Houston Chronicle by St. John Barned-Smith and Keri Blakinger June 20, 2019
Harris County prosecutors are threatening to issue grand jury subpoenas to the Houston Police Department for details about confidential informants used by narcotics officers at the center of the botched Harding Street drug raid in January that ended with two residents dead and five officers injured.
After police failed to fulfill a previous request for the information in May, Harris County Assistant District Attorney Natasha Sinclair sent a one-page letter Thursday demanding HPD turn over a trove of information relating to the bust, including the identities of informants used by Squad 15 since 2014, the names of those who signed off on informant payments and details about alleged buys.
"It has been more than six weeks since we requested this material in preparation for possible presentation to a grand jury," wrote Sinclair, who heads the district attorney's civil rights division. "We have yet to receive confidential informant information on the specific incident reports requested."
The demand letter comes amid escalating tensions between police and Harris County prosecutors and suggests that the police department has dragged its feet in providing records despite promises from Chief Art Acevedo for an open and transparent investigation.
The letter also indicates the DA's office may be conducting a wider review than the internal investigation by HPD and a readiness to involve a grand jury in the process.
Acevedo responded hours later Thursday to the letter with a statement saying police had turned over their investigation into the shooting in mid-May and pledged to continue to work with prosecutors.
"From the outset of the incident at 7815 Harding Street, the Houston Police Department has worked cooperatively with the Harris County District Attorney's Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to ensure no stone is left unturned to determine the facts in this matter," Acevedo said in the statement.
"Additionally we responded to all of the requests specifically related to the aforementioned investigations," the chief said. "With regard to the additional records sought by the HCDAO not specifically related to the Harding Street incident and dating back many years, HPD has and will continue to work cooperatively with the HCDAO."
The district attorney's office, however maintains that the requested records about Squad 15 are relevant to their probe of the failed raid.
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