Dominic Anthony Walsh/Houston Public Media
Houston Police Chief Noe Diaz, right, and Houston Police Officers’ Union president Douglas Griffith speak at a Houston City Council meeting on Wednesday, May 21, 2025.
A Houston Police Department officer who was fired last month for racist comments made in a viral social media video is appealing her termination, according to the president of the Houston Police Officers’ Union.
Union President Doug Griffith told Houston Public Media on Wednesday that former HPD officer Ashley Gonzalez is challenging her termination. Gonzalez will be provided with legal assistance through the union, which has enlisted outside legal counsel to represent her.
“Administratively, the union has to do it by our legal plan,” Griffith said. “I refused to allow our attorneys to do it, so we have an outside attorney to handle it. She will get the legal protection she is afforded from an outside attorney.”
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According to records obtained by Houston Public Media, Gonzalez was previously directed to review the department’s general order prohibiting discrimination and harassment.
In a performance review completed in 2024, her supervising sergeant told her to “review G.O. 300-11, Discrimination, Harassment, & other prohibited conduct” in a “suggestions for improvement” section of the document. She was otherwise rated as an “effective” officer who “helps other officers with Spanish speaking.”
Gonzalez was placed on paid leave in mid-April after HPD announced it would investigate the video. In the video, which went viral online, a woman makes repeated derogatory comments about Black people while repeatedly using racial slurs, including “chimps.”
The video sparked outrage online and from local elected officials and activists. Several city leaders and local civil rights groups, including the Houston chapter of the NAACP, called on HPD to fire Gonzalez.
HPD ultimately terminated Gonzalez on April 24.
In a statement announcing Gonzalez’s termination, Houston Police Chief Noe Diaz said her comments had no place in the city.
“The behavior exhibited by Ashley Gonzalez was abhorrent, disgusting, and entirely unacceptable,” Diaz said. “It is deeply disturbing and has no place in law enforcement or in our community.”
Gonzalez could not be reached for comment.