Ashley Gonzalez is suspended and still being paid while Houston police investigate a video that appears to show her using racist slurs and ranting about Black people. The Houston Police Department has placed the officer on relieved-of-duty status as Internal Affairs reviews the case.
Houston Police Officers Union President Doug Griffith said Gonzalez is scheduled to meet Friday with Chief J. Noe Diaz, who can keep her on relieved-of-duty status or terminate her employment. Griffith said she will be represented by a union attorney during the meeting.
The video, which was shared to Instagram Close Friends and then screen-recorded, appears to show Gonzalez making racist comments, including references to slavery and to her interactions with Black people during 911 calls. In one portion of the clip, she is heard saying she hated people. In another, she says calling someone a racial slur made her feel like she was back in the Marines.
Gonzalez joined HPD in January 2024 and is now described as a two-year veteran of the department. She previously spent four years in the U.S. Marines. A video on YouTube shows her being pinned by former HPD Chief Troy Finner, a detail that has added to the scrutiny surrounding her rise inside the department.
Griffith condemned the remarks in a statement on Monday as offensive and disturbing. He also said he was surprised that HPD’s background investigation and academy training did not catch the conduct before Gonzalez was hired. “This young lady has tarnished the badge for many other officers,” Jim Willis said.
The controversy has quickly moved beyond discipline. Houston City Councilmember Alejandra Salinas said HPD should examine whether any prior arrest, report or testimony involving Gonzalez may have been affected by racial bias. “There is no place for this kind of racism in our city or in law enforcement, and we must not tolerate it,” Salinas said. Councilmember Amy Peck said Thursday that she is confident that once the facts are fully established, the chief will take swift and appropriate action.
The Harris County District Attorney’s Office said the video has not triggered a review of Gonzalez’s arrests that led to charges. That leaves HPD’s internal process as the central test for the department, which is weighing whether one officer’s off-duty conduct should carry consequences for her career and for the cases tied to her name.
For now, Gonzalez remains on the payroll while investigators look deeper and the chief prepares to make a call on Friday. The question is no longer whether the video caused damage. It did. The question is whether HPD will treat that damage as disqualifying.