Newly released photos, videos, and internal emails are offering the first detailed look inside the rat infestation that plagued the Houston Police Department’s narcotics evidence room, a problem that potentially affected thousands of pounds of drug evidence.
Eleven months after a public information request was first submitted, HPD released the materials to ABC13. The video and images show rats in the drug vault on the 25th floor of police headquarters, along with the mess they left behind.
One of the photos captured a particularly large rat, prompting one email recipient to comment, “That rat is huge.” The infestation drew public jokes at the time, including from the mayor, who noted that “400,000 pounds of marijuana” were in storage and “the rats are the only ones enjoying” it…