The Chief of Police for the Houston Police Department (HPD) recommends that City Council approve an ordinance authorizing the electronic grant application for and acceptance of grant funds through the Department of Justice, Office of Bureau of Justice (BJA) for the FY 2021 Emmett Till Cold Case Investigations and Training and Technical Assistance Program Grant. This is a new grant opportunity. The grant period becomes effective October 1, 2021, and ends on September 30, 2024. BJA will provide $500,000.00 in grant funding. City matching funds or in-kind contribution is not required.
The purpose of the FY 2021 Emmett Till Cold Case Investigations and Training and Technical Assistance Program is to provide support to state, local, and tribal law enforcement and prosecutors in their investigation and prosecution of cold case murders associated with civil rights violations. Per the authorizing legislation, funds are limited to address violations of civil rights statutes resulting in death that occurred no later than December 31, 1979. If awarded, the Cold Case Squad of the HPD Homicide Division will use the funds to hire a new case manager, provide overtime and training to systematically evaluate and process unsolved murders with a hate crime nexus in order to identify perpetrators through evidence analyses with intent to prosecute. Cases will be identified for review and evaluated for solvability factors. Solving these identified cases with a hate crime nexus will help bridge any gaps with the African-American and LGBTQ communities and emphasize the department’s commitment to both groups
The Houston Police Department also requests City Council to authorize the Chief of Police or his designee to act as the City’s representative in the application process with the authority to apply for, accept and expend the grant funds as awarded, and apply for, accept and expend all subsequent awards, if any, to extend the budget period, and to authorize the Mayor to execute all related agreements with the approval of the City Attorney in connection with the grant not to exceed five years.
Fiscal Note:
No Fiscal Note is required on grant items.
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Troy Finner
Chief of Police