Houston Chief Art Acevedo
Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Previous Post
Next Post

By Larry Keane

Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo is rolling out the welcome mat to police frustrated with cities enacting “defund police” policies. Chief Acevedo is looking to fill 400 vacancies and he’s telling police fed up with progressive policies to head to Houston. It’s like a swimmer at a shark-infested beach saying to come on in, the water’s fine.

“We’re fortunate we have a mayor and a council … that understands that our community doesn’t want less policing, they don’t want to defund the police, they want better policing and they want good cops,” Chief Acevedo told Fox and Friends.

Chief Acevedo, though, is no stranger to using his uniform to push political agendas and siding with the same politicians who embrace the “defund police” movement, including Houston’s U.S. Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee and Al Green (D-Texas). He’s a Capitol Hill regular, most recently testifying against calls to defund police departments, but he’s also been there as a vocal gun control supporter. “And I believe that we can do better in terms of limiting access to firearms to law-abiding Americans of sound mind,” he told Texas Monthly last year.

That’s right. Chief Acevedo, the top cop in one of America’s most populous cities, thinks more should be done to limit law-abiding Americans from exercising their God-given rights.

In that same interview, Chief Avecedo pontificated on how he sees his role in policing and community safety.

Policing Gun Owners

“I want to be a twenty-first-century police chief,” he explained to Texas Monthly. “I think most police chiefs today, what they want to do is change from the ‘Hey, let’s be tough on crime’ mind-set to a mind-set of ‘Let’s be appropriate on crime. Let’s be strategic on crime. Let’s make decisions based on the threat a person truly poses.’ To me, being progressive means that when it comes to people who aren’t hurting others, we need to focus on the restorative approach, to help them get their lives on track.”

Chief Acevedo is the president of the Major Cities Chiefs Association, which supports reinstating the failed 1994 Assault Weapons Ban and instituting universal background checks, which is unworkable without a national registry of gun owners. The Major Cities Chiefs Association also wants to ban standard capacity magazines, ban internet ammunition sales for a scheme of record-keeping of licensing and record-keeping of sales by vendors.

Chief among the chief’s progressive policing approach is a “get-tough-on-gun-control” agenda. Chief Acevedo was among Congressional witnesses begging the U.S. House of Representatives to enact strict gun control measures in a hearing last year.

Houston Police Department chief Art Acevedo testifies before the House Judiciary Committee hearing on gun violence, at Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2019. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

He urged the criminalization of private firearm transfers and passage of universal background checks and wants a national “red flag” law that would circumvent due-process rights, protections against illegal search-and-seizure and the right to a speedy hearing.

“Doing nothing is not acceptable,” Chief Acevedo admonished lawmakers.

Activist Policing

It wasn’t the first time Chief Acevedo lashed out at lawmakers for not going along with his gun control ideas. He blasted U.S. Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) following the tragic murder of a Houston police officer in December 2019.

“I don’t want to see their little smug faces about how much they care about law enforcement when I’m burying a sergeant because they don’t want to piss off the NRA,” Chief Acevedo said. “Choose sides,” he added. “It’s right and wrong, and it’s not that complicated.”

The Houston Police Officers’ Union rebuked him for the outburst.

“The fact that Chief Acevedo chose that moment to make a political statement on guns, is nothing short of offensive and inappropriate,” stated the HPOU Executive Board in a letter. “There is a time and place for every discussion and this was neither the time nor the place.”

Chief Acevedo’s political acumen is growing. He most recently starred in the Democratic National Convention for a police reform panel with former Vice President Joe Biden. He joined Black Lives Matter in May telling protestors, “We will march as a department with everybody in this community. I will march until I can’t stand no more.”

Black Lives Matter supports defunding police.

Police officers leaving departments targeted by defunding movements won’t find clear waters in Houston. What they’ll find is a police chief who embraces radical agendas that deny Americans their rights and fail to make communities safer.

 

Larry Keane is Senior Vice President of Government and Public Affairs and General Counsel for the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the firearms industry trade association.

Previous Post
Next Post

62 COMMENTS

  1. I don’t understand, if Texas is such a pro-gun state, why don’t they get rid of such a p.o.s. police top brass like this idiot chief? That is the only way to treat such 2A haters. Get rid of him and appoint someone who will stand for our 2A God given right.

    • Because the people in charge hire people of like mindedness. The mayor is Anti 2A. The city counsel is Anti 2A. The 2 most powerful Rep. to congress are Anti 2A. All these people were voted into office by people who are either Anti 2A or don’t consider it enough of an issue to protect it. Votes have consequences. Both intended and unintended.

      • I wish we could find a way to prevent the radical democ-Rats p.o.s. from moving across state lines and invade our pro-gun states/communities…and squash them like the disease ridden cockroaches that they are…

        • Or at the VERY least, prevent arrogant plutocrats (Michael Bloomberg, anyone?) from using their obscene wealth to unduly influence the outcomes of local and state elections of states they don’t even reside in. Citizen’s United be damned.

        • He is a RINO. Texas is no stranger to having lots of incompetent wishy-washy politicians in office.

        • He was hired away from being the POS Police Chief of Austin, where city council hired him from CA rather than promoting from within their own department, which was a fair warning about what was coming. Man is a piece of work.

        • Acevedo means ahole in derka.

          Look at his smirk in that photo. He looks like he just got finished servicing a Montrose glory hole.

    • The people of Texas are very pro gun. Just like the majority of the American population. That doesn’t stop anti American fools like this from getting into authority. The vast majority of the Russian people never want a Cold War with the US.

    • Houston is liberally run. Not sure exactly why, but I think a lot of it is the foreign influence. Dems are lax on immigration, so illegal aliens vote Dem. Houston has had openly queer mayors who basically promised to destroy Houston. Houston is Little Austin, but more racist – in Houston they don’t like Whitey very much, and they lack the liberal-left self-loathing white leadership of California or Austin.

      • by 2040 the Whites will be 50% of the population, no longer the majority. by 2070 the Hispanics will number almost as much as the entire population did in 2040.

        think about that. we are in the process of handing over “our” country to a different culture. better make it good.

        • Culture is transferable. People can share the same culture and, given time, will almost always adopt the one they’re immersed in (i.e., assimilate) no matter what ethnic group they’re assigned to.

          But for it to work, you have to have a healthy culture with strong acculturation mechanisms — which, thanks to the evil ideology of multiculturalism, we no longer have.

        • For the last 50 years or so, and especially since the development of cable, internet, and satellite, we no longer have assimilation into the culture.

          An Italian immigrant in the early 20th century, if he wanted Italian news in Italian, had to wait 4 weeks for an Italian newspaper to show up at a big city library. Today a Somali “refugee” can live in an all Somali neighborhood, get government services and support from offices staffed by Somalis, shop at a store staffed by mostly Somalis, watch Somali TV, and surf Somali websites on the internet, all in the midst of a major American city. No one has to assimilate anymore. They can remain immersed in Somali culture until their Imams tell their fellow Somalis to vote them into office.

    • Because Texas isn’t that great, is deep purple, and will likely go blue in the next few decades due to a complete lack of border control. Every major city in Texas is hardcore blue now, as is every single county on the southern border.

      • And why now more then ever ALL Patriots must stand up and shout out loud ENOUGH!!! I know im locked and loaded and as like in todays shooting in Kenosha a 17yr old and others his age noticed there were no law enforcement any where.Sotres and shops that belonged to these kids parents and friends parents saw them all being burned and looted.So on the 2nd night of riots they choose to arm them selves and stand up to keep the peace since the law was no where to be found? It got so bad that rather then just start shooting into a crowed of barbarian,Marxist trash they choose ot turn tail.Not because they feared the crowd but because they didnt want to hurt anyone over stores that have already been looted and burned down.The Poor 17yr old boy tht obviously had Good intentions but lacked the Exp. and Maturity to,really know what to do.But as this 17yr old ran away even though he was armed the Antifa/BLM/CAIR/Moslem Brotherhood group chased him down!One hitting him after he fell to the ground,running away with a skateboard! While several others approached him to do him more harm!So what anyone else would do as they lay on the ground dazed would use their firearm to “protect” them selves! Sadly he did fatally shot two of the Communists.But at the same time as we have seen in the past the MOB has murdered about 35 people since the riots have started with the approval of the Blue Pond Scum politicians in DC and at the state and local level! And the Lack of protecting the Citizens of their states and cities is a treasonous act! Allowing their cities and states to burn just to blame it on Trump when the Demonrats them selves have created the situation! Sorry i just couldnt stop! rant over! hehe

    • San Antonio got rid of his sorry ass but Houston picked him up pretty quick after that. All he does is cry when something happens to a cop but doesn’t say a whole lot when something happens to a Houston citizen. Kind of hypocritical if you ask me.

      • Andy – umm NOPE little artie was entrenched up in Austin. The top cop (McManus) here in SA isn’t really a whole lot better though. He was the one that ‘ordered’ some of his officers a few years back to ‘arrest’ a couple of open rifle carrying folks because it ‘triggered’ some snowflakes. Problem was that open carry of long guns was already legal in Texas and had been for decades. The open carry of handguns hadn’t been passed yet. Since the officers couldn’t charge them for open carry they opted for a specious charge of ‘disorderly conduct’. IIRC those charges were dropped.
        BTW, there is still an ongoing Texas Ranger investigation due to him not notifying ICE about a whole semi trailer load of illegals. The only real difference is the routes they took to get here – artie came to Texas from kalypornia (CHP to be exact) and McManus from DC via Minneapolis. Probably all anyone needs to know about their politics.

    • I’ve said it before and I’ll said it again … Texas has long been “All Hat, No Cattle” when it comes to gun rights. They’ve made some improvements in recent years, but there’s still a whole lot more image making than reality with Texas and the Second Amendment.

    • Texas, as an entity, is NOT a pro-gun state, that’s why. Every major city in the state except for Fort Worth, is an island of democratic socialism, and the populations in those places DOES NOT support the continuance of a republican government. The only reason Texas has continued to vote republican and managed to continue to maintain personal freedom is that the majority of our population is rural or lives in small communities and cities where democratic socialism can’t get a foothold. As our population grows, it’s all coming in to the cities where social services are “free” to anyone who votes demoncratic. Just look at Austin…..In fact, look at Houston………wonder why they have nearly 500 police officer vacancies??

    • Acevedo is a liberal first recruited by the radical liberal Austin City Council and Mayor years ago as the Austin Chief of Police. The Puerto Rican native came to Austin from guess where? CALIFORNIA, where he was a CHP Captain. When the radical liberal Houston City Council was in the market for a liberal Chief, Acevedo moved his lib show 160 miles east. Austin and Houston are full of liberals who’ve moved in from the east and left coast and bring their crazy liberal politics with them, then elect crazy libs to run their cities and turn them into liberal haven $#!TH0L€$ just like where they came from.

    • The sad thing is just that.With all the libtards running out of Cali,NYC and my Bluest state of New Jersey,are fleeing to Texas and other states that have now turned purple!!!As it stand most of the pro-gun politicians and citizens live in the middle of the country.I openly warn you and everyone else that as soon as all,of the border states have been turned blue we are going to see that civil war here.If any access to the outside world remains in one of our states that borer anther country to a coastal state the Patriots trapped in the center of the country will be able to be re-supplied by any allies they may have. This is the long term strategy is to corral the 2A supporters in the middle of the country to surround and starve them out.Once the civil war starts we must open a lane for re-supply.So everyone needs to buy all the ammo you can while you can!!I have said this for the last decade which is about as long as i have been into firearms.After a few home invasions in my area i thought it best to arm myself at least at home.(even though N.J. has a CCW law,permits are NEVER Approved and its costly and non-refundable of course…..I have always supported our Constitution and Bill Of Rights as I took the oath as i entered the navy the fall after High School! I have never been relieved of that duty! If the war dose come i pray its sooner then later as i am getting older.I’d much rather i fight in the coming unrest then my Children or Grandchildren!!! WE THE PEOPLE “Patriots and all people that love this country and it was meant to be,A Constitutional Republic.That thing the Demonrats tout almost daily now but havnt a clue as to what that means.Praising our Constitution all while working ferverishly to undermine it!!! I will NOT stand for it anymore and have joined a Patriot group(NOT A WHITE SUP. GROUP) people of all colors are members.We will only help those that accept our help or ask for it.We do NOT fire the 1st shot but “will”return aggression! We will never start anything and feel as our Constitution says both sides have the right to protest as long as its NOT hurting anyone or destroying property!
      One thing i would suggest for everyone that isnt out rioting and protesting.The people that just want a safe place to work and raise their families and live must find people that are like minded that want to protect their families as well?Then even though you wouldnt be an active patriot group but you would have a group of trusted friends that all can count on each other to get threw what ever is coming!Each contributing to said group and all running security! All must learn how to use and own a firearm for self protection and that of group security! One major must every group needs is a couple real E.M.T.’s that have real training and Exp. in Emergency firearms injury care!!!Those with actual Active Duty field Exp. during battle are most disirerable.But an EMT from the inner city of Burbs are great selections as well.They can teach the rest of the group as well! These days we all must resort to this and one of the best ways to meet people that think the same is going to gun ranges or join a gun/hunting club.When it comes to the EMT’s its not easy.One time i was in a car accident and i wasnt injured but my truck was totaled but the other driver was a bot older and just in case had to wait to be transported to the hospital.I got to talking to those guys as it wasnt such an emergency that they were able ot take their time and it gave me a chance ot chat up the one person.They were actually someone i met once at our local pistol range and low and behold is a like minded person.Not only am i a ][][][% in a group but i have yet a 2nd local group of friends and neighbors that will band together in any situation to help us all come out of what ever it is better off then if we were all on our own! Good luck to you and GOD BLESS you and America!!!%

  2. Acevedo is an asshat. I’m surprised he got hired here after he failed in his duties elsewhere, im even more surprised he’s still here after the whole lying for warrants and innocent people getting shot, you know, by police…corrupt police, under his command…

  3. Art ‘the Fart’ Assholevedo is a liar and hypocritical Progressive Social Democrat asscunt from the People’s Republic of Austin.

    Certainly has NO credibility and no concern for the people he supposedly serves. Trust him about as much as I trust the Houston Mayor Monkey.

  4. Acevedo is a serious schitt stain. He continued to call his officers who murdered that couple in Pecan Park ‘Heroes’ for killing people on the wrong end of a ‘No Knock’ warrant based on lies and felonious behavior of his plucking cops.

  5. Too many people worry way too much about “pissing off the NRA”

    Who cares? It isn’t the NRA that needs to be followed…..it’s the US Constitution.

    I’ve had about enough of this guy!

  6. This guy and his murderous police department is the reason why, so many people don’t trust the police. And call for them to be defunded. I’m sure he will hire the worst.

  7. I give senor Assevedo props for telling the biggest whoppers. Any canned cop looking for a gig deserves a special place in hades. NO BUENO😕😕😕😕

  8. A police chief that supports BLM and strict gun control, just what we need. His support for BLM shows his true feelings, ACAB.

  9. You just can’t fix stupid. There are other cities in Texas that would take cops. Why go work for a POS like this a-hole?

    • “Defunded” police are probably coming from way-left cities already, easier to train them, perhaps, to protect the criminals from the citizens. Perhaps they are not confident they can actually do a real job.

  10. “And I believe that we can do better in terms of limiting access to firearms to law-abiding Americans of sound mind,” he told Texas Monthly last year.

    That’s right. Chief Acevedo, the top cop in one of America’s most populous cities, thinks more should be done to limit law-abiding Americans from exercising their God-given rights.

    That’s not what he said. English, mf-er, do you speak it? It may be what he not-so-secretly thinks, but that is NOT what this quote means.

    To paraphrase it in a more direct way, he literally said that firearm access should be limited to law-abiding Americans of sound mind. You probably actually agree with him on that.

    If you’re going to use somebody’s words, you should at least understand what they mean.

  11. Wow cool , where do I get an application and do they ask for a reasume ? my last reasume went like this.”Yeah I’d like to reasume back to work as soon as I can”, well it didn’t work. But I’d make a hell of a cop, the first thing I’d do is shoot a kids dog, then beat the hell out of a BLM protesty,maybe even cap off a few then. I’d get laid off under investigation( like that aint going to happen) then I’d move back here to stickville and draw a cops salary until trial. By the time it goes to court I ll have already been splattered by some motorists( JWM) living the high life. How did I get to move out of state, well, I’m a cop, probation shit really, P.O. said as long as you keep in touch it’s fine.

  12. All the cops whose balls you guys suck on a regular basis would gleefully take orders from this Soviet commissar. Be consistent for a change and suck his balls, too.

    Because MUH GOVERNMENT COSTUME.

  13. HOW THE HELL COULD ANYBODY THAT LIVES IN TEXAS, LET A GUY LIKE THIS IN GOVT. DONT LET ANYBODY TAKE YOUR GUNS !!!!!!!! This is all you need to know.

  14. “I want to be a twenty-first-century police chief,”

    And I want him to be a 21st century telephone pole decoration, much as the founding fathers would. Something for the crows to argue over.

  15. Acevedo is a scumbag but he’s in the company of even scummier peers including Houston’s mayor Sylvester Turner, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee and Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo. Now, Greater Houston has a pathological liar in Sri Preston Kulkarni running for Congress on a Grab All Guns ticket that makes Nicholas “Beto” O’Rourke look like a gun rights campaigner. Depending on which side of his mouth he talks out of, Sri Kulkarni either claims to be descended from the Pilgrims who came on the Mayflower (apparently his ancestors did a Hare Krishna dance when it was hit by storms) or he is the son of Indian immigrants bringing Indian style hoplophobia as a guru to the United States. In the meantime, this is what Houston offers:

    1. A Yakuza style underworld with top hoods using Escalades with blacked out windows (they are easy to shoot out of and their steel bodies will protect you to a degree) in a comparison with Japan’s Obayun with their Mercedes 600s and Lexus 500s for lesser bosses. Lower level hoods have to get by with Ben Hur tire-shredders on their cars

    2. Vast areas in the downtown area (especially around the Cougars stadium, and extending South almost up to the 288 – 59/69 intersection) that would remind you of Somalia if you drive around, the only exception, of course, being the Audi 7 and 8 series, BMW 7 Series and Mercedes S class cars parked outside shacks. Acevedo and his men aren’t curious at all, possibly because of some sense of kinship? Only they know. I’m from Chicago, and this would automatically set an alarm off over there

    3. HISD and neighboring school districts where elementary schoolers are coached by their parents to ask other kids “Does your dad have an AK 47? Does your Dad have a Remington 870?” These are the preferences of lower level gangsters here. If your child answers in the affirmative, you can bet your home will be broken into

    4. Police here have been caught murdering an innocent couple and planting cocaine at their rental. What have you heard about that incident after Acevedo had his dirty colleagues arrested? Crickets. There’s a process likely underway to weaken the case within the HPD to get them off

    There’s much more that could be talked about, but when the Federal Government couldn’t care less, nothing will likely get done to clean things up. If there were a need for an Eliot Ness and The Untouchables style operation in Houston and several other cities, it is NOW. Nothing will likely happen, because we’re seeing much worse than the St Valentine’s Day massacre across various cities by a combination of rioters, looters arsonists, and professional criminals. Sadly, law abiding Americans do not have the gun rights that Al Capone era citizenry enjoyed to protect themselves, as well. Houston is a horrific example of a combination Yakuza – Mafia – Narcotraficante – Dirty Cop – Dirty Judge nexus.

  16. If you are anti 2A or any of the rights in the Bill of rights and are a politician or public figure, you should be tried for treason. If convicted, hung by a rope until dead.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here