Aaron Parker resigned from the Houston Police Department after about four months on the force.
Since then he’s apparently penned a letter laying out the reasons for his resignation, a lot of which, he said, has to do with the behavior of Houston’s mayor, Roger Purcell. Parker asked that the letter be distributed to the Houston City Council.
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“We were given about five minutes to look at it,” said Councilwoman Virgie Thompson. After the five minutes were up, “it was taken out of our hands.”
Thompson didn’t have a copy of the letter to provide to the press. The city’s clerk wouldn’t hand over a copy. Nor would Purcell, citing confidentiality considerations when dealing with personnel matters. Parker declined to hand a copy to the press or discuss its contents in anything but the vaguest of terms.
“It just talks about a variety of the issues, not all of them, but some of the aberrant stuff that the mayor has done that has forced my resignation,” Parker said.
He said the “aberrant” behavior was pretty egregious and had to do with unethical behavior.
“He’s hiding this and he’s hiding a lot of other things, too,” he said. He said that once Purcell knew he was on to him, “He started gunning for me.”
Purcell said he’d read the letter and didn’t find it all that consequential.
“I read the letter and I just shook my head and said, ‘whatever,’” he said. “I’m so used to being attacked for every little thing that goes on I’m almost numb to it, to tell you the truth.”
Parker said he resigned because he wanted to be able to speak more freely about what was going on with the mayor. He wanted to be able to talk to the council about it as a constituent rather than as a city employee.
Purcell said that when the investigation started, he proposed that a third party conduct it. He said when his name came up he didn’t want people thinking he was running the show.
As for why Parker resigned, Purcell wondered if there weren’t different motives at play.
“As a police officer you have to answer questions to an investigation by law, but if you’re not a police officer you can plead the fifth,” he said.
In the end, though, nobody would say what was in the letter or what exactly the city is investigating.
“Anything that comes right now through this into the city, it’s a personnel issue so it has to be handled as a personnel issue,” Purcell said. “We have to (make sure it does not) violate anybody’s employee rights or labor laws so we have to do it by the book.”
As for Parker, he said the mayor is trying to destroy his reputation. He said people have asked him if he’d consider returning to the department.
“I will not work for Roger Purcell,” Parker said. “He has to go before I’ll come back.”
Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.
Comments
38 comment(s)facts wrote on Sep 26, 2009 7:08 PM:
Facts wrote on Sep 26, 2009 7:04 PM:
Facts wrote on Sep 26, 2009 7:01 PM:
live here wrote on Sep 21, 2009 2:12 PM:
FormeR Houston employee wrote on Sep 21, 2009 9:14 AM:
Former Houston employee wrote on Sep 21, 2009 9:13 AM:
Formere Houston employee wrote on Sep 21, 2009 9:05 AM:
kaylee wrote on Sep 21, 2009 7:02 AM:
Concerned wrote on Sep 20, 2009 12:13 PM:
Dion & Laura Cox
12455 Round Table Drive
Houston, Alaska
907-892-8784 "
outsider wrote on Sep 17, 2009 10:34 PM:
lawdoggs wrote on Sep 17, 2009 2:02 PM:
Howdy There Purcell!!! You know who this is and I am showing up and will be able to bring down the house...
It is Time...to expose all who are corrupt in official positions of powers in Alaska..
As Alaskans we can set the mold for ZERO TOLERANCE for corruption in our state...Then the Lower 48 can pick it up!
We cannot have this and I am done fooling around with the blatent abuse of it and others as well.
seeyas "
concerned citizen wrote on Sep 16, 2009 7:38 PM:
Concerned citizen wrote on Sep 14, 2009 9:05 PM:
Guest wrote on Sep 14, 2009 5:32 PM:
dizzyouthere wrote on Sep 14, 2009 4:18 PM:
lawdoggs wrote on Sep 14, 2009 4:06 PM:
Ask Purcell why he was present when the wrong house got burned down?
And ask him why he kept shouting you got the wrong house? and ask him why he had a photographer ready to take pics and dissappear like he did?
Then ask him why the MEA president resigned and then Palin resigned?
What out Purcell the feds are in route! "
Houston Resident wrote on Sep 14, 2009 10:52 AM:
Concerned Citizen My Eye wrote on Sep 14, 2009 9:17 AM:
You are probably the same one who also wrote why he worked for so many departments. There are alot of good officers who have traveled through bush communties to get experience before they move on. You can't always get hired on with Anchorage, Fairbanks, Troopers etc and the smaller departments are always hiring because officers come and go. Ask Purcell why he worked for so many village departments. "
jp wrote on Sep 14, 2009 9:08 AM:
daisy duke wrote on Sep 14, 2009 8:24 AM:
Please wrote on Sep 14, 2009 1:35 AM:
concerned citizen wrote on Sep 13, 2009 8:43 PM:
"On April 8, the Togiak Tribal Court handed down an order of banishment against Togiak Police Department Chief Aaron Parker, giving him 30 days to leave town. The order’s deadline, May 8, has come and gone. Parker remains."
thebristolbaytimes.com/news/show/2377 "
Passin through wrote on Sep 13, 2009 7:28 PM:
Guest wrote on Sep 13, 2009 7:05 PM:
Sounds like... wrote on Sep 13, 2009 3:13 PM:
Houston Resident wrote on Sep 13, 2009 1:08 PM:
It is not a matter of working for a boss you don't like. It is a matter of not being able to suppress your ethics in order to work for a boss who is unethical. A law officer supports the law. He did not take an oath to support an unlawful boss. "
Well done - so far... wrote on Sep 13, 2009 1:02 PM:
You're finally getting the picture.
Don't let this one slip away.
I sincerely hope Officer Parker doesn't let Purcell intimidate him like he has done with everyone before him. "
Been there seen that wrote on Sep 13, 2009 12:53 PM:
Sounds like someone at city hall talking.
That's the way it always goes. "If you speak out, tell your story, and 'uncover me', I'll destroy your career and make sure you don't work in law enforcement again".
I've been there, and have seen it happen time and again. No surprise from this so-called amateur playing "mayor".
I think Lance or Virgie should think very,very hard about becoming Houston's next mayor. "
Ted wrote on Sep 13, 2009 12:35 PM:
Houston Resident wrote on Sep 13, 2009 11:43 AM:
Leave it to Purcell to think like that. Slime. "
jim wrote on Sep 13, 2009 11:31 AM:
The Houston Enquierer wrote on Sep 13, 2009 11:11 AM:
Sounds like... wrote on Sep 13, 2009 9:25 AM:
Guest wrote on Sep 13, 2009 7:27 AM:
Guest wrote on Sep 13, 2009 6:51 AM:
HE,HE,HE, it is all about Roger. This third party investigation is bring conducted by a friend of Rogers. How unbiased is that? Maybe to get the REAL truth the state needs to investigate. PLEASE! "
Wow wrote on Sep 13, 2009 4:28 AM:
About as pathetic as it gets.
Grow up. "
Reading Between The Line wrote on Sep 13, 2009 1:29 AM:
duh.. wrote on Sep 12, 2009 10:50 PM: