Paper: Houston Chronicle

Date: Mon 04/14/2008

Section: B Page: 2 Edition: 3 STAR R.O.

Family seeks answers in fatal police shooting / Off-duty officer kills man he says broke into car

By ANITA HASSAN

STAFF

A grieving mother said she still has many questions about why her 28-year-old son was fatally shot by an off-duty Houston police officer Friday morning.

Barbara Stokes said Timothy Stokes - the youngest of her 13 children - was a happy person who never threatened anyone.

"All he ever did was smile and grin," the 66-year-old said. "This really hurts me the way he was shot down."

Houston police Sgt. Charles W. Jones, who was not in uniform at the time, was at a friend's apartment in the 1200 block of West Tidwell when authorities said he heard a noise, looked out a window and saw Stokes breaking into his friend's vehicle, police said.

Thinking Stokes had fled the scene, police said, Jones went outside and approached the vehicle. When he realized Stokes was still inside the car, the 24-year veteran of the department identified himself as a police officer and gave verbal commands to Stokes, police said.

Stokes ignored Jones' orders, however, and lunged at him with a large metal object, later determined to be a screwdriver, authorities said.

Police said Jones fired his service weapon twice, striking Stokes once in the chest. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Barbara Stokes said she had never even seen her son fight.

"I just can't see him lunging at a police officer with a screwdriver because I know what kind of person he is," she said.

While Barbara Stokes acknowledges that her son had some drug and theft charges on his criminal record, "that doesn't make him a career criminal," she said. "He wasn't a threat to society."

As is customary in all officer-involved shootings, the HPD homicide and internal affairs division and the Harris County District Attorney's Office will investigate. Also as part of customary procedure, Jones will be assigned to administrative duties during the course of the investigation.

The Stokes family, who arrived in Houston after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, said they plan to bury their son in New Orleans this weekend.

"I'm a forgiving person," Barbara Stokes said. "But right now, I can't forgive (Jones) until I find out some answers."

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