Bicyclist fatally shot by HPD officer identified
By PAIGE HEWITTHOUSTON CHRONICLE
Dec. 30, 2010, 12:15PM
A man riding a bicycle who was fatally shot by police Wednesday night after he turned a gun on an officer has been identified.
David Dwayne Butler, 26, was wounded in the shooting, which occurred in the 3800 block of Jensen about 7:30 p.m., police said.
Police said Butler was taken to Ben Taub General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The officers who initially stopped Butler, C.E. Edwards and D.A. Riggs, will be placed on three-day administrative leave, routine in officer-involved shootings.
Police said Butler was riding his bicycle, which had no night light, in the middle of Jensen when the officers almost accidentally hit him with their squad car.
The officers turned around and approached Butler, who became uncooperative and started digging in his pockets, police said.
Police said the officers ordered Butler to put his hands in the air, and he did, police said.
But as officers were placing him under arrest and just before they were about to pat him down, he put his hands back in his pockets and pulled a pistol, said Houston Police Department spokesman Victor Senties.
One officer hollered, "Gun!," Senties said.
Police said officers ordered Butler to drop the gun, but he refused and turned it toward Edwards.
Fearing for his own safety and his partner’s, Edwards fired at least once, striking Butler in the head.
Senties said he was unsure if the patrol car was equipped with a video camera, or whether the incident was captured on video.
Butler has more than one felony conviction, including convictions for robbery and drug possession, according to Harris County records.
As is customary in Houston police officer-involved shootings in the city limits, HPD Homicide and Internal Affairs divisions as well as the Harris County District Attorney’s Office will investigate the case.
Reporter Dale Lezon contributed to this report.paige.hewitt@chron.com
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