8/5/08 -
Richard Eugene Mathes dies of severe internal physical trauma 3
days after being beaten by Baytown correctional officers. (media
report)
7/21/08 -
Unidentified man dies after struggle with Harris County deputy
constable. (media
report)
1/10/08 -
Clarence Freeman
b/m,
42, dies of injuries inflicted by an unidentified guard at the Harris
County jail. Freeman was serving jail time for writing a hot check.
He had asked the guard for a second tray of food, which had allegedly
been promised him for working an extra shift. The guard refused, and
an altercation ensued later as the guard walked him to a cell; there
were no known witnesses. Freeman was hospitalized in intensive care,
where his condition steadily deteriorated. He died after being taken
off life support. (media
report)
5.
10/27/07
- John David Perdue, w/m, 46 and known to be mentally ill,
found hanged in a holding cell at the Houston city jail. Although police
noted on Perdue's booking information that he had multiple personality
disorder and suffered from depression, they failed to place him in a
separate cell to be closely watched. Police are claiming suicide. (media
reports)
4.
† 8/13/07
- Darrell Lauderdale, b/m, 44 and mentally ill,
dies in Houston PD's Mykawa Street jail. His sister had called police
because someone was beating on her door. Once she realized it was her
brother, she told officers there was something wrong with him. They
said they would take Lauderdale directly to a Harris County Mental Health
Mental Retardation Authority facility for an evaluation. Instead, he
was arrested for public intoxication and taken to the Mykawa Street
jail, where police say he had a psychotic episode, went into convulsions,
and died. (media
reports)
3.
† 7/21/07
- Pedro "Pete" Gonzales Jr.
h/m, 51,
dies in jail cell after being arrested by Pasadena PD officers Christopher
S. Jones, 29 (joined PPD January 2007), and Jason W. Buckaloo, 33 (7-yr
vet). The officers claim Gonzales resisted when they attempted to arrest
him for public intoxication, and they struck him several times with
their knees and elbows. (Gonzales was 5' 3" and weighed about 130
lbs.) A passing witness says she stopped her car when she saw the officers
standing over Gonzales. "...he was just laying there, on the floor,
flat on his back, and the cops were just punching him...he wasn't putting
up a fight." When one of the officers noticed her car and began
to approach her, the witness left, but stopped at a pay phone and called
911 to report the beating. The dispatcher said they could do nothing,
and told her to call the police. Officers further claim that Gonzales
tripped as Jones was taking him to the patrol car in handcuffs, and
he hit his head when he fell on a concrete island. Once at the police
station, police called an ambulance for Gonzales, who complained of
pain in his ribs and legs, but signed a form refusing further treatment.
He was placed in a holding cell, where he was found dead 6 hours later.
A preliminary autopsy report revealed 11 broken ribs, one of which punctured
his lung. On 1/23/08 Jones and Buckaloo were indicted for negligent
homicide.
(See
media reports)
In 2001,
Buckaloo was charged with using excessive force on a high school student
by slamming his face into a wall, but a jury found him not guilty.
Christopher
S. Jones & Jason W. Buckaloo
2.
† 6/9/07
- Johnell Patrick, b/m, 35, dies of acute cocaine and ethanol
toxicity in the Houston jail. Although some officers claim they wanted
him taken to a hospital instead of arresting him, Ram Chellaram, a "medical
specialist," found Patrick too combative for him to check his vital
signs. Patrick was instead placed in a padded cell, where he rolled
around for some time before officers went in and "struggled"
with him and hogtied him. (Videotape allegedly shows officers kicking
and hitting Patrick.) Chellaram returned to Patrick's cell 35 minutes
later and found him unconscious. He refused to perform mouth-to-mouth
resuscitation because he didn't have a device to separate their mouths.
The autopsy report stated Patrick had multiple contusions with hemorrhage
and abrasions on his legs, ankles, wrists, arms, shoulders and back.
(media
reports)
1.
† 4/24/07
- Unidentified man dies after being Tasered by Houston PD officer
S.R. Matus. Paramedics were called to assist a person with "possible
mental health problems," who began to kick and punch at them, and
they called for police assistance. Officers claim he was in an agitated
state and was too strong for them to handcuff, so Matus shocked him
four times. Once subdued, paramedics saw that he wasn't breathing. A
witness said the man appeared to be highly intoxicated and "wasn't
fighting with the cops ... (The officer) put the Taser on him, and he
just kept pressing" the trigger. He claimed that police could have
apprehended him without Tasering him.
10/5/06
- Herman Roshan Barnes, aka Herman Carol, b/m, 31, mentally ill
and unarmed, dies after he is tasered multiple times by unidentified Harris
County sheriff's deputies. Officers saw Carroll standing by some mailboxes
and asked him if he lived around there. Carroll, who had a key to his
mailbox, ran into a nearby house where he lived, and the deputies followed.
Neighbors heard Carroll plead with the deputies to just go away, saying,
"Sir, can you please just get out of my house?" Instead, they entered
the house and shut the door behind them. Officers claim Carroll was out
of control, and they were forced to use a Taser and a baton to subdue
him. His mother and sister dispute that, saying the house was in a chaotic
mess when they arrived; they are convinced that Carroll was beaten by
the deputies.
6/21/06
- Kenneth Eagleton, b/m, 43, dies after being Tasered by unidentified
sheriff's deputy, who had responded to an unknown medical emergency and
found Eagleton in his car. His feet were shoved in the gaps of the steering
wheel, and his torso was wedged in the back seat; he was yelling and flailing
about while holding a knife. Deputies convinced him to throw the knife
out and get out of the car, but he jerked away when they tried to handcuff
him, and that's when one of the deputies Tasered him twice. He was taken
to the hospital with a life-threatening 108 deg. temperature on 6/18,
and died 4 days later. Eagleton's family says he had never been in trouble
with the law and had no prior health problems; they believe he was having
a seizure. (media
reports)
6/5/06
- Unidentified male dies while in custody of Houston PD.
An unidentified officer found the man walking on the freeway; when the
officer tried to arrest and handcuff him, he began resisting and lost
consciousness. He later died in the hospital.
5/17/05 - David Brian Scott, w/m, 32 and threatening
suicide, dies after being arrested by unidentified
Harris County sheriff's deputies for missing a court date
on charges of drug possession. Scott told the deputies that
he had been drinking antifreeze. Despite knowing this, they
took him to the jail instead of a hospital. Only after he
became incoherent was he given medical treatment, but it
was too late to save him. (media
reports)
2/18/05 - Joel Don Casey
w/m, 52 and
known to be mentally ill, dies after being
shot at least 4 times with a Taser and hog-tied by Pct.
1 deputy constables G. Young and D. Gehring. The deputies
were supposed to serve a mental health warrant on Casey;
instead, claiming he resisted, began tasering him as he
protested, "I'm your friend." Joined by Pct. 1 deputy constables
D. Thomas, J. Cabitt, C. Roiz and H. Cunningham, Young and
Gehring then dragged Joel outside along a brick wall, hog-tied
and left in the street. Houston PD officer Raymond Herrera
then put his knee on Casey's back, pulled his head back,
saying, "Bite me and you've had a bad day." Joel's
disabled mother heard a crack when Herrera pulled his head
back, and said, "You've killed my son." Officers
protested that he was okay, but she watched helplessly as
Joel stopped breathing. The autopsy revealed a broken hyoid
bone. Casey's mother says he never resisted. Despite his
known mental illness, the deputies never requested help
from a CIT officer.
9/5/04
- David Hudson, b/m, 47, dies while in custody of unidentified
Houston PD officers. Hudson began acting strangely at his girlfriend's
home, began banging on the walls and removed his clothing down
to his boxers. He jumped through a window with a knife in his
hand. He ran into a neighbor's home, yelling that someone was
trying to kill him. The neighbors called police and held him
until they arrived. After the officers subdued and handcuffed
him, Hudson stopped breathing.
6/4/04
- Johnathan Green, 24, dies while struggling with Harris County
sheriff’s deputy S. Lasky and several other deputies after Lasky stopped
him for running a stop sign. Green ran; deputies caught up with him
and he dropped to his knees. Officers then claim he resisted as they
tried to handcuff him, then went limp. He was pronounced dead on arrival
at the hospital.
5/28/04
- Ronald Lee Alaniz, 35, dies after being restrained by Houston
PD officers, who had responded to a disturbance call. Officers called
for HFD medical treatment and Alaniz, still restrained, suffered a seizure
while enroute to hospital, where he died.
5/9/04
- Unidentified man dies one day after being arrested on 5/8/04
by Houston PD officers for possession of a controlled substance.
Police said he had swallowed several narcotic pills but refused
treatment at the hospital and was returned to jail, where he died.
4/19/04
- Jamaine Pruitt, 30, dies while in custody of Houston PD. Pruitt
began seizing while in Central City Jail, and was taken to Ben Taub
Hospital, where he died. The reason for his arrest is not known.
3/20/04
- Donnie K. Williams, 42, dies while in custody of unidentified
Harris County Precinct 5 deputy constables, who had responded to a domestic
disturbance call. They found Williams and a woman arguing, handcuffed
him and put him in the patrol car. While talking to the woman, Williams,
who had serious heart problems, collapsed and died.
1/9/04
- Larry Gary Cooper, 48, arrested for possession of controlled
substance when stopped for traffic violation. The unidentified Houston
PD officer sees him put something in his mouth and sees white substance
around his mouth. Cause of death is undetermined.
9/5/03 - Charles M. Jenkins, 33, died
in the custody of Houston PD after a struggle with officers who responded
to a reported burglary of a home. Police say Jenkins, clad only in underwear,
was acting erratically in the back bedroom of the residence; the female
resident was in the kitchen. Claiming he was violent and broke leg restraints
while continuing to act erratically, more officers were summoned and subdued
him. Paramedics then noticed his breathing was shallow and took him to
a hospital where he died.
8/7/03 - Kevin Dynelle
McFadden, b/m, 39, dies after being restrained by Houston police officer
J.D. Despain (North Division), and additional unnamed HPD officers and a
wrecker driver. As Despain sat in his patrol car at the scene of an accident,
McFadden allegedly began banging on the window, yelling, "Why are you trying
to kill me?" When efforts to subdue McFadden failed, other officers were
called and he was restrained with handcuffs and leg restraints. He was pronounced
dead at the hospital.
* 7/11/03 -
Naomi Auten, h/f, 59, injured when she fell after being shot with
a taser by Baytown PD officer Micah Aldred, w/m, 25, a 5-yr veteran. Aldred's
first shot was pressed against her body; he claimed the gun malfunctioned
and shot her again; he shot her a third time as she tried to rise from the
ground. Auten is 5 ft. 2 in. tall and suffers from fibromyalgia and chronic
fatigue; she required 17 stitches to a gash on her head. Aldred was no-billed.
(See also
1/20/02 - Aldred is involved in beating Luis Torres to death.)
Micah
Aldred
6/1/03
- Samantha Fudge, 32, dies in custody of Houston PD officers, who
had responded to a disturbance call that reported she was breaking windows.
After handcuffing her, officers said they thought she was acting strangely
and called for an ambulance. She died in the hospital.
2/28/03
- Dennis Church, 46, died 3/3/03, four days after a "struggle" with
Houston PD officer Jesus Uribe, who claimed Church was breaking into a car.
* 1/11/03 -
Bobby Constancio, h/m, 35, suffers severe head injury when Harris
County sheriff’s deputies Donald Tipps and Trevor Windsor, both 11-yr veterans,
try to arrest him outside a bar. Police claim Constancio fell backwards
and hit his head, but his girlfriend said one of the deputies pushed him
face first into a wall before he fell. He remains in a coma in poor condition.
12/16/02 - Gary Don
Powell II, 45, dies while in custody of unidentified Houston police
officers, who had arrested him after witnesses said he was "acting strangely"
and had broken out windows of a house. After coaxing Powell from under a
house officers claim he "violently struggled" with them and they handcuffed
his hands and feet. Police claim paramedics at the scene checked his condition
immediately following the struggle and found he had stopped breathing.
8/14/02 - Edward Tilman
McCraw, 38, died after a struggle with 8-year Houston police officer
Brent W. Foltz (Westside Patrol Division). McCraw drank some beverages at
a convenience store but had no money to pay for them. Foltz was in the store
at the time and "began interviewing" McCraw. Believing he needed medical
assistance, Foltz called an ambulance for McCraw who "became combative."
Foltz claimed he was forced to restrain him, then McCraw stopped breathing
and died.
6/5/02 - Unidentified
man, 39, dies after being arrested by unidentified Houston police
officer for public intoxication. Police claim he was unresponsive when the
patrol car arrived at Central Jail, and he was taken to hospital, where
he died.
5/6/02 - Catalina Rico,
h/f, 41, under guard by Harris County sheriff’s deputy while in hospital
after setting fire to her home, found hanged in bathroom at 6 a.m. when
a deputy coming on duty asked a nurse to check on her.
1/20/02 - Luis Alfonso
Torres
45, h/m, beaten to death
by Baytown police officers Bert Dillow and Micah Aldred, both 4-year veterans,
and Sgt. Rodney Evans, a 12-year veteran. Family members called an ambulance
and advised that Torres was in extreme distress from complications of high
blood pressure; he refused the ambulance, whose crew then called police.
When the 3 officers found him about an hour later they claimed they only
pepper-sprayed and handcuffed him after a struggle. Paramedics treated him
for the effects of the pepper spray and started to leave but were called
back by the officers, who said Torres had “stopped breathing.” The medical
examiner ruled his death a homicide, stating that Torres died from “mechanical
asphyxia” with blunt-impact trauma. Interim Police Chief Byron Jones said
the officers acted according to police procedures and did not use excessive
force. Soon after Torres’ death, officer Dillow was accused of using excessive
force in another incident. Photos show massive bruising on his head,
front and back torso, and wrists, indicating he was beaten while handcuffed.
(See “Victims
Photos”)
Micah
Aldred
2001
11/15/01 - James
Carroll Gross, 60, dies while in custody of Houston Police Dept.
The day after his arrest for public intoxication, Gross was taken to hospital
and treated for pneumonia and other infection. He died the following
day on 11/17/01.
9/7/01
- Mark Dawson, b/m, 22, obviously mentally ill or under the influence
of drugs, dies after a 14-minute struggle with Houston police officers S.A.
Murphy and J.K. Rose, other unnamed police officers and Houston fireman
Reginald Stewart. The incident began after he was seen, naked and covered
with blood, in the middle of the street. A police spokesman said officers
were trying to handcuff Dawson when he stopped breathing. Although an autopsy
found no trauma that would have been fatal and that Dawson died of a drug
overdose, a witness commented that he would have survived if police had
let him sit up. Another witness said that she saw police handcuff and hit
Dawson with nightsticks and that after he got real still the police just
stood there watching him. She said the officers checked for a pulse several
times before administering CPR. Another witness said, “everything they did
to him wasn’t necessary. He was on his stomach and he was naked on the concrete.”
8/28/01 - Donnie
Jerome Goston, b/m, 28, killed after a 15-minute car chase.
Houston police officer H.A. Whillock said she saw Goston’s car weaving,
called for backup then began chasing him. After Goston lost control
and crashed into a concrete barrier on a freeway overpass, Whillock claims
he came toward her then climbed over the guardrail and jumped 30 to 40 feet
onto the freeway below.
8/22/01 - Edith
Ann Morgan Reagan, 49, killed after being arrested for
appearing to be intoxicated by Pasadena police officers Brian Scott Carnley,
29, a 3-year veteran serving as a field training officer, and Jason Eugene
Mitchell, 26, on the police force less than one month. The officers’ car,
which one witness said was parked entirely in a lane of traffic, was struck
from behind by an 18-wheeler. As Reagan sat handcuffed in the back of the
patrol car it was engulfed in flames, along with her car and the truck.
Neither the officers nor the truck driver were injured.
8/21/01 - Shamim
Siddiqi, 52-year-old Pakistani female, dies while in custody of
off-duty Harris County sheriff’s deputy Charlie Ferguson, a 15-year
department veteran, who was working as a security guard for Albertson’s
grocery store. When she and two companions were accused of shoplifting,
Siddiqi collapsed on the floor. Her requests for an ambulance were
ignored and she was accused of faking her distress. By the time EMTs
arrived, Siddiqi was dead of an apparent heart attack. No stolen
items were found on her. Ferguson was no-billed.
5/5/01 - Tyson
Baxter, 15, drowned in a bayou while four Houston police officers
stood by as he struggled in the water. When Tyson’s cousin tried
to go into the water to help he was restrained by all four officers and
placed in the back of a police car. Another bystander also attempted
to rescue Tyson but was told he would be arrested if he stepped into the
water.
2000
10/26/00 - Christine
Ann Pomykal, 41, found hanged with a telephone cord in a
Pasadena City Jail cell. An inmate two cells away said she heard
a jailer yelling at Pomykal, then heard gasps and two thumps. Police
claim suicide.
* 8/29/00 -
Homeless man taken by two unidentified Harris County deputies to
secluded area, beaten with batons and told to leave town. (KTRK-TV)
8/26/00 - Scott Allen
Mitchell
w/m, 25, found hanged in
the Clear Lake jail of the Harris County Sheriff's Dept. Mitchell had been
charged with a family violence misdemeanor offense. Police claim suicide.
* 1/4/00 -
HPD officer Michael J. Patterson filmed by media as he kicks and slaps unidentified
robbery suspect. Patterson is convicted of official oppression; assessed
one year of probation and 100 hours of community service.
1999
10/10/99 - Jerry Pate,
47, arrested for public intoxication, is found hanged in
city jail cell. Police claim suicide.
6/20/99 - Leroy Baker,
rendered a quadriplegic when Harris County sheriff's deputies break his
neck, dies a year later on 6/6/00 from his injuries. Baker had been
arrested on an assault charge and said a deputy began beating him from behind;
he was then dragged to a cell, further injuring him. Officials have thus
far refused to disclose any involved officers' names.
** 5/29/99
- Paula and Earl Kethley assaulted by Pasadena ISD police Cpt. T.D.
Harrison and other officers at their son’s graduation ceremony after Harrison
refused to allow Earl to re-enter building.
* 3/19/99 -
Alberico Escobar, unarmed and handcuffed, beaten by Pasadena police
officers James Anderson, F.L. Schrock, and Mark Turpin while being served
with a warrant that had been rescinded 4 days earlier. Officers are no-billed.
1998
* 10/14//98
- Gerardo Carrillo, unarmed, assaulted by HPD officers J. A. Santos,
David Zaharas, and additional unknown officers, as he waits for a bus. Officers
immediately point their guns at him, then he is beaten, charged with public
intoxication. Charges were dismissed, and he was released after two days
in jail.
* 6/1/98 -
Unidentified man dies after being arrested by unidentified Houston
PD officer. The man jumped on the hood of a woman's car as she was stopped
at an intersection. The woman continued driving to her home while trying
to dislodge the man. After arriving in her driveway, neighbors heard her
screams and subdued the man until police arrived. He stopped breathing after
being placed in the patrol car.
2/13/98 - Stuart Dale
Johnson, 37, found hanged at Harris County Jail. Johnson, a former police
officer, had been convicted of aggravated sexual assault of a child. Police
claim suicide.
* 2/5/98 -
John Emerson Thomas, 49, unarmed and unresisting, beaten and pistol-whipped
during arrest by four HPD officers, not in uniform, dressed in black. Thomas
was an innocent victim of a sting operation.
1/12/98 - Royce Lee
Charles, 23, handcuffed in patrol car, dies of heart attack when Harris
County sheriff's deputy Richard Roe and another unnamed deputy refuse him
medical attention after swallowing cocaine.
1/4/98 - Christopher
Molina, 32, quit breathing shortly after being handcuffed by HPD officers.
Police say Molina had smashed the window of an apartment and struggled with
the resident.
1997-1977
6/1/96 - Jeffrey
Allen McAdams, 37, arrested for public intoxication, found hanged
in HPD holding cell.
1/10/96 - Priciliano
Rodriguez, 43, arrested for assault and public intoxication, found
hanged in a jail cell at HPD's Northeast Substation. Police claim suicide.
6/24/95 - Rudy
Garcia, 50, beaten to death when a friend is assaulted as they
left a club after playing pool. A brawl ensued and off-duty Harris
County sheriff's deputies Steven Deliphose, 38, and Robert Tovar and John
Peterson, both 25, working security at the club, claim they tried to break
up the fight. But an assistant medical examiner testified Garcia's
injuries were consistent with being hit repeatedly with a heavy metal object,
like a flashlight, not a pool stick. Peterson was fired for lying
about what happened and for removing evidence from the scene; Tovar was
convicted of perjury; witnesses saw all three deputies beating Garcia.
6/1/94 Darryl Robinson
37, b/m, dies on 6/3/94
of asphyxiation two days after being hogtied and beaten by Houston police
officers Joseph Romporti, John Leach, Melba Hogan and John Theis, and Harris
County sheriff’s deputies Jeff Robinson and Collier Bridges (now a Houston
police officer) after shopping at Dillard’s Dept. Store; the deputies were
working off-duty as security guards. Police and Dillard’s claim Robinson
demanded $1 million from a clerk and resisted the guards’ attempts to restrain
him while in a psychotic state. His family and a store clerk said Robinson
only became loud when a store clerk refused to let him withdraw $500 on
his ATM card. The clerk testified she saw deputy Robinson beat him after
he was handcuffed and hogtied; another saw brown foam coming from his mouth
as Bridges had his boot on Robinson’s neck and deputy Robinson taped his
legs. A grand jury no-billed all the officers, but in a later civil trial
a jury found Robinson’s death was caused by the negligence of the deputies
and a store manager and awarded his family $800,000 damages plus interest.
Deputy Robinson said, "I don’t think I did anything wrong…I think I did
a good job."
12/9/93 - Maximo Ernesto
Perez, 19, h/m, died of meningitis while in custody of Houston Police
Department. Perez was removed from an Amtrak train about 12:40 p.m., brought
into the jail and booked as a drunk; he was never examined by a jail medical
technician, in violation of a federal court order. Perez, head bobbing and
unable to stand alone, was handcuffed and placed in isolation. Found unresponsive
at 7:20 p.m., he was taken to Ben Taub Hospital but died 2 hours later.
A wrongful death lawsuit was settled 2 years later for $500,000.00.
2/13/93
- Jorge Alberto Galvis, 41, h/m, threatening suicide, is found hanged
in Harris County Jail 3 hours after his arrest.
3/20/82 - Steven
George Barnette
w/m, 17,
beaten to death by Harris County deputy constable,
Billy Hampton McCreight, deputy William T. Gordon and
William F. Whigham. Steven Barnette died with a ruptured spleen resulting
from the hours of torture and beatings. McCreight was charged with murder
and first-degree felony violation of civil rights. The deputies were also
indicted in the teen-ager's death. Barnette was arrested at the scene of
several residential burglaries. After two criminal trials and one plea bargain,
the parents of Steven Barnette received a judgement against the three. The
deputies have yet to satisfy the judgment against them.
Billy
Hampton McCreight - William T. Gordon - William F. Whigham
5/6/77 - Joe
Campos Torres, 23, unarmed, drowned in Buffalo Bayou after being
beaten so severely by HPD officers Wayne Denson, Stephen Orlando and Joseph
Janish that a booking sergeant refused to accept him at the City Jail.
Torres was arrested when officers responded to a disturbance call at a bar.
When the sergeant refused to jail him, the officers took him to the Bayou,
beat him again and pushed him into the water. He was found dead in
the Bayou two days later. His killers said they only wanted to beat
into him a respect for the law. They were sentenced to one year in
jail for killing him, and ten years probation for beating him.
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