Date
• Pedestrian struck, killed by Houston police officer Ishmael Perez Houston Chronicle
Fatal Auto-Pedestrian Accident HPD news release
• Deputy (Jorge Figueroa) fired after allegedly shooting jailer 11/26/08 KTRK
• Man suing after jailer (Timothy Gough) allegedly beat him
10/28/08
10/29/08
• City Council Needs An Open-Records Request To View HPD Tape 10/21/08 Houston Press
• Former HPD officer and sheriff's son (Jack Heard, Jr.) facing federal indictment 10/17/08 11 News
• HPD officers (Captains Dwayne Ready and Carl Discroll and about 28 others) face suspensionsHOU
• HPD chase leaves 1 dead, 2 hurt 9/26/08 KHOU
• Precinct 4 Deputy Terrence Richardson
charged with ripping off drug dealers 11 News
KTRK - Deputy constable Terrence Richardson accused of robbing drug dealers
8/19/08
• 2 officers charged after gun incident (Michael Rocha, Metro PD, & Enrique Torres, Pct. 6)
• HPD chase crash kills Dr. Wesley Gustafson Jr. 7/29/08 KTRK
• 2 (Ronny Martin & Jeffrey Larson) accused of stealing from police union
• Suit alleges intimidation tactics by HCSO Sgt. C.A. Sandoval
• HPD Officers (Tracy Denise Bell and Kirshonda K. Richardson) facing theft charges
• County enters rare settlement in Ibarra civil rights case
3/4/08
4/30/08
• Ex-probation officer (William Donald Nolen) accused of two more sexual assaults
• Former lawman (Eric Spiller) gets 14 years for assault of girl, 16
2/8/08
2/6/08
• HPD Officer Kerry Q. Small is charged with interfering in arrests at mall - Houston Chronicle
Small accused of interfering with daughter's possible arrest
1/18/08
1/24/08
• HPD officer Traci Michelle Tennarse arrested on drug charge - Houston Chronicle
Prosecutor says Tennarse got money from an informant to buy drugs - Houston Chronicle
1/11/08
1/12/08
• Grand jury to decide if HPD Capt. Dwayne Ready should face criminal charges - Houston Chronicle
• HPD lab analyst (James K. Carpenter) indicted on theft, tampering charges
• HPD cadet (Rene Gallardo Fuentes) faces drug charge after traffic stop
• Ex-officer (J. Eric Matamoros) gets 5 years for lying to grand jury
• Ex-West University officer (David James Vitrella) charged in hostage incident
11/27/07
11/22/07
• HPD officer (Arthur J. Carbonneau) who shot boy (Eli Escobar) failed firearms test - Houston Chronicle
• 3 injured in crash during Houston police chase - Houston Chronicle
• Woman alleges abuse by Pasadena PD officer J. Oakley - Houston Chronicle
• Ex-prosecutor Dorian Cotlar found guilty of leaving accident - Houston Chronicle
• City set to pay ($600,000) in sexual harassment case
City reaches deal ($155,000) with ex-HPD sergeant Michael L. Cox
7/4/07
2/26/08
• Another of "Houston's finest" accused of sexual assault
• HPD Dozens of guns missing from property room
6/23/07
4/27/07
4/26/07
4/25/07
• HOUSTON POLICE HIDE EVIDENCE OF FALSE FELONY CHARGES
6/18/07
7/3/07
• Ex-HPD officer Thomas Gandy guilty of illegal strip-search
Officer charged in strip-search case
HPD officer Thomas K. Gandy accused of forcing woman to undress
6/15/07
4/27/07
4/26/07
• Michael Griffith, former Harris County sheriff's deputy, set to die for murder
6/4/07
6/7/07
6/9/07
• Advocates question Houston police's treatment of mentally ill
• Pasadena PD officer Marcus J. Kacz's deadly conduct
Convicted! ... a rare occurrence
5/11/07
9/27/07
• Chases and Tasers/Two deaths suggest the need to review Houston Police Department policies
• Police chase ends with death of innocent woman
HPD chase policy questioned again after deadly pursuit
Owners tried to report stolen car in fatal pursuit
Two deaths suggest the need to review HPD policies
4/24/07
4/24/07
4/27/07
4/30/07
9/20/07
9/21/07
• HPD officer David M. Boling strikes again ... and again ... and again ... and again ... and again
Dad charged in hospital dispute
Father dropped baby after being stunned by security officer
4/14/07
4/17/07
4/16/07
4/18/07
4/18/07
• Fired HPD officer (Raymond Martinez) suspected in string of bank robberies
1/11/07
1/13/07
• Cop (William Archer) accused of in-custody sex due in court
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11/06
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8/16/05
7/27/05
Less than 7 months into the year and HPD kills another, that's 12-14 shootings of civilians this year, passing last year's total of 10
• ACLU urges Taser moratorium in wake of mentally ill man's death
• HPD's overseer of Citizens Review Committee under investigation
• Call for intervention ends in fatal shooting /Police say man pulled knife, snatched gun - By S.K. BARDWELL
• Fatality a first for specially trained unit
• Deputies trying to take man to mental hospital end up killing him
1/27/04
1/26/04
• Up Close: Questioning HPD's use of deadly force By Dave Fehling - Ch 11 News
Missing in action: HPD Crisis Intervention Team - Houston Chronicle
By MARILYN HEAD and ARLENE KELLY
On Nov. 23, Rachel Michelle Taylor, 28, planned to commit "suicide by cop." According to the newspaper report, she called police to her home about 3 p.m. that Saturday pretending to be her mother, complaining of problems with her daughter.
Houston Police Department officers who responded to the call sought the assistance of a supervisor. However, a rookie officer with only 11 months experience on the police force granted Taylor her death wish.
According to the report, "when Taylor aimed the weapon at them, officer R.R. Lara fired one shot that hit the woman in the abdomen. She died later at Ben Taub Hospital."
So, where was HPD's Crisis Intervention Team?
The history of the evolution of the Crisis Intervention Team dates back to l993. Articles in the Houston Chronicle addressed the necessity and praised the growth of the CIT when it was begun in June 1999. The program has been called a valuable tool for patrol officers in the handling of individuals experiencing a mental crisis. HPD refers to CIT as "an example of policing for the 21st century."
On March 1, 2000, HPD Chief C.O. Bradford announced the CIT program would be expanded throughout the city. Betsy Schwartz, executive director of the Mental Health Association, praised the day. Dr. Greg Riede, director of psychological services for HPD, called it "a revolution" for folks who suffer mental illness.
Prior to the announcement, it was not uncommon to see articles by Houston Chronicle columnist Thom Marshall asking some tough questions. After a knife-wielding psychiatric patient was shot and killed by a patrol officer in January l999, the headline on Marshall's column read, "So where were the sergeants?" He was referring to approximately 450 patrol sergeants who had received 16 hours of training in how to identify and interact with people in mental-health crises. Police department policy requires a sergeant, as well as two patrol officers, to respond to such situations.
In an earlier column relating to the same incident, Marshall asked the question of whether a police officer was justified in shooting someone. "Were any policies not followed? Are policy changes needed? Would additions or changes in training possibly make a difference next time?" He said those questions "must be asked and answered every time it happens."
About one month later, Bradford announced the formation of a Critical Incident Review Group to study some past police shootings and recommend changes in policy, training or departmental philosophy that could improve police handling of similar calls. HPD chose not to include civilians or non-police members in the review group.
In another column, referring to the group's purpose, Bradford grandly stated, "The big picture is how police are deploying deadly force in America and a piece of that puzzle is what are we doing as police officers when we're confronted with people we know are mentally ill or they are distressed. I believe police officers are going to have to remember that our job is to protect and preserve life."
Mayor Lee P. Brown said, "I support Chief Bradford's formation of a Critical Incident Review Group ... Our outreach programs such as these are ongoing as we continue to try to educate ourselves and those we serve."
City Council backed the CIT program, a 40-hour curriculum and spent tax money to purchase nonlethal weapons of control. In 2000, all HPD officers attended an eight-hour de-escalation course, which is now required of all police cadets. According to Bradford, by December 2001, the training had included 712 HPD officers and 203 peace officers from around Harris County. By May 2002, the Houston Police Department had the largest CIT program in the nation.
This training reportedly has helped save lives and resulted in officers persuading hundreds of people to seek mental health assistance.
Newspaper articles relating to the successful use of beanbag shotguns, taser guns and other less-lethal weapons replaced negative publicity previously associated with police killings of mentally ill persons.
Calls for civilian oversight of the HPD and civilian input into the Critical Incident Review Group were muffled by the mayor, City Council, the chief of police and the news media in Houston.
However, known encounters between HPD and mentally ill persons do not indicate that CIT is the success it is reported to be when life-threatening situations develop.
In a survey of news stories on such shootings, in the three years prior to starting the CIT program, HPD officers killed four, injured two and resolved one incident without injury.
In the three years since the CIT program was started, according to news stories, HPD officers have killed six, injured one and resolved three incidents without injury.
Now there are more questions that need to be asked.
Why is the mortality rate for police encounters with the mentally ill higher today than it was before CIT was formed?
Was the rookie officer who used lethal force justified in shooting Rachel Taylor? Did he receive the eight-hour de-escalation course and CIT training? Were policies not followed? Are policy changes needed again? Would additions or changes in dispatch practices and CIT training possibly make a difference the next time?
How do we hold HPD accountable? Would civilian input into the Critical Incident Review Group and civilian oversight of the HPD have made a difference?
Should we expect the best from our police department, hold them acountable or settle for less?
12/7/02
Court upholds dismissal of suit in Oregon case
Houston Chronicle News Briefs
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday affirmed a lower court's dismissal of a civil lawsuit filed against the city by the family of Pedro Oregon Navarro, who was killed by Houston police during a drug search.
Oregon was shot to death in 1998 after police stormed into his brother's apartment. The officers, who did not have a warrant, were acting on a tip, police said.
A gun was found near Oregon's body. The appellate court agreed the family did not provide sufficient evidence that unwritten city policy allowed officers to conduct unconstitutional, warrantless searches of homes in predominantly Hispanic neighborhoods.
The family also alleged that the involved officers were not properly trained.
5/10/02
Suspended officer has 2nd case / Baytown's Dillow investigated for incident after Torres death
By: CINDY HORSWELL
One of four Baytown police officers removed from patrol duty while the death of a man in their custody is being investigated is also under review for a second case in which he used force. Patrolman Bert Dillow was the only one of the four placed on administrative leave with pay while a grand jury looks into the Jan. 20 death of Luis Torres, 45, a legal resident alien from Mexico.
Group's meeting focuses on oversight of HPD
Corpus Justice, a group of citizens concerned about police conduct, will meet from 4 to 6 p.m. Saturday at the Montrose Library, 4100 Montrose.
Review sought in HPD shootings / The death of a mentally ill man has prompted calls by activists for City Council to investigate. By: DALE LEZON
A security camera captured the frantic, final moments before Jack Stuart, a 42-year-old mentally ill man, was fatally shot by a Houston police officer last month in a dimly lit parking lot of a southeast Houston liquor store. It shows Stuart, 6 feet 2 inches tall and about 230 pounds, struggling with the officer and brandishing a metal rack, said store owner Tommy Amonette, who watched the silent, blurry surveillance tape before turning it over to police. The incident occurred Feb. 9.
Family & Friends Remember Loved Ones Killed by Police in Harris County
By: chickpea -- Houston Independent Media Center -- chickpea_@hotmail.com
Civilians Down is a one of a kind support group for those who have lost loved ones to police in the Harris County area. Houston - Family members gathered together to share their grief Saturday night alongside the Rothko Chapel’s reflection pond. The prayer vigil and candle light ceremony was organized by Civilians Down, a support group for family members and friends who have had loved ones killed or wounded by police in and around Harris County.
Noel “Skip” Allen was the host of the evening’s ceremony. His son, Travis Allen, was killed by two Bellaire police officers that were no-billed after shooting the unarmed 17 year old twice at close range. One of the officers has since been promoted in his department and supervises those who once investigated him. After years of legal and community work to demand justice for his son, Allen noted that “those of us who lose loved ones never get over it, we just learn to deal with it better.”
(click on the link)