Man shot in foot during struggle with Houston officer

HOUSTON CHRONICLE

April 5, 2010, 6:42AM

A man was accidentally struck in the foot by bullet fragments in northeast Harris County early Saturday while he and a Houston police officer struggled, authorities said.

Officer Daniel Calballero, who has been with the Houston Police Department for a year in northeast patrol, was working a second job as a courtesy officer at the Ravinia Apartments in the 2400 block of Spring Rain when he was alerted around midnight that a resident had reported a noise complaint.

Calballero found a man asleep in the front seat of a car with music blaring, HPD spokesman John Cannon said. Calballero, who was not in uniform, awakened Faustino Espinoza, identified himself as a police officer and confronted him about the music, Cannon said.

Police said Espinoza then moved toward the officer, who ordered him in English and Spanish to stop. The patrolman handcuffed one of Espinoza’s hands before Espinoza turned away, Cannon said. The officer pulled his duty weapon and fired it during a struggle, sending fragments into the suspect’s right foot. Espinoza was taken to Ben Taub General Hospital. The Harris County Sheriff’s Office is the lead investigative agency on the case, HPD said.