HOUSTON – Many Houstonians woke up to the shocking news Wednesday morning that Chief Troy Finner stepped down from the Houston Police Department.
In the surprising twist of events late Tuesday night, Houston Mayor John Whitmire announced he accepted Finner’s retirement, and appointing Executive Assistant Chief Larry Satterwhite as the acting chief.
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Before this, Satterwhite served as Executive Assistant Chief for Patrol Operations, according to a recent Command Overview report from the City of Houston’s website. There, Satterwhite is described as “reponsible for leading, organizing, directing, coordinating, developing, and implementing management strategies that promote efficient and effective solutions to critical service, crime, disorder, and traffic mobility issues.”
The role also notes Satterwhite is “also called upon to act as a liaison with city officials when designated by the Chief of Police.” He, along with two other Executive Asst. Chiefs Ban Tien, and Chandra Hatcher are also named in the report to step in if needed by the police chief.
Finner, a Houston native, had been Chief of HPD for a little more than three years, and has had a wide presence in the city.
However, in the last few months, the department and its top cop have been facing scrutiny over 264,000 incident reports, including more than 4,000 sexual assault reports, were suspended due to a “lack of personnel.”
During a luncheon on Tuesday, hours before the surprise announcement, KPRC 2 Investigates Mario Diaz spoke with then-Chief Finner about an internal document obtained that shows the incident reports were first brought to his attention back in 2018, Whereas, during a February press conference, Finner said he first learned of the code being used in 2021 - about 3 years earlier and mandated that it stop being used.