“My thought process is that we’re stagnated,” said Ashton P. Woods of Black Lives Matter Houston. But the push for policing reform also came with a call for transparency – including throughout the reform process. We just want reasonable change’Doug Griffith, president of the Houston Police Officers Union, said the union supports most of the recommendations made by the mayor’s task force. Overall, Griffith said the current disciplinary process is extensive and fair to all sides. Woods argued the union has slowed down the reform process, a claim the union denies.

Many of these calls have coalesced into a “defund the police” movement in cities across the country, including in Houston. “We’re talking about making sure there’s money in programs where it’s needed,” said Ashton Woods, the head of Black Lives Matter Houston. Dr. James Douglas, President of the Houston NAACP, wants to see HPD spend its money differently. “Just arresting people alone is not going to reduce crime,” he said. When we asked Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner for his thoughts, he said he believes the budget is in line with the city’s needs.

Ashton P. Woods, founder of Black Lives Matter Houston, leads protesters in Houston on May, 29 2020. Ashton P. Woods(Audio unavailable. Ashton P. Woods knows the many protests in response to the death of George Floyd could lead to changes at all levels of government. "You cant tamp down critical mass when all 50 states are protesting, places where you dont expect people to even care about this issue," he said. In the weekend edition of The Brief podcast, listen to what the founder of Black Lives Matter Houston says about what he expects to come out of this moment.