Lawyer will file suit over HPD chases after fatal crash
He's representing an injured passenger in accident involving a stolen truck and killing an SUV's driver
By DANE SCHILLER and MIKE GLENN
Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle
Jan. 13, 2009, 12:14PM
FATALITIES, POLICIES
Police chases have been a controversial topic for several years in Houston. Here are some past incidents and police reactions:
• July 2008: Houston physician Wesley Clifford Gustafson Jr., 75, was killed when a New Orleans man driving a stolen car was involved in a high-speed police chase through southwest Houston.
• September 2007: HPD begins revising its policy to require officers to continually evaluate risk factors when starting or continuing a pursuit. Only one supervisor and two additional units should take part, unless additional officers are authorized. Previous policy required officers in pursuit to consider a variety of factors, including the severity of the suspect's crime, the potential risks to citizens, weather and traffic conditions, the driving behavior of the suspect, and the mechanical conditional of their patrol cars.
• 2006: Police Chief Harold Hurtt was blocked from revising HPD policy to prevent officers from chasing drivers suspected of nothing more than minor traffic violations. Houston's 765 police chases resulted in four deaths that year.
• October 2006: Suspect Alexander Henderson, 37, died after crashing into another vehicle after leading police on a brief chase through northeast Houston.
• January 200 6: Hurtt announces a plan to review the chase policy after a 12-year-old boy dies on his way to school when a SUV fleeing police collides with his mother's car.
• January 2006: A wrong-way motorist fleeing Houston police smashes his BMW head-on into a car carrying two women and a baby on a freeway on-ramp. No one is seriously injured, but the televised crash makes national news.
• May 2005: A 40-year-old bystander is killed after an 18-year-old man runs a stop sign while speeding away from a police officer.
In the wake of a deadly Houston police chase involving a truck reported stolen, a lawyer said the city’s pursuit policy should be restricted to violent crimes.
“Why risk the lives of innocent people over a traffic ticket or over a piece of property like a truck or a car?” attorney Domingo Garcia asked Monday in a news conference at his office.
“How many more people does the city of Houston want to see die or be severely injured before they change the policy?”
Garcia, who is laying the groundwork to file a lawsuit against the city, is representing Maurillo Alvarado, a passenger in a sport utility vehicle struck by the truck. Alvarado has several injuries and was listed in fair condition at Ben Taub General Hospital.
Police pursuit policies have drawn controversy nationwide in recent years as authorities weigh catching criminals with the dangers of chases, which can often reach high speeds and involve erratic driving.
Alvarado’s family members plan to appear before the Houston City Council next week to ask for a policy change, Garcia said.
They are also seeking compensation for medical expenses and for lost wages, Garcia said.
The Houston Police Department’s chase policy is a seven-page document last updated in April.
It states officers must believe that the need to catch a criminal outweighs the risk to the public.
The policy says officers must continually evaluate risk factors, including the seriousness of the crime and whether immediate action is needed to catch a suspect, or prevent injury or death.
There is no specific mention of which crimes warrant a chase.
Council member James Rodriguez, whose district includes the working-class neighborhood where the crash occurred Saturday afternoon, said he doesn’t foresee drastic changes coming.
“Chases are unfortunate, but I blame it on the suspect in this case,” Rodriguez said.
“I have confidence in our officers. I know they are out there trying to protect and serve our citizens,” he continued.
Still, as a pending police investigation reveals more details, Rodriguez said the chase would be reviewed.
It began about 11:45 a.m. Saturday near the corner of Broadway and Navigation after a patrol car with an automatic license-plate reader indicated the truck was stolen.
It ended six minutes later, when the truck smashed into a Ford Expedition and apparently pushed it into the front yard of a home near the corner of 79th and Elwood, police said.
The SUV’s driver, Houston Chronicle employee Homero Rosales Jr., 41, died at the scene.
The truck’s driver, Frank Anthony Marron, 17, is charged with murder and remains in custody.
Following the accident, Marron said he didn’t steal the vehicle, but found it.
dane.schiller@chron.com
mike.glenn@chron.com