The Houston Police Officers Union unanimously endorsed former Houston Police Chief Clarence O. “Brad” Bradford for the office of Harris County District Attorney in its membership meeting Thursday (June 5).

HPOU President Gary Blankinship entertained a motion to put the Union’s support behind the former chief after he appeared before about 300 members and fielded their questions. There were no naysayers in the voice vote.

The Union’s Political Action Committee (PAC) usually issues a recommendation of endorsements but President Blankinship thought it best to bring the endorsement decision on this key race in the Nov. 4 General Election directly to the general membership.

Bradford, a Democrat, is pitted against former State District Judge Pat Lykos, a Republican. The winner will succeed Chuck Rosenthal, who resigned earlier this year after an inter-office email scandal.

This is the first time in history that both candidates for District Attorney are former Houston police officers. Bradford served as police chief the last seven years of his 24-year HPD career, while Lykos resigned from the department after about 12 years to become a lawyer and later a judge.

Bradford told the HPOU membership that he would continue the same kind of open communications he had when he was chief. “The Union and its leaders had my cell phone when I was chief and they will have it when I’m the District Attorney of Harris County,” Bradford said.

He disagreed with Lykos when he said he didn’t think it was a conflict of interest for a DA candidate to accept the endorsement of a law enforcement group. “The DA must have the support of law enforcement officials in Harris County because you have to work together to make the community safe,” he said. “You have to work together to see that the system is held accountable.”

Bradford promised that in his campaign that “nothing is barred” as far as the questions any member – or any citizen – has for him.

For example, he fielded inquiries about his relationship with African-American community activist Quanell X. Bradford explained to the membership that he appeared at a trial in which the black activist was a defendant because he was subpoenaed and like any officer of the law “I respectfully respond to a subpoena.” He said he and Quanell X don’t correspond or meet on a regular basis and that he would regard the black leader as he would any other citizen of the community.

Bradford vowed not to tolerate citizens who file criminal complaints against police officers with weak allegations and no evidence, vowing to bring the proper charges against any citizen who took such an action.

He said it will not be his office’s practice to “more aggressively” prosecute police officers just because they’re police officers. “The term ‘more aggressively’ is not in the (criminal) code,” he said.

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