Two Houston Public Works employees are without a job after KHOU 11 Investigates caught them on camera in a prostitution hotspot the same day officials announced a crackdown on crime in the area.
We spotted the city pickup truck Aug. 8 near the Southwest Freeway and Bissonnet “track,” where Houston police have received thousands of prostitution-related reports over the past several years. The two city employees were talking with a woman dressed in short shorts and high heels.
Earlier the same day, officials with the city of Houston and Harris County announced the creation of the “Bissonnet Anti-Prostitution Zone.” The crime-fighting initiative declared the area a public nuisance and barred 86 known pimps, johns and prostitutes from engaging in illicit activity in the zone.
After KHOU 11 Investigates shared the video with the city, it launched an immediate investigation into the matter.
“It’s bothersome, it’s embarrassing,” said Eric Dargan, deputy director and chief operating officer of Houston Public Works. “We also went back and pulled a couple of other days just to make sure this wasn’t a one-time incident.”
It wasn’t just one time, according to investigative records. GPS tracker data from the city truck shows the same employees were slowly driving around the same prostitution hotspot the day before. The day after, tracker data showed they were in another part of town known for prostitution activity.
In both cases, disciplinary records found the employees falsified their whereabouts on official city documents.
“Their work orders show them on one part of town and GPS showed them in another part of town,” Dargan said. “Therefore, they were not giving the city of Houston an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay.”
The two employees are no longer getting paid. Houston Public Works fired one of them and is finalizing the other’s termination. Both were cited for violating the city’s code of conduct and use of city vehicles, as well as not exercising sound judgment.
“We want the public to know and trust that we are doing what they are paying us to do,” Dargan said.
Dargan apologized to taxpayers for the employees’ behavior, but added that it does not reflect the work ethic of 99 percent of city employees.
He encouraged citizens to report any questionable activity to the 311 helpline and pledged to investigate all complaints.