Houston police officer under investigation after participating in U.S. Capitol riot
Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo announced Thursday that the 18-year veteran of the department had resigned. Full Story
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![Houston police officers and SWAT team members on the scene in a west Houston neighborhood where a gunman with an assault rifle shot one man and injured 6 before being killed by a SWAT officer on May 29, 2016.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Ken Paxton is only state attorney general in the U.S. who didn’t sign letters condemning Capitol insurrection
Paxton has individually condemned the violence on television and social media while falsely claiming the pro-Trump mob that invaded the U.S. Capitol was infiltrated by liberal antifa activists. Full Story
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![Attorney General Ken Paxton spoke at the Texas Federation of Republican Women Convention in Dallas on Oct. 19, 2017.]()
Credit: Laura Buckman/The Texas Tribune -
Texas' highest criminal court agrees to review murder conviction of white police officer who killed unarmed Black teen
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals took the rare step Wednesday in the landmark case of Roy Oliver, who was convicted of murder in the death of 15-year-old Jordan Edwards. Full Story
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![The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Jan. 15, 2020.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
“We would have been shot”: Texas activists shaken by law enforcement reaction to Capitol siege
Texas organizers said the insurrection at the U.S. capitol demonstrates how differently law enforcement is applied based on protesters' race and politics. Full Story
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![Police officers made an arrest and deployed pepper spray as supporters of President Trump stormed the United States Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The joint session of the House and Senate was sent to recess after the breach as it convened to confirm the Electoral College votes cast in November's election.]()
Credit: Matthew Rodier/SiPA USA via REUTERS -
Ken Paxton told Trump supporters to "keep fighting." When they breached the Capitol, he falsely claimed it wasn't them.
At a low point in his rollercoaster political career, Paxton is betting on the Trump base to bring him back up the hill, lending the legitimacy of office to debunked claims that have motivated violence. Full Story
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![Ken Paxton at the inauguration ceremony of Judge Michelle Slaughter at the state Capitol in Austin on Jan. 11, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
After whistleblowers left Texas attorney general’s office, Ken Paxton hired costly outside counsel for Google lawsuit
Texas could pay the outside lawyers tens of millions for their work on the case — an early indication of the costs taxpayers may bear in the latest scandal enveloping Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton at a press conference in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in 2016.]()
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A Texas man was sent to trial with the coronavirus. Jurors weren’t told they were exposed until after deliberations ended.
From March until June, Texas had zero jury trials because of the pandemic, starting a backlog of cases that will take years to overcome. This summer some counties started experimenting with in-person jury trials, which have posed health risks for those involved. Full Story
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![Travis County Judge Nicholas Chu prepares for the nation’s first virtual criminal trial in a traffic case in August 2020.]()
Credit: Steve Miller/Texas Office of Court Administration -
Analyzing 2020: Racial justice and police reform
We've selected some columns from 2020 on racial justice and police reform. Full Story
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![John Morrison, a community activist, speaks at a Black Lives Matter rally for George Floyd at Houston City Hall. May 29, 2020.]()
Credit: Pu Ying Huang for The Texas Tribune -
Donald Trump pardons former Border Patrol agent Gary Brugman, who was convicted of violating a man’s civil rights
Brugman’s case drew national attention among conservative figures who hailed him for working to secure the U.S. border. Full Story
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![President Donald Trump during a campaign rally at the Minden-Tahoe Airport in Nevada in September.]()
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Texas hasn’t said when or how inmates will receive the coronavirus vaccine
Texas officials have not detailed when jails and prisons — known hot spots of the coronavirus' spread — will receive doses of the vaccine. And many on the inside remain wary of getting the shot in prison. Full Story
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![Texas Department of Criminal Justice William G. McConnell Unit at Chase Field in Beeville.]()
Credit: Jennifer Whitney for The Texas Tribune -
Trump commutes remaining prison term of former Texas GOP congressman Steve Stockman, who was convicted of misusing charitable funds
President Donald Trump also pardoned former Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, who were convicted of shooting an unarmed drug smuggler and covering it up in 2006. Full Story
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![Former U.S. Rep. Steve Stockman, R-Friendswood, right, leaves the United States District Courthouse in Houston on Monday, April 9, 2018, after closing arguments in his federal corruption trial.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Houston judge Jesse McClure appointed to Texas Court of Criminal Appeals by Gov. Greg Abbott
McClure will replace Judge Michael Keasler, 78, who is retiring at the end of this year. Full Story
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![The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Jan. 15, 2020.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
The pandemic, protests and the polls: Texas' 2020 in photos
Photojournalists captured the unforgettable images that defined an epic year in Texas as people grappled with the pandemic, protested police brutality and made their voices heard at the polls. Full Story
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![Crystal Aitaegbebhunu and her dance partners rqn through their choreography for a Juneteenth black empowerment video at Emancipation Park in Houston on June 15, 2020.]()
Credit: Pu Ying Huang for The Texas Tribune -
South Texas restrictions were meant to protect people from COVID-19. Then the handcuffs and ticket books came out.
Governments along the Texas-Mexico border took a hard line to limit the spread of the new coronavirus. Police were key to the public health response, resulting in hundreds jailed and nearly 2,000 people ticketed. Full Story
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![People walk down a road in Donna before nightfall. Dec. 7, 2020.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Feds join political fight over police funding in Austin, even though it doesn’t have Texas’ worst crime increase
A newly appointed U.S. attorney announced a new joint law enforcement operation in Austin, blaming the city's crime on its police budget cuts. But homicides and aggravated assaults began rising in many major cities before budget discussions in the state's capital. Full Story
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![Austin police officers stand guard outside of their headquarters during a protest over the death of George Floyd. Floyd died during an attempted arrest by Minneapolis police.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Texas Supreme Court rules Alfred Dewayne Brown must be compensated for his wrongful imprisonment
In 2015, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals tossed out Brown’s conviction and death sentence in the 2003 murder of a Houston police officer. Phone records found in the prosecution’s possession, but not shared with the defense at trial, supported Brown’s alibi that he was at his girlfriend’s house during the crime. Full Story
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![The Texas Supreme Court on Jan. 15, 2020.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Former Houston police captain accused of violent attempt to prove election conspiracy was hired by GOP activist's group
Mark Aguirre is accused of running a man off the road and threatening him at gunpoint. The ex-cop was hired as a private investigator by a group whose CEO is GOP activist Steven Hotze. Full Story
![Houston police officers and SWAT team members on the scene in a west Houston neighborhood where a gunman with an assault rifle shot one man and injured 6 before being killed by a SWAT officer on May 29, 2016.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
In rush of federal executions, Brandon Bernard and Alfred Bourgeois were put to death for Texas murders
Bernard and Bourgeois were the ninth and 10th people executed by President Donald Trump’s administration this year. Full Story
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![Interior of execution chamber.]()
Credit: Texas Department of Criminal Justice -
Fourteen U.S. Army leaders fired or suspended at Fort Hood
The shake-ups come in response to an independent review of the base’s command climate and are an effort to correct a yearslong culture of sexual assault and a pattern of violence at the base. Full Story
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![A memorial for Specialist Vanessa Guillén outside the Fort Hood U.S. Army post in Killeen.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott tells supporters he's considering placing law enforcement for central Austin under state control
It's the latest proposal from the governor to punish the capital city for its August decision to trim its police budget by a third, primarily by shifting some responsibilities out of law enforcement oversight. Full Story
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![State Troopers stand guard on the state Capitol grounds during a protest against the death of George Floyd. June 2, 2020.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune