Houston police are investigating an incident in which an HPD officer discharged his duty weapon and a female was struck by a fragment at 7111 Greenstone Street about 7:55 a.m. today (Jan. 10).
The female, 22, was transported to Southeast Memorial Hermann Hospital where she was treated and released for a superficial wound to her arm.
Officer J. Garza, who discharged his duty weapon, was not injured in this incident. He is assigned to the Southeast Patrol Division and was sworn in as a HPD officer in April 2015.
HPD Special Investigations Unit Sergeant H. Chavez and Detectives M. Rodriguez, G. Potter, R. Delarosa and J. Villarreal reported:
Officers were assisting federal agents with the execution of federal arrest warrants at the above address when the agents and officers made contact with the wanted suspect outside of his house. The suspect had a large German shepherd dog with him and he was instructed to secure the German shepherd in the house for safety reasons.
The suspect reluctantly put the dog in the house and when the officers attempted to place him under arrest, he started to pull away from them. As officers were attempting to place handcuffs on him, the German shepherd reappeared from the backyard and charged at the officers in an aggressive manner. Officer Garza, fearing the German shepherd would harm him or his law enforcement partners, discharged his duty weapon at the dog, striking it.
As Officer Garza discharged his weapon at the dog, the woman appeared from the back of the house and sustained a superficial wound to the right forearm. It could not be determined by the medical staff at the hospital what caused her wound. The officer was shooting in a downward motion at the dog and ricochet marks could be seen on the concrete driveway. There were no injuries to any of the federal agents or HPD officers.
As is customary in officer-involved shooting within the city limits, the incident is being investigated by the HPD Special Investigations Unit, the HPD Internal Affairs Division and the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.
JKS/KJS 1-10-19
Inc. #004031919