Harris Co. Commissioners court rejects DA Kim Ogg's request for more prosecutors- What's Your Point?

This week’s panel: Wayne Dolcefino, media consultant; Bob Price, Associate Editor of Breitbart Texas; Antonio Diaz, writer, educator and radio host; Michelle Leal, co-chair Latino PAC; Laura Moser, former Democratic congressional candidate; Charles Blain, Director of Urban Reform; join Greg Groogan talking about the Harris Co. Commissioners rejecting District Attorney Kim Ogg's second request for more prosecutors.

 

HOUSTON (FOX 26) June 26, 2019   Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg met again Wednesday with Commissioners Ellis and Garcia a day after they voted down her request to fund additional staff to review thousands of cases tied to the officers involved in the botched Harding Street raid.

Commissioners Garcia and Ellis, along with Judge Lina Hidalgo, took the majority in the vote to shoot down the district attorney’s request. They say part of why they did that is timing—a major funding request that was sprung on them last minute.

“We had had no conversations about this,” said Garcia.

“Late Friday night, I found out about it maybe about 8 o’clock, 9 o’clock,” said Ellis. “Looked at it late Friday night. Over the weekend couldn’t get much informations.”

They voted down the request to fund 10 extra D.A. staff members to supplement what is currently four staff members reviewing 1,400 potentially compromised cases that were previously prosecuted.

“There may very well be people sitting in jail and/or prison that may very well be innocent,” said Garcia. “So she’s got some immediate pressure.”

Commissioner Garcia says, after the meeting with D.A. Kim Ogg Wednesday, he is open to taking another look at her funding request—with more time to review it this time.

 

“After the meeting today I think we’re at a good place,” said Garcia. “We’re having some good discussions about how to move forward on this item as well as the justice system as a whole.”

 

Whereas Commissioner Ellis says, more than adding extra staff at the D.A.’s office, an independent entity needs to be added to the review process.

 

“Waking up and saying, ‘Oh, we see a problem. We’re gonna look at ourselves,’” said Ellis. “You gotta at least look at it with someone.”

 

They also talked with Ogg about how to avoid similar potentially corrupt cases in the future.

 

“How was it so easy to go and get a search warrant?” asked Ellis.

 

“There should be a policy from the district attorney’s office that coordinates those instruments that got us here,” said Garcia. “If the district attorney’s office had been a part of the cog of that search warrant process, maybe we wouldn’t have had the tragedy that we had.”

 

District Attorney Kim Ogg declined Fox 26’s request for an interview today.