When Ashley Gonzalez was fired by HPD for her N-word-laced social media rant, some members of Houston’s Black group met the information with a shrug that screamed: “And?”
They keep in mind HPD Officer Scott Tschirhart, who shot and killed 24-year-old Third Ward resident Byron Gillum on Nov. 15, 1989. Tschirhart had beforehand been concerned in a number of questionable “encounters” with Black Houstonians, together with shootings and the beating of a handcuffed suspect.
Although no expenses have been ever filed in opposition to Tschirhart for the killing of Gillum, he was dismissed from HPD thanks largely to the activism of the Ida Delaney/Byron Gillum Justice Committee.
Tschirhart then moved to Medina County, west of San Antonio, and was employed as a sheriff’s deputy. There, Tschirhart was concerned in a number of violent incidents involving Mexican People he encountered whereas on the job.
Larger than Gonzalez’s rant
Native activists contend the Gonzalez rant and subsequent firing communicate to one thing greater than that one incident—the necessity for legal guidelines that stop officers fired for misconduct from being employed once more by one other regulation enforcement company.
“Let’s be clear—this isn’t nearly one officer utilizing a racial slur,” mentioned activist, advocate, and creator Candice Matthews. “That is a few damaged system that continues to recycle officers who’ve already demonstrated bias, misconduct, and a disregard for the communities they’re sworn to serve.”
Matthews famous that some officers charged with misconduct by no means get fired (as in Tschirhart’s case).
“When departments enable officers to quietly resign as a substitute of being terminated and decertified, they don’t seem to be fixing the issue—they’re relocating it,” shared Matthews.
Nonetheless, Gonzalez, who said a number of occasions how a lot she hated “f*cking n*ggers,” and that if she encountered one the day after her social media rant, “He’s going to jail,” was fired.
Mayor John Whitmire posted a written assertion on Instagram. That publish included a video through which Whitmire mentioned, “Ashley Gonzalez, the HPD officer who was recorded making racist, vulgar feedback on social media, has been terminated. She is going to not be part of HPD.”
Whitmire added that Gonzalez will likely be held accountable by the Texas Fee on Regulation Enforcement. He then went additional.
“We’ll refer this matter to make sure that she loses her license,” mentioned Whitmire, who then messaged all metropolis staff. “This conduct won’t ever be acceptable. We’ve zero tolerance in my administration for racism or lack of respect for our different residents.”
Nonetheless, Kofi Taharka, nationwide chairman of the Nationwide Black United Entrance, contends that Gonzalez’s rant was a verbal acknowledgment of one thing deeper.
“The utilized delusion of worldwide white supremacy and racism is the doctrine that’s foundational and institutional on this society, together with the police,” mentioned Taharka. “Her rant spoke out loud this basis, which may are available Brown, white, Black, Crimson, or Yellow face.”
Motion for stronger penalties
For many years, police reform activists have argued that the custom of regulation enforcement companies hiring officers who had been fired for misconduct ought to stop.
To that finish, a motion was born to create a nationwide database to trace officers who had been fired for, or merely reprimanded for, police misconduct, corresponding to extreme drive, dishonest conduct, and decertification, to stop officers with information of abuse from shifting between companies.
“Let’s be clear—this isn’t nearly one officer utilizing a racial slur. That is a few damaged system that continues to recycle officers who’ve already demonstrated bias, misconduct, and a disregard for the communities they’re sworn to serve.”
Candice Matthews
“If regulation enforcement companies are critical about accountability, then termination just isn’t sufficient,” argued Matthews. “There have to be everlasting decertification, a nationwide database that stops rehiring, and actual penalties for departments that proceed to recycle these people.”
In a Could 2022 government order, then-President Joe Biden established the Nationwide Regulation Enforcement Accountability Database (NLEAD), which was launched in December 2023. This method tracked misconduct and commendations for federal (not metropolis or state) regulation enforcement officers. It contained 1000’s of disciplinary information from 90 government department companies for roughly 150,000 federal staff.
On President Donald Trump’s first day of his second time period in workplace (Jan 20, 2025), he ordered NLEAD’s shutdown. However once more, NLEAD by no means tracked native or state officer misconduct. And tracked misconduct didn’t essentially equate to officer terminations or stopping the re-hiring of recognized officers.
Gonzalez’s profession
Earlier than her latest termination, Gonzalez had logged greater than 1,600 hours of coursework for the Houston Police Academy and different regulation enforcement organizations, in keeping with paperwork pulled by KPRC 2’s Bryce Newberry. Gonzalez was sworn in in January 2024 and assigned to the South Gessner Patrol Division.
Credit score: Instagram.
Earlier than working with HPD, she served within the U.S. Marines; a truth she referenced throughout her rant when she mentioned, “Y’all don’t know the way good it felt to say ‘N*gger’ out loud. Like, goddamn. I felt like I used to be again within the Marine Corps. I child you not… Like, oh my God. I felt just like the world simply stopped. It was simply peace.”
Matthews views Gonzalez and others like her as a hazard.
“An officer who’s comfy utilizing the N-word isn’t just expressing private ignorance—they’re signaling a harmful mindset that may and does affect policing selections, arrests, use of drive, and in the end, lives,” mentioned Matthews. “That could be a public security concern.”
