Houston police chief: I’m fed up with politicians who only offer thoughts and prayers

In the wake of the shooting at Houston’s Santa Fe High School which left eight students and two teachers dead, the city’s police chief is speaking out on what he perceives to be inaction on the part of politicians.

During on CBS’s Face the Nation, Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said that politicians who have nothing more to offer than prayers after mass shootings should be voted out of office.

Acevedo started out by mentioning John Barnes, who was one of the armed guards wounded in Friday’s shooting, saying that he’s in “very serious condition but stable.”

“I can tell you that we expect him to recover. His families are with him, his friends are there with him and they’re very grateful for all the prayers and all the messages they’ve been receiving from around the country and the world,” he said.

When CBS host Margaret Brennan asked why all the safety measures put in place at the school failed, Acevedo said that while the matter is still under investigation, the main focus is look and see how things can be done better next time, “because there will be a next time based on the inaction of elected officials across this country.”

“Who specifically are you faulting for not taking action?” Brennan asked.

“Well, let me tell you, people at the state level and the federal level in too many places in our country are not doing anything other than offering prayers,” he replied. “I’m grateful that I’m working a city with the mayor who is transformative … and what we’re starting to see is that local governments are starting to make a difference, and I think that the American people, gun owners, the vast majority of which are pragmatic and actually support gun sense and gun reform in terms of keeping guns in the right hands.”

“We need to start using the ballot box and ballot initiatives to take the matters out of the hands of people that are doing nothing that are elected into the hands of the people to see that the will of the people in this country is actually carried out.”

In a viral Facebook post the day of the shooting, Acevedo wrote that he’d “hit rock bottom” when it comes to the debate over gun control.

“I know some have strong feelings about gun rights but I want you to know I’ve hit rock bottom and I am not interested in your views as it pertains to this issue,” he wrote. “Please do not post anything about guns aren’t the problem and there’s little we can do. My feelings won’t be hurt if you de-friend me and I hope yours won’t be if you decide to post about your views and I de-friend you.”

Watch the segment in the video below, via CBS:

Featured image via screen grab

Sky Palma

Before launching DeadState back in 2012, Sky Palma has been blogging about politics, social issues and religion for over a decade. He lives in Los Angeles and also enjoys Brazilian jiu jitsu, chess, music and art.