Author: /u/Ashadyna

Edit: Title should be…

Four years ago, Houston police handcuffed me because their “policy” required it. Is this policy real?

In 2017, I was visiting Houston for a wedding. While in the car with several family members, we got into a mildly-serious car accident on the highway. My other family members went to the hospital in an ambulance. I wasn’t hurt, so I stayed behind to answer questions for the police and exchange information with the other drivers. I was not the driver and I had not been drinking.

It wasn’t safe on the highway, so I got a ride in a tow truck to an IHOP parking lot, where I met with the police and other drivers . After a while, the police said something like “Ok. We’ve got what we need. Now we’re going to drive you to the hospital where your family is. Turn around, so we can search and handcuff you.”

“What? You need to handcuff me?” I asked.

“Yes. Our policy is that anyone riding in the police car needs to be searched and handcuffed.”

In hindsight, I would’ve tried to call an Uber. But I was still in shock from the accident, and the police were giving me orders. I went along with it, got searched, was handcuffed, and put in the back of a police car – just like the movies.

They drove me to the hospital and parked. There were two police officers and they were talking too quietly for me to hear. They seemed to be doing something with their laptop. I said, “can you let me out, now?”

They said, “it will just be a few minutes.”

I sat handcuffed in the backseat for around ten minutes (maybe shorter?). I asked a couple times for them to let me out, but they basically ignored me. Finally, they let me out of the car, unlocked the cuffs, and we walked into the hospital together. I didn’t speak with them again, and that was the end of it. Everyone in my family was fine, so the whole affair didn’t amount to much.

I’ve told several people this story, and most people are suspicious that “anyone who rides in the back of a Houston police car must be handcuffed” is a real department policy. I’m transgender (noticeably so), so some of my friends/family suspect it was some kind of anti-trans thing.

Obviously, I have no idea what the motivations of the officers were. However, I’m curious if anyone can speak to whether this policy is real. Do Houston police really handcuff people who are not suspected of doing anything wrong… just to transport them?

Thanks!

TLDR: Houston police handcuffed me to transport me to the hospital after a car accident. They said any non-officer riding in their car gets handcuffed, according to Houston police policy. Is this a real policy?