Houston Landing Helps Survivors of Police Abuse; Features Houston Police Accountability Collaborative
Today, September 14, 2023, the Houston Landing published a thorough exploration of the options survivors have in the aftermath of being mistreated by the police.
Acknowledging that the “process of filing a police complaint in Harris County can be difficult and lengthy,” reporters Eileen Grench and Angelica Perez walk readers through the unique procedures and rules for each law enforcement agency operating in Harris County.
Grench and Perez also offer an alternative to calling the police: calling the intake line for the Houston Police Accountability Collaborative (“Houston PAC”).
Houston PAC is coordinated by two organizations in RISE Houston’s Steering Committee: Civil Rights Corps and Pure Justice.
An alternative to calling the police
The Houston Police Accountability Collaborative Intake Hotline is one way to take action without going directly through a police agency. The goal of the hotline is to provide clear information about an individual’s legal and complaint options, describe the pros and cons of those options, and connect people with other resources they might need, said Brittany Francis, deputy director of litigation at Civil Rights Corps.
Pure Justice, an organization focused on criminal justice reform in the Houston region, and Civil Rights Corps, a national civil rights nonprofit that advocates for people impacted by the justice system, partnered in 2020 to offer the resource to Houstonians.
You can call the hotline at 281-779-4409 to speak with a staff member between 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The service is available in English and Spanish, and you can request an interpreter in another language.
On the call, a staff member will walk you through an intake questionnaire, allowing the organization to learn more about your experience, Francis said. The staff member also might send you release forms that allow the organization to get permission to gather information about the case, such as medical records, or contact a lawyer to help gather documents.
“Our ultimate goal is to tell them if they have a viable civil rights lawsuit against the police officers in question,” she said. “And if they do, and if they are interested in moving forward with the lawsuit, our goal is to provide them with contact information for attorneys that may be able to represent them.”
The organization has 12 Houston attorneys that can take cases pro bono or at a low cost. The lawyers have been trained to handle civil rights litigation cases.
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If you have been mistreated by the police in Harris County and would like to learn more about your options, call the Houston PAC hotline at 281-779-4409.