My Experience Reporting SA in Houston
Last year I reported a sexual assault involving a Houston first responder to both HPD and the relevant department’s professional standards office. I’m sharing this because I don’t think I’m the only person who has struggled navigating these systems, and I think people deserve to understand what the process can sometimes look like.
What I experienced:
• HPD conducted a forensic interview but ultimately did not pursue charges.
•HPD Special Victims locked my case to protect the individual the case was filed against.
• I filed a formal complaint with the department’s professional standards office the same day HPD closed their investigation.
• My complaint was allegedly closed without me being notified — I only learned this 237 days later when I followed up myself.
• The assigned investigator later emailed me without realizing the complaint had already been closed. My case was also escalated to a Supervisor when I requested an update. I received a doctored response back advising it had been closed five months ago. But the assigned investigator was not aware it was closed.
• I had to personally request that the individual not be dispatched to my address because no protocol appeared to exist for that situation. Even with an active protective order on file in Harris County.
Other barriers I encountered:
• My temporary protective order was not served for 12 days and there was no way to track the process. I had to call the courthouse and precinct to confirm.
• The city DV center operated on a first come, first served basis with about 15 daily spots, requiring people to wait outside the courthouse around 6:30 a.m. and often spend most of the day waiting to be seen
• I ultimately had to file my own protective order and hire my own attorney
I’m not posting this to target any specific individual or department. I’m posting because the gap between what survivors expect these systems to provide and what they actually experience can be much larger than people realize.
Have others in Houston experienced similar barriers when trying to report abuse or seek help?