HOUSTON – Houston City Council is preparing to decide whether to let voters weigh in on two hot-button policing issues this fall. A vote is expected Wednesday on whether to place both measures on the November ballot.
The proposals — which made it onto the council agenda after activists say they collected roughly 40,000 signatures — would amend the city charter to make low-level marijuana possession the lowest enforcement priority for the Houston Police Department and ban the use of no-knock warrants.
Ground Game Texas, a statewide organization focused on social justice, led the signature drive to get the measures in front of voters. Executive Director Catina Voellinger says the proposals, collectively known as the Houston Freedom Act, are straightforward.
“These are just common sense policies,” Voellinger said. “The Houston Freedom Act is really about priorities and accountability — saying that low-level cannabis possession should be the lowest enforcement priority of HPD and that they shouldn’t use no-knock raids. In addition, the policy also asks the city to do an audit over the past five years to see the demographics of these types of arrests.”
Voellinger says the effort is about more than policy — it’s about making sure those policies stick regardless of who leads the department.
“Police chiefs come and go, and one police chief in the future might decide, ‘Hey, we actually want to undo everything that the previous chief decided,’” Voellinger said. “This is the new policy and standards for the department. So we’re just codifying this.”
The push comes against the backdrop of Texas’ ongoing debate over marijuana enforcement and the memory of the 2019 Harding Street raid, in which Houston police served a no-knock warrant later found to be based on fabricated evidence. The raid ended in a shootout that killed two homeowners and injured several officers.
Not everyone believes the measures are necessary. Douglas Griffith, president of the Houston Police Officers Union, says the proposals are attempting to fix a problem that no longer exists.
“Since Harding Street, we pretty much did away with no-knock warrants,” Griffith said. “The only time those can be served is with approval by the chief of police himself, and our SWAT team runs it. We may do one or two a year — if that. I can’t remember the last one we did. As far as marijuana goes, Harris County already has a diversion program with the DA’s office, so we very rarely arrest anybody for marijuana anymore.”
Griffith also pushed back on the argument that deprioritizing marijuana enforcement would free up officers to focus on more serious crimes.
“Everything we do is on body camera,” Griffith said. “If we find marijuana in a car, we still have to do a report, we still have to tag it and make sure they go through the diversion program. That would not change. So it doesn’t help us at all — because anything seen on camera, you have to deal with.”
The measures are expected to be discussed Tuesday during public comment before a council vote Wednesday. Ground Game Texas is encouraging supporters to attend Tuesday’s public comment session at City Hall to make their voices heard.