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Officer Shoots, Kills Naked Man After Confrontation

KPRC Houston

HPD: Officer Shoots Suspect After Taser Does Not Stop Him

October 18, 2007 HOUSTON -- A Houston police officer shot and killed a naked man in northwest Houston after a confrontation, officials told KPRC Local 2 Thursday.

The shooting happened shortly after 1 p.m. in the 6000 block of T.C. Jester at De Soto.

Investigators said the officer had just finished writing a ticket to a motorist when a man stopped his pickup truck in the middle of the street and approached the officer in his patrol car. The officer told the man to leave because he was blocking traffic.

The man then began undressing in the middle of the street and confronted the officer, according to authorities.

"The officer gets out of his car, asks for backup, and at this time, the suspect begins confronting him. The officer uses his Taser unsuccessfully and the confrontation moves into the woods. The officer retreats from the woods, and as he's being chased by the suspect, he discharges his weapon," said Johanna Abad with the Houston Police Department.

Officials said the man got in the police cruiser and tried to drive off but was pulled out of the cruiser by two officers. Police said the man then ran into the woods, where he died. The man's father questions the shooting.

"He didn't have no weapon. They killed him for nothing. They could have shot him in the leg," said Raymond Smith, the suspect's father. "That don't make no sense."

The investigation continues.