City Council unanimously confirmed Art Acevedo and Samuel Peña as Houston’s new police and fire chiefs Wednesday, clearing the way for the mayoral appointees to take office.
Acevedo, Austin’s former police chief, is poised to take the helm of the city’s police department Thursday, while El Paso Fire Chief Samuel Peña is set to assume local duties in mid-December.
Acevedo said he intends to adopt a model he calls “relational policing.”
“Every person that we contact as members of the Houston Police Department – whether it’s a 911 operator, crime scene tech, police officer on the front line, the detectives – is an opportunity to create a relationship,” Acevedo said. “It’s about the way you treat people. I think you start with transparency. You respect people. … You engage the community. Because the police is not us or them. We are the community.”
Acevedo, 52, fielded questions from Council Member Mike Knox about the Second Amendment, Acevedo’s handling of officer discipline and his recent attendance at an Austin protest against President-elect Donald Trump.
Acevedo said he is a strong supporter of the Second Amendment, but did not support allowing the concealed carry of guns on college campuses.
“Having said that, the law has passed and we are soldiers of the law,” Acevedo said. “Unless … the Texas Supreme Court changes it, we are going to enforce the law as passed by the policymakers.”
He clarified that he attended the anti-Trump protest three weeks ago to monitor it rather than to participate, and defended his decision to fire an officer involved in the fatal shooting of a 17-year-old.
Mayor Sylvester Turner, apparently annoyed by the questioning, stressed that he sought to appoint a “cop’s cop” who favors community policing and is sensitive to Houston’s diversity, rather than picking a candidate based on politics.
Acevedo’s salary is $280,000 per year, $105,000 more than former Police Chief Charles McClelland’s compensation.
Peña, 47, said he looks forward to working with the Houston Fire Department to “make this community the great community that it should be.”
“It’s not lost on me the trust and responsibility that you guys have placed on me,” Peña told Turner and the council. “I pledge my whole loyalty to the Houston Fire Department and the city of Houston. And what I ask from the Houston firefighters is that they pledge their loyalty to this community, as well.”
Peña will make $180,000 per year, the same as former Fire Chief Terry Garrison.