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By Elaine Nolan and Tom Kennedy
Here are accounts of February's legal victories.
Death in Custody
Declared a Suicide
REPRESENTATION
By Nicole DeBorde, HPOU Shoot Team
A death in custody happened at 5710 W. Ridgecreek just before midnight Jan. 23. Two officers were dispatched to this location at about regarding a possible suicide in progress/man with a gun disturbance.
Upon arrival, the two-man unit got out of their marked patrol car to approach the house. While they were walking toward the house, they heard what they thought might be one gunshot. A woman who identified herself as the suspect's wife came to the front of the house and opened a locked gate and front door to allow them to enter the home.
The woman was hysterical and had a young boy with her. The woman said that her husband and she had been fighting about an affair the husband was having when he retrieved his gun and stated he was going to kill himself.
Both officers tried to locate the husband in the kitchen area of the home but could not get cover and could not get the man to respond. The officers called for backup and left the home to set up a perimeter and wait for assistance.
SWAT eventually determined that the man had killed himself and was in the kitchen deceased. Another child was also removed from the house after SWAT made entry; the little girl had been sleeping during the entire incident in an adjacent room.
Grand Jury Takes no Action
Against Officer in Taser Case
REPRESENTATION
By Sally Ring, Staff Counsel
The district attorney's office took two days, Jan. 21 and 25 to present evidence in an officer-involved shooting to a Harris County grand jury.
An HPD officer was at his apartment complex, when he observed what he believed to be a domestic violence dispute. The officer intervened, but the suspect refused to follow his commands and tried to leave the scene in his vehicle.
The officer and the suspect got involved in a physical struggle and the suspect was able to remove the officer's Taser from the holster. He threatened the officer with the Taser and the officer fired at the suspect, killing him.
The officer and the suspect's girlfriend testified in front of the grand jury on Jan. 25. Shortly thereafter, the jurors declined to take any action.
Death in Custody was a Suicide
REPRESENTATION
By Chad Hoffman, Staff Counsel
A death in custody case was reported at about 6:30 a.m. Jan. 11 at 5815 Hirondel. This incident involved two officers at one scene and two officers at another.
Originally, two of the officers had attempted to stop a vehicle on traffic and the vehicle attempted to evade them. The officers pursued until the vehicle came to rest in the ditch and the driver evaded on foot.
Later, other officers responded to a citizen call of a suspicious person in a backyard and the description matched that of the suspect driver who had earlier evaded the officers on foot.
When officers arrived at the scene, the reportee advised that the suspect was inside a shed in the backyard. A K-9 officer allowed his dog into the shed when the suspect would not respond to voice commands and it was determined that he was partially hidden behind equipment in the shed.
When the suspect also did not respond to the dog tugging on him, it was determined that the suspect was unconscious. When the officers entered the shed, it was apparent that the suspect was dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, which occurred before any of the officers even arrived on the scene.
Rowdy Suspect Gets Tased
After Scuffle with Officer
REPRESENTATION
By Robert A. Armbruster, Staff Counsel
On Dec. 23 an officer was working an extra job at the Hong Kong City Market at 11205 Bellaire. The officer had spotted a table of three individuals in the food court who were smoking.
The officer approached and found that all three also appeared to have been drinking so he asked them to leave the premises. The individuals walked outside and the officer engaged one of them in a conversation.
A second individual of the group approached the officer and the officer asked him to step away as an officer safety issue. The individual refused to move and eventually the officer and this second individual were engaged in a struggle. The struggle intensified as the individual became very aggressive by continuing to advance on the officer.
At one point the officer used his baton to strike the individual in the legs but this appeared to have little or no effect as the man immediately got to his feet and charged the officer again.
The officer then deployed his Taser and when the individual refused to comply with his verbal commands by continuing to advance, the officer discharged the device. The two darts impacted the hand and abdomen. The individual fell to the pavement on the sidewalk outside the food court.
When HFD and on-duty units arrived the individual was bleeding from his nose so HFD decided to transport. He was taken to a local hospital. While at the hospital it was discovered that the individual's head must have struck the pavement as there was blood pooling around the brain. Medical procedures were implemented to reduce this problem.
Prior to discovering this medical issue, the officer was instructed by on-duty supervisors to come to the Westside Station to complete his report and file charges.
Suspect Dies in Armed Confrontation
REPRESENTATION
By Robert A. Armbruster, Staff Counsel
An officer-involved shooting took place about 10:50 p.m. Dec. 21 in the 1100 block of King, prompting Homicide, IAD and DA's investigators to the scene.
The two North Division officers responded to a code 1 home invasion in progress call at this location. The officers arrived and were flagged down by the complainants who pointed out the house where the suspects were located and advised the burglars were armed.
The officers decided to set up a perimeter until help could arrive. One officer took the back and one officer took the front. The officer in back heard movement on the west side of the house and went to investigate. He found two suspects standing on the grass outside an open window and a third suspect halfway out the window.
He stepped around the corner of the house and identified himself as a police officer. One of the suspects turned toward the officer and pointed an automatic pistol in his direction. The officer fired as he moved to a position of cover.
The suspects fled toward the front of the house and were met by the other officer who gave them voice commands after identifying himself. The suspect with the automatic pistol turned toward the second officer and the first officer fired, striking the suspect most likely in the upper torso.
This suspect dropped his weapon as the other suspects fled on foot. The first officer, from the back yard, came to the front yard and kept an eye on the wounded suspect while the second officer pursued the other suspects on foot. The search by the second officer was unsuccessful but the suspects were later apprehended by a K-9 unit. Property was recovered that was taken in the robbery.
The armed suspect was transported to Ben Taub where he died during the early morning hours.
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