Matt Degrood

Houston

Breaking News Reporter at Houston Chronicle

Dog dad to Molly Ivins. Native Texan. Lonestar enthusiast. Roma superfan.

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Articles

She called 911 to report domestic abuse. Then Houston police called ICE on her.

3 days ago | houstonchronicle.com | Matt Degrood |Sam Kelly

Protesters hold flags and signs as they line the Dunlavy Street bridge over I-69 in Houston in this Sunday, June 8, 2025 file photo. Elizabeth Conley/Houston ChronicleHouston police called federal immigration agents on a woman who dialed 911 to report domestic abuse by her ex-husband in April, newly released records show. The woman, an immigrant from El Salvador who has lived in Houston for seven years, had a removal order stemming from the denial of her asylum claim.
How Houston police are using a largely unregulated surveillance system

2 weeks ago | buff.ly | Dug Begley |Caroline Ghisolfi |Matt Degrood

Houston police are using a powerful, largely unregulated surveillance tool to track the movements of virtually any vehicle, with the same ease as searching the web for a dinner reservation. They are doing it more than ever, logging tens of thousands of searches just last year, and justifying their work less and less, a tranche of recently released data shows.
How Houston police are using a largely unregulated surveillance system

2 weeks ago | houstonchronicle.com | Dug Begley |Caroline Ghisolfi |Matt Degrood

Houston police are using a powerful, largely unregulated surveillance tool to track the movements of virtually any vehicle, with the same ease as searching the web for a dinner reservation. They are doing it more than ever, logging tens of thousands of searches just last year, and justifying their work less and less, a tranche of recently released data shows.
Houston Police Getting $10.5M Firearms Training Facility in 2026

3 weeks ago | officer.com | Matt Degrood

The Houston Police Department will soon have a new, $10.5 million firearms training facility named after the family of President Donald Trump's ambassador to Italy. Crews will soon break ground on the Fertitta Family Firearms Training Facility, at 17000 Aldine Westfield, near George Bush International Airport, officials said. It will be ready in early 2026.
HPD to get new $10.5M firearms training facility named after Fertitta family

3 weeks ago | houstonchronicle.com | Matt Degrood

Houston Police Cadet Class 254 take the oath of office during their graduation at the Houston Police Academy Thursday, July 7, 2022 in Houston. HPD welcomed 50 new police officers to its ranks during the ceremony. Brett Coomer/Staff photographerThe Houston Police Department will soon have a new, $10.5 million firearms training facility named after the family of President Donald Trump’s ambassador to Italy.
ICE changes course, releases names of some deported individuals in Houston

3 weeks ago | houstonchronicle.com | Matt Degrood

A man is detained by Federal agents as ICE conducts raids on Monday, Feb. 24, 2025 in Colony Ridge. Raquel Natalicchio/Staff photographerAfter months of releasing arrest and deportation numbers without any names or identifying information of those arrested, federal immigration authorities in the Houston region this week said they deported 142 people, while including names and information for about 10 of them.
Houston mobile mental health units in jeopardy without COVID-19, state funds

3 weeks ago | houstonchronicle.com | Matt Degrood

The sun sets over the Texas Capitol Friday, Oct. 21, 2016, in Austin. Jon Shapley/Houston ChronicleA Houston program to help people suffering mental health crisis is in jeopardy as the COVID-19 money used to fund it runs out and state legislature failed to support it.
Houston police won't release ICE bodycam videos without $4,000 and 200-day wait

4 weeks ago | houstonchronicle.com | Matt Degrood |Sam Kelly

Houston police say it will cost more than $4,000 and take at least 220 days to produce videos of nearly two dozen incidents in which officers called federal immigration agents to the scene of a police response this year. Officials with the Houston Police Department’s records divisionblamed the delay on a backlog. But an expert in the state's open-records law says the agency could be running afoul of the Texas Public Information Act by taking so long to produce information.
Harris County leaders vow to match HPD's higher officer pay, despite budget woes

1 month ago | houstonchronicle.com | John Lomax V |Matt Degrood

Harris County, already facing financial headwinds, now must find a way to cover an additional $140 million next year following a Commissioners Court vote to bring deputies to pay parity with the Houston Police Department. And it's not yet clear exactly what county leaders mean by pay parity. The Houston City Council last week approved a $832 million contract with police that will see officers' salaries increase over five years.
Houston police chief ends traffic ticket quotas amid reform push

1 month ago | houstonchronicle.com | Ryan Nickerson |Matt Degrood |Abby Church

The head of the Houston Police Department has formally rescinded a policy requiring officers to make at least one traffic stop per day, just before a City Council vote that could outlaw such quotas. In a memo to Mayor John Whitmire’s office, Police Chief Noe Diaz said the directive no longer aligns with best practices for patrol work. “Effective immediately, we are rescinding this directive,” Diaz wrote. “New guidance will be distributed to all patrol stations, emphasizing officer discretion.