In this Book
- Houston Blue: The Story of the Houston Police Department
- Book
- 2012
- Published by: University of North Texas Press
- Series: North Texas Crime and Criminal Justice Series
summary
Houston Blue offers the first comprehensive history of one of the nation’s largest police forces, the Houston Police Department. Through extensive archival research and more than one hundred interviews with prominent Houston police figures, politicians, news reporters, attorneys, and others, authors Mitchel P. Roth and Tom Kennedy chronicle the development of policing in the Bayou City from its days as a grimy trading post in the 1830s to its current status as the nation’s fourth largest city. Prominent historical figures who have brushed shoulders with Houston’s Finest over the past 175 years include Houdini, Teddy Roosevelt and his Rough Riders, O. Henry, former Texas Ranger Frank Hamer, hatchet wielding temperance leader Carrie Nation, the Hilton Siamese Twins, blues musician Leadbelly, oilman Silver Dollar Jim West, and many others. The Houston Police Department was one of the first cities in the South to adopt fingerprinting as an identification system and use the polygraph test, and under the leadership of its first African American police chief, Lee Brown, put the theory of neighborhood oriented policing into practice in the 1980s. The force has been embroiled in controversy and high profile criminal cases as well. Among the cases chronicled in the book are the Dean Corll, Dr. John Hill, and Sanford Radinsky murders; controversial cases involving the department’s crime lab; the killings of Randy Webster and Joe Campos Torres; and the Camp Logan, Texas Southern University, and Moody Park Riots.
Table of Contents
Download Full Book
- 1. Baghdad on the Bayou
- pp. 1-12
- 2. Houston, USA
- pp. 13-16
- 4. Houston’s Crime Problem
- pp. 30-40
- 5. The Marshal Becomes the Chief
- pp. 41-52
- 6. Murder Was In the Air
- pp. 53-67
- 7. The Bloodiest Day
- pp. 68-76
- 8. HPD and the Klan
- pp. 77-82
- 9. The Prohibition Era
- pp. 83-96
- 10. Reorganization
- pp. 97-110
- 11. Percy Heard and the War Years
- pp. 111-133
- 12. The Post-War Era
- pp. 134-144
- 13. The Old Gray Fox’s Whim
- pp. 145-151
- 14. Secret Leaders and 1269m
- pp. 152-161
- 15. A Sergeant Becomes Chief
- pp. 162-176
- 16. Political Winds
- pp. 177-190
- 17. Herman B. Short
- pp. 191-207
- 18. Conflict at Texas Southern
- pp. 208-218
- 19. The Successor
- pp. 219-232
- 20. All 7’s
- pp. 233-246
- 21. Buffalo Hunters and a New Union
- pp. 247-264
- 22. The Darkest Day
- pp. 265-279
- 23. The Drill Instructor
- pp. 280-298
- 24. Hispanics Stand Tall
- pp. 299-311
- 25. The Outsider
- pp. 312-328
- 26. Neighborhood-Oriented Policing
- pp. 329-338
- 27. Betsy and the Poster Boy
- pp. 339-358
- 28. The Man in the Uniform
- pp. 359-367
- 29. Hans Marticiuc and Greater Benefits
- pp. 368-382
- 30. The Chief from Phoenix
- pp. 383-398
- 31. An Insider and New Trust
- pp. 399-411
- Appendix 1. Fallen Heroes of HPD
- pp. 413-416
- Appendix 3. HPOA/HPOU Presidents
- pp. 424-425
Additional Information
ISBN
9781574414820
Related ISBN(s)
9781574414721
MARC Record
OCLC
820886265
Pages
496
Launched on MUSE
2012-12-20
Language
English
Open Access
No