. "Hopefully she can win me over once she gets here, if she gets here. Not doing too good, though."

Don't you wish she was just being ignored by the media, like Bernie Sanders? 

In Baton Rouge last week, Clinton ran an hour late for her organizing event. The same day in Little Rock, she appeared more than 30 minutes after the crowd in a sweltering gym expected her.

The next day in Des Moines, Iowa, she walked on stage 40 minutes late in another gym where campaign staffers had carted in fans and bottled water to cool the overheated crowd.

And at an event on substance abuse Thursday in Dorchester, Massachusetts, Clinton was 50 minutes behind schedule.

I'm sure there are reasons beyond her control for it, and besides the weather's finally cooling off, even here in Texas, where she will drag the money bag through the Mostyn's palatial home and also San Antonio just after the first Democratic candidates' debate on October 13, and then swing down to the Valley.  How long will she keep Amber and Steve waiting, do you think?

Pamela Sharpe, an undecided Democrat from West Palm Beach, came to Clinton's event to try to make up her mind on the candidate.

"I'm thinking about getting ready to leave," she said 50 minutes after Clinton was supposed to go on. "I've been standing here a long, long time. There are not enough seats and I have other things to do."

That's it.  Winning hearts and minds. 

Clinton isn't especially unusual in her tardiness. It's a common affliction for candidates on the campaign trail.

They're over-scheduled, running between rallies, private meetings with local supporter and officials, sitting for interviews and headlining fundraisers. Former President Bill Clinton was notorious for often being hours late for events, his former aides argue, because he would shake the hand of every last voter and supporter who came to see him.

But it doesn't help the mood at her rallies at a time when Bernie Sanders, her much more punctual Democratic challenger, is making key early states very competitive and filling larger venues with more enthusiastic crowds.

Bingo. 

Walking out of the event, Zapata, the student who had hoped Clinton would win her over, was less than enthusiastic.

"She could have been better," she said. "She made us wait over an hour for her. I understand she is on a tight schedule, but she could have at least apologized for being late."

"It could have just been better," Zapata said, rushing out to get to her job at Starbucks.

It's probably nothing to get worried about, Clinton folks.

Friday, October 02, 2015

Scattershooting old folks' homes

Posting schedule remains light through the weekend as we shop assisted living facilities for Mom.  Funnies are being gathered for Sunday as always.  A few headlines...

-- Scary Democratic socialist Bernie Sanders is scaring conservaDems.  They're throwing around big numbers, and not of the fundraising kind.  Robert Reich takes the frightened children to school (they may not learn, however).  My problem is that Sanders is not thinking big enough, personally.  Now how scary would that be?

Why in the wide world of sports are Americans so paranoid?

-- Another community college school shooting.  Another mildly irritated president saying something about it.  Another day in America.  There will be another shooting next week, a couple more before the end of the year.  Everybody's reaction outside the circle of families and friends of those killed will be the same.

-- Another blog bites the dust.  I remember that Tom DeLay conference call with Amanda and Pandagon and the rest of the then-thriving Texblogosphere.  Alas, most people would rather troll Twitter or bloviate on Facebook.  There's just a few of us left now, and many of those are are only good for a once-a-week posting.  I can still recall dreaming that we were going to change the world.  The world changed all right, just not in the direction I was intending.

-- The world's largest pharmaceutical companies don't need $13 pills to increase to $750 overnight in order to pay for research and development of new, more effective, life-saving medication.  They need it for their CEO's bonuses, of course, but they also need those millions to pay for lobbyists in Congress to keep things that way.  They actually spend seven times as much on lobbying as they do on political contributions.

Maybe we have a problem that a pill can't cure.

-- Set some time aside to read the story of Demetri Kofinas, who developed a brain tumor that slowly robbed him of every memory he had, and which all came flooding back to him -- sometimes out of order -- after successful brain surgery.