HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — City council speakers signed up to speak out against what they call unnecessarily invasive surveillance policies by the Houston Police Department.
Then, they say they started getting calls from HPD.
Multiple speakers at this week’s council meeting said they felt intimidated after receiving calls from HPD before speaking.
“How many of you have read ‘1984’ by George Orwell? Cool,” one speaker testified. “So, I got a phone call today from HPD.”
“They’ve been saying some offensive things and even trying to argue about our pain caused by HPD,” another speaker said. “That’s intimidation, and it violates the right to speak freely.”
“After receiving a call from HPD to my personal phone number, I’m deeply concerned,” Alondra Andrade said.
Alondra Andrade came before the council to criticize HPD’s camera systems, traffic stops, and relationship with federal immigration authorities.
She said the HPD officer who called tried to convince her why the policies were in place.
All registered speakers are required to provide phone numbers.
“Although this was just a phone call and minor in some eyes,” Andrade said. “It is an extension of that surveillance system.”
Houston police did not respond to our request for comment, but Mayor Whitmire’s spokesperson says city officials call registered speakers in a good-faith effort to collect information and resolve problems.
At this week’s meeting, councilmember Carolyn Evans Shabazz responded to speakers.
“People are calling, from my office, council members, and certainly the mayor’s office,” she said. “But, no one is to call and intimidate anyone. I was assured by the mayor’s chief of staff that it would be addressed, and that is unacceptable.”
“I’ve testified a bunch of times at Commissioners Court, at City Council. This has never happened before,” Andrade said. “I think it matters to just show up and to keep fighting. If I’m under the impression that things can change for the better, I’m going to try to work toward that, and part of that is using my voice.”
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