Hairbrush-wielding man shot in arm by police

by khou.com staff

Posted on December 7, 2009 at 12:25 PM

Updated Monday, Dec 7 at 5:50 PM

HOUSTON—A hairbrush-wielding man who was shot in the arm by a Houston police officer Monday morning has been charged with filing a false report.

Nicholas John Schaefer was treated at Memorial Hermann and released into police custody after the shooting.

Investigators said police received a call about a suspicious man armed with a weapon in the 8900 block of Imogene around 1 a.m. Monday.

When they arrived, police said Schaefer jumped out from behind a car and yelled at them.

The officers took cover.

Schaefer then appeared again, holding a silver object in a two-handed grip.

Police said he raised the object toward the officers, and the officers told him to drop it. When he did not comply, Officer K. Waymire discharged his weapon, striking Schaefer in the arm.

Police later determined the object in Schaefer’s hand to be a hairbrush.

As is customary when an HPD officer fires his weapon in the city limits, the incident is under investigation by HPD Homicide and Internal Affairs, as well as the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.