Rookie officer wounds suspect

Man shot after refusing orders to stop, police say

By DALE LEZON HOUSTON CHRONICLE

Sat 09/12/2009 Houston Chronicle, Section B, Page 4, 3 STAR R.O. Edition

A rookie police officer shot and wounded a man early Friday morning after the suspect ran several stop signs as he drove a stolen car in north Houston, and then appeared to threaten the officer, officials said.

Investigators said Michael Darrell Rollerson, 25, was shot in the 8200 block of Lawn Street about 1:50 a.m., when he walked toward officer L. Bookman Jr. with his hands concealed and refused an order to stop.

Rollerson then raised his hands toward the officer, who feared for his life and fired at him, hitting him twice in one leg, said Jodi Silva, a spokeswoman for the Houston Police Department. Rollerson, who did not appear to be armed because no weapons were found, was taken to Northwest Memorial Hermann Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Bookman, who has been on the force for less than a year, was not injured.

Rollerson faces a robbery charge for allegedly stealing a vehicle from a woman earlier in the day. No other injuries were reported.

Silva said Bookman was on patrol when he noticed the driver speed through a stop sign. He followed the car and watched the driver run several other stop signs, she said. When the officer turned in the car's license plate to a police dispatcher, it was shown to have been reported stolen, she said.

Rollerson, the driver, pulled into a residential driveway and got out of the car along with a male passenger, Silva said.

Bookman stopped his squad car in the street about 15 yards away from the home.

When the officer got out of the patrol car, he ordered the two men to show their hands, Silva said.

The passenger in the car complied with the officer's commands and placed his hands on the hood, officials said.

Rollerson refused, keeping his hands in his pockets and his waistband while walking toward the officer, she said.

The officer ordered him to stop, but Rollerson refused, Silva said. He put his hands behind his back and then brought them forward toward the officer, who fired, she said.

As is customary with officer-involved shootings, the Houston Police Department Internal Affairs Division and the Harris County District Attorney's Office will investigate the case.

dale.lezon@chron.com

 

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