HPD officers shoot armed, naked man outside patrol station
05:36 PM CDT on Tuesday, July 14, 2009
By Rosa Flores and Kevin Reece / 11 News
HOUSTON—Houston police shot and killed an armed, naked man early Tuesday morning outside an HPD substation.
It happened around 3 a.m. at the northeast patrol station in the 8300 block of Ley.
According to police, residents in the area had called several times about a man driving around the neighborhood erratically, waving a gun at other motorists.
Officers were looking for the suspect, later identified as 29-year-old Tony Johnson, when he appeared in his vehicle at the patrol station.
Police said Johnson rammed the patrol station gate with his vehicle. When he couldn’t get all the way through it, he backed up and smashed into a police car.
Six officers who were booking other suspects saw it happen.
Police said Johnson then jumped out of his car naked, pointed a gun and fired a shot at the officers.All six of the officers returned fire, killing the suspect.
“This is the last thing these officers want to do, but when you are placed in the particular predicament that they are in today when a male gets out of the car, he is naked at the time, these officers had no choice,” HPD’s John Cannon said.
HPD says that Johnson was first reported driving erratically and had led officers with the Aldine Independent School District on a high speed chase while holding a gun against his head.
It was approximately 2:45 a.m. when Johnson crashed a car through the security gate at the HPD Northeast Patrol Station.
Records show that Johnson has a criminal history. The documents revealed three convictions for drug offenses in Harris County and a fourth conviction for criminal mischief. The most recent drug arrest was in 2008, but his family suggested that other factors might have influenced his fatal drive.
“He was really going through something you know. And everybody does, but this wasn’t the way,” said family member Felisia Busby. “He was hurting. He was in a lot of pain. But he was a good person and people should know that.”
“That boy been looking for a gun for the longest,” said Johnson’s uncle Harry Johnson. “For what I don’t know, but he ain’t no violent kid.”
Tony Wayne Johnson’s family admitted that he did have drug problems in the past but insisted he was clean now, but they say he had been depressed the full year since his mom died of cancer. They say that Johnson had an on-going dispute with his girlfriend who kept him from seeing his four young children.
His family didn’t offer his problems as excuses for what he did. They just wanted the police, and the public, to know what might have motivated Johnson’s fatal journey.
“He just needed some help, some counseling,” said Busby. “If you have a family member, look for the signs you know. He was very depressed.”
Toxicology tests are standard procedure in cases like this to determine if the suspect was under the influence at the time of his death. Results could take several weeks
. The six Northeast Patrol Division officers have been moved to administrative duties for at least three days. HPD, as is its custom after officer-involved shootings, removes officers temporarily from patrol duties to allow them time to recover and seek psychological counseling if they so choose.
Investigators said they are awaiting a toxicology report on Johnson to determine if he might have been under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the incident.
The Harris County Medical Examiner’s Office will be conducting an autopsy.