2008 - Officer-involved Shootings

In 2008 there were 37 officer-involved shootings, resulting in 17 civilians killed and 20 wounded, including two women and a 13-year-old boy, shot in the back. One of those killed is alleged to be a CIA agent. None of the officers has yet been true-billed. Statistics for each agency are as follows:

Law Enforcement Agency	Killed	Wounded
Houston PD	10	12
Sheriff's deputies	3	5
Pct. 6 constable's deputy	1	0
Jersey Village PD	1	0
Pasadena PD officers	1	1
Bellaire PD officer	0	1
Tomball PD officer	0	1
U.S. Marshal	0	1

b/m, 23, wounded when shot by Bellaire PD Sgt. Jeff Cotton, w/m, 39 (10-yr. vet). Tolan and his cousin had just arrived at Tolan's home from his job at a nearby fast food restaurant and were walking to the door when they were accosted by Cotton and another officer. The officers shone a spotlight on the two and ordered them to get on the ground; they immediately complied. Tolan's mother was awakened by the noise outside her home and came to investigate. Officers claimed the car Tolan was driving had been reported stolen, but Mrs. Tolan insisted it was their car and had not been stolen. She was pushed against a wall by one of the officers, and Tolan raised slightly to protest his mother's treatment. Cotton then fired three shots at Tolan, striking him once in the chest. In May, 2010 a Harris County jury found Bellaire Police Sgt. Jeff Cotton not guilty of aggravated assault. (media reports)

	Sgt. Jeff Cotton

36. 12/20/08 - Tavan DeShawn Anderson, b/m, 24, wounded when shot by Houston PD officer Michael Houston (6-yr. vet, Crime Reduction Unit). Officers had stopped the car in which Anderson was a passenger for a traffic violation. Claiming they found drugs in the car, the officers began arresting the three occupants, and Anderson ran. Houston chased him on foot and when Anderson turned to face him Houston claims he pointed what he thought was a pistol at him. Houston then shot him, hitting Anderson in the shoulder. Anderson was holding a cell phone. Police also claim they found a pistol in the area where Anderson was shot. (media reports)

35. 12/12/08 - Patrick Jerome McZeal, b/m, 18, wounded when shot by Houston PD officer Jaime Jaramillo, (6-yr. vet). Jaramillo saw McZeal, allegedly armed with a gun, robbing a man. When Jaramillo approached him from behind and ordered him to drop the gun, he claims McZeal spun around and pointed the gun at him. Jaramillo then fired several times, striking McZeal once in the thigh. McZeal fled, but was soon caught by another officer. (media reports)

29. 10/28/08 - Kenneth Green, b/m, 45 and known by police to be mentally ill, killed when shot by Houston PD officer E. Lem, a/m. Green's brother had called the city to find the proper agency to take him to a hospital because Green had stopped taking his medicine. He was referred to Houston PD, and a SWAT team soon arrived. The brother said he told the SWAT supervisor that Green was in his bedroom with an unloaded pellet gun, and was assured that they were not going to kill his brother because they had other options, such as bean bags, tasers or tear gas. He then heard two shots - his brother had been killed. Once more, no member of the Critical Incident Team was directed to help this mentally ill man in crisis. Green is the 13th person known to have been shot to death this year by a Harris County police officer. Note: HPD did not issue a news release on this incident. (media reports)

28. 10/15/08 - Latrone P. Williams, wounded when shot by Houston PD officer Ryan C. Ford, who had responded to a shooting at a night club. Ford saw Williams with a gun in the parking lot; when ordered to drop the gun, Ford claims Williams turned and pointed it at him, so he shot him. (media reports)

27. 9/17/08 - Patrick D. Mathis, killed when shot by Houston PD officer C. Sellers. Mathis is the 12th person known to have been shot to death this year by a Harris County police officer.

26. 9/15/08 - Maximo Torres Avila, killed when shot by Pasadena PD officer R. Parmeter. Avila is the 11th person known to have been shot to death this year by a Harris County police officer.

25. 9/3/08 - Unidentified male, killed when shot by off-duty Houston PD officer Terry Hendrickson, who was asleep when he heard a window breaking in his bedroom. Hendrickson says a man was climbing through the window, so he shot him. The man later died in the hospital. Avila is the 11th person known to have been shot to death this year by a Harris County police officer. (media reports) Note: HPD did not issue a news release on this incident, nor was it counted as an officer-involved shooting by the DA.

24. 8/22/08 - Miguel Benavidez, critically wounded when shot in the chest by Houston PD officer S.E. Fisher (13-yr. vet, Narcotics Div.) Officers had entered Benavidez' home with a search warrant. Fisher claims Benavidez made an aggressive move with his hands, so he shot him. (media reports)

Also see: 4/6/99 - Fisher kills Eulogio Perez Delgado.

23. 8/16/08 - Jose Maria Torres, h/m, wounded when shot in the chest by Houston PD officer C.F. Alcantar. Police "found" Torres standing in the driveway with a sword. They claim he "approached" Alcantar with the sword in hand, so he shot him. (media reports)

22. 8/11/08 - Malcolm McCloud, wounded when shot by Houston PD officer Charles Willie Jones, Jr. (10-yr. vet). McCloud and another man exchanged gunfire in the parking lot of Uptown Tapas Bar on Richmond Avenue, where Jones was working off-duty as a security guard. McCloud was shot when Jones responded to the gunshots. Specific details of how the shooting occured are unclear in the police report. (media reports)

See also, 2/16/12 - Jones wounds Johnnell Elis Raglin.

21. 7/30/08 - Timothy Doree, killed when shot by Harris County sheriff's deputies John Black and E. Solache. Doree was angry about something when he went to the mobile home where a woman was visiting a handicapped man. He began threatening the woman with a gun, but allowed the other man to leave, who called 911. When Black and Solache enter the home they claim Doree turned toward them, gun in hand, and they both shot Doree several times. Doree is the 10th person known to have been shot to death this year by Harris County police officers. (media reports)

20. 7/7/08 - Joseph Mathis, critically wounded when shot by Harris County sheriff's deputies G. Harrison and R. Hamlet. Deputies had responded to a domestic violence call in which a young girl said her uncle was beating her mother. After the deputies removed the girl and her mother from the home, Mathis barricaded himself in his bedroom, refusing to come out. About 45 minutes later deputies went into the bedroom, and Mathis allegedly lunged at them with an ax. Two Taser shots apparently had no effect on Mathis, and Harrison and Hamlet shot him several times. (media reports)

19. 6/28/08 - Willie David Curtis Jr., killed when shot by Houston PD officer Joseph D. Babineaux II ( 2-yr. veteran, Northeast Div.) Responding to a family disturbance call, officers were talking to the victim when Curtis, who had threatened her with a gun, drove by. The officers gave chase, and Curtis crashed his vehicle. As he exited the car with gun in hand he began to turn toward the officers, and Babineaux shot him. Curtis is the 9th person known to have been shot to death this year by a Harris County police officer. (media reports)

18. 6/15/08 - Victor Daniel Lebron-Vasquez, h/m, 28 and apparently mentally ill, critically wounded when shot by Houston PD officer Ha Crawford, a/f, a 5-yr. vet of HPD. Police theorize that Lebron said something to a man sitting in his car just outside HPD headquarters that caused him to get out of the car. When Lebron then got into the car, the man began yelling for help. Crawford ran out of police headquarters with gun drawn, and ordered Lebron to get on the ground. He instead began approaching Crawford, moving his arms erratically. Although Lebron had nothing in his hands, Crawford claims she feared for her life and shot Lebron in the abdomen. (media reports)

17. 6/10/08 - Ambrose Chaptmon, aka Chapman, b/m, 26, wounded when shot by U.S. marshal S. Lowenstein. Chaptmon and a companion were in a car registered to a person that had been reported missing. When officers tried to stop the car, Chaptmon drove around their roadblock. As he did, Lowenstein fired at the car several times, hitting Chaptmon. Chaptmon was later charged with the murder of the missing person. (media reports)

16. 6/6/08 - David Pena, 13, critically wounded when shot by Pasadena PD officer I. Ontiveros, an 8-yr. veteran. Police had responded to calls about shots being fired, and found Pena standing in his driveway; he had been shooting at his backyard fence. After officers told him several times to put the gun down, they claim he began turning toward them with the gun raised. Ontiveros then shot him 3 times in the right side of his lower back. (media reports)

15. 6/4/08 - Terrance Alvin Brown, b/m, 30, killed when shot in the back by Houston PD officer Shane Nash (one-yr. vet, Southeast Gang Task Force). Officers claim they saw Brown involved in a drug transaction, and he rode away on a bicycle when they approached him. They chased and caught him, and a struggle ensued. As the three struggled, officers claim Brown kept reaching for something in his shorts, allegedly attempting to remove something. Brown managed to overpower the two officers and began walking away, saying (according to police), "You're going to have to kill me." Officer Hans Wagner claims Brown then reached into his pants, and he saw what he thought was a gun. Wagner yelled, "Gun," and Nash then shot him in the back. Police recovered several small bags of white powder from Brown's body; no weapon was found in the area. Brown is the 8th person known to have been shot to death this year by a Harris County police officer. (media reports)

14. 5/24/08 - Dora Sublett, wounded when shot by Houston PD officer S.J. Hamala. Sublett, in her underwear, had started shooting at people with a shotgun, then went inside a home. A SWAT team was called, and she shot at them; Hamala shot back, hitting her in the arm. After several hours she was subdued with a Taser. (media reports)

See also, 3/23/13 - S.J. Hamala and T. Warren wounds N. Thibodeaux;

11/4/12 - Brandon Obermiller, killed when shot by Houston PD officer S.J. Hamala

3/27/10 - Undercover Houston PD officers S.J. Hamala involved in the killing of Rosalio Ledesma; and

8/1/06 - Hamala shoots Steven Ferel.

13. 5/22/08 - Sam Jones, b/m, 38, wounded when shot several times by Harris County sheriff's deputy Don McCall, 44 (23-yr. vet). Jones had robbed a taqueria and was walking out of the restaurant when McCall arrived. McCall says Jones pointed a gun at him, and the two began firing at each other. Jones was critically wounded by bullets in his torso and arm; McCall was wounded by a bullet that passed through his leg. (media reports)

w/m, 52, killed when shot in the back by Houston PD officers Andrew J. Washington (22-yr. vet) and Cecil Foster (15-yr. vet). Officers had stopped Carnaby for a traffic violation; he showed them his identification as a CIA agent, then drove away. A chase at speeds up to 122 mph ensued as Carnaby tried to reach the FBI on his cell phone to verify his identity. When Carnaby got into heavy traffic, he pulled over but would not get out of his car. After one of the officers broke out the front passenger window, Carnaby got out on the other side. Police claim he leaned back into his car and reached for something under the seat; they further claim they saw a shiny object in his hand, and Washington and Foster each fired one shot at Carnaby. The shiny object was his cell phone. Carnaby was handcuffed and lay on the ground bleeding for 12 minutes before an ambulance arrived; police made no attempt to give medical help as he lay dying. Autopsy revealed that he died from a gunshot in his back that penetrated his spine. Carnaby is the 7th person known to have been shot to death this year by Harris County police officers. (media reports)

b/m, 28, killed when shot by Houston PD Sgt. Charles W. Jones (24-yr. vet, North Patrol Div.), off duty and in plain clothes. Jones was visiting a friend when he heard a noise in the apartment parking lot. He looked out a window and saw someone breaking into his friend's car. When he approached the car and saw Stokes inside it, he claims he identified himself as a police officer and "gave verbal commands" to him. Jones further claims that Stokes then lunged at him with a screwdriver, and he shot twice, striking Stokes in the chest. Stokes is the 6th person known to have been shot to death this year by a Harris County police officer. (media reports)

10. 4/9/08 - L. Mendez, 31, wounded when shot by Houston PD officer Carl T. Sanders, a 15-yr. vet. Sanders tried to make a traffic stop, and a short pursuit followed. When Mendez was forced to stop at a dead end street, he began to run away on nearby railroad tracks. Sanders followed. Claiming he thought Mendez had a gun, Sanders shot once, striking him in the ankle. (media reports)

See also: 10/8/03 - Sanders shoots Jose Zamora in the head.

5. 2/20/08 - Demetrik Eugene Hurts, b/m, 31, slightly wounded when Houston PD officers P.V. Munoz and M. Sosa Jr., serving a search warrant, shot a dog they claim charged at them and a "possible bullet fragment" ricocheted, striking Hurts in the foot. (no media reports)

4. 2/13/08 - Havanna P. Garcia, h/f, 29, wounded when shot by Houston PD officers A. Arriaga, J.R. Salinas and F. Cardoza (all 5-yr. vets assigned to Southeast Patrol Division). Police say Garcia was driving a stolen car, and when they tried to stop her, they claim she "became evasive" and tried to strike them with the car while they were on foot. All the officers shot at her, and she was struck in the elbow. (media reports)

3. 2/11/08 - A. Lockridge, wounded when shot by Harris County sheriff's deputy R. Cockerham. When a manager of the Big Texas Dance Saloon arrived at the building around 7 am, he found the door had been kicked in. He flagged down a passing patrol car and asked the deputy to check inside. Cockerham saw Lockridge, ordered him to freeze, but says Lockridge instead "advanced" toward him. He claims he saw what appeared to be a gun in Lockridge's hand, and he fired once, hitting him in the arm. Lockridge did not have a gun. (media reports)

2. 1/26/08 - Jesus Gilbert Reyna, h/m, 21, killed when shot 7 times by off-duty deputy constable Cpl. Harry Thielepape, 57, a 10-yr. veteran of Precinct 6. It is not known why Thielepape pulled over Reyna but, finding marijuana and a gun in his car, he arrested and handcuffed Reyna and put him in the back of his unmarked police car. Reyna managed to get Thielepape's gun and shot him 3 times. Using a second gun, Thielepape returned fire; witnesses said they heard about 20 shots fired during the exchange. Thielepape was critically wounded, and died about 3 weeks later. Reyna is the 1st person known to have been shot to death this year by a Harris County police officer. (media reports)

1. 1/15/08 - Jose Ayala, h/m, 21, critically wounded when shot by 8 Houston PD officers. The officers are: G. Rodriguez (24-yr. vet), J.A. Cantu (15-yr. vet), M.T. Romero (23-yr vet), T.D. Haase (24-yr. vet), J.B. Byrd (28-yr. vet), J.L. Thomas (23-yr vet), all assigned to Eastside Patrol Div., and Sgt. R. Rodriguez (23-yr vet), and officer A.C. Dealejandro (22-yr. vet), both assigned to South Central Patrol Div. Officers had stopped Ayala's vehicle to arrest him for probation violation. A chase ensued and, when Ayala finally stopped and got out of his car, officers claim he pointed a weapon at them and they opened fire. They claim he then tried to enter a house but failed, pointed a weapon at them, and they again fired on him. The weapon turned out to be a BB gun. (media reports)