Award winners, officials, emcee Rosie Nguyen (center)
Chief Finner
A full-capacity audience of more than 250 people attended the annual March On Crime ceremony March 13 honoring outstanding Houston Police Department officers who serve the Southwest Management District area.
As keynote speaker, HPD Chief Troy Finner recalled his days as a new patrol officer on assignment there more than 30 years ago.
“I love this area,” he said to the crowd at Houston Christian University’s McNair Hall.
Finner also addressed the internal and external investigations into the lack of HPD follow-through on more than 200,000 crime reports — many of them sexual assault and domestic violence complaints — that had been marked as closed due to staffing shortages since 2016.
HPD lion dancers
With the public’s support, “we are going to take corrective action and give those complainants, those survivors, the respect they deserve,” he said.
The three HPD commanders who supervise patrol activities in the District presented awards to supervisors of the year, officers of the year, rookies of the year, and top enrollees in the Explorers program, which introduces young people to law enforcement activities.
ABC13 reporter Rosie Nguyen served as emcee. The HPD lion dance team, a unique, costumed community outreach project, provided a surprise performance to open the event.
