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Police use deadly force on man inside southeast Houston home Officers called to home by man's family

By Christine Dobbyn

(1/07/07 - KTRK/HOUSTON) - Police shot and killed a man at his southeast Houston home Sunday after a 911 call from his family.

Police were called to the house on Curtin Drive near Dumble after a relative said Omar Esparza, 21, was threatening his family with a hammer. He then locked the door to the house.

"That was when the lady came in with her husband," said a neighbor who didn't want to be identified. "They couldn't get in the house because he was pretty upset."

Family members say they told police Esparza is mentally handicapped and may be off his medication. So police called in a special officer to talk to him. Investigators say after nearly an hour, Esparza wouldn't put the hammer down and became more aggressive.

"The suspect refused, stated that one of the officers was going to get hit with that hammer, made a move toward the officer," said Captain Dwayne Ready with he Houston Police Department.

Police fired a beanbag gun a couple of times. They say he charged again. They tried a Taser, but it did not work through his multiple layers of clothing. Next, an officer fired his gun several times.

"What I think we can say with certainty is that the officers tried everything at their disposal from the initial de-escalation techniques in communicating to the soft impact weapon to the Taser, ultimately to the primary weapon, realizing that the suspect never put that weapon down," said Ready.

Family members were grief stricken at the scene, while some neighbors question if it had to end like this.

"I think it was not necessary," said the neighbor. "There were enough officers to just restrain him down by force."

Police say they did all they could.

"Understand that we were here for trying to do the right thing and we used every technique and tool at our disposal to try to resolve this peacefully," said Captain Ready.

Police say they did contact SWAT officers during the situation. By the time those officers got to the scene, Esparza had already been shot.

 

(Copyright © 2007, KTRK-TV)