OnScene TV A Houston police officer fired at a robbery suspect, police say.
A Houston Police sergeant fired a shot at a robbery suspect who was charging at her and other officers on Sunday, December 19, 2021, authorities say. The shot missed the suspect, who was not injured. The officers and staff at the business where the attempted robbery occurred were also not injured, police said.
The attempted robbery and shooting happened about 10:50 a.m. at Regio’s Meat Market, located at 9540 Richmond Avenue, police said. The sergeant, who has not been identified, and other officers were responding to a call of a robbery in progress when they came across the suspect, who has also not been named.
The suspect was armed with a knife, police said. The sergeant fired at the suspect when he charged at the officers, according to police. The suspect was not hit and was taken into custody at the scene without further incident, police said. Video from the scene showed officers talking to the suspect as he sat in the back of a patrol SUV.
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The Suspect Tried to Steal Tips From Workers Inside the Meat Market at Knifepoint, Police Say
Houston Police officers were called to the meat market about 10:58 a.m. for a report of a robbery in progress, Assistant Police Chief Belinda Null told reporters at the scene. She said the 911 caller reported a man was inside the business with a knife attempting to take money from the tip jar, Null said.
“He was stopped by the employees who left the store and locked him inside the store,” Null said. “We arrived at approximately 11:06. The first unit on the scene observed the male inside the store matching the description that was called. They instructed the male to lay on the ground. He refused to comply with the instructions given by officers. A second officer arrived and the suspect again continued to disregard the officers’ instructions.”
Null said the man, “began to run towards the back of the store. Officers deployed a Taser, which was not effective due to the amount of clothing the suspect was wearing. The suspect then turned and started to run towards the officers, at which time one officers discharged their firearm, one round, which did not strike the suspect. The suspect ran out of the store with officers in pursuit and continued to evade. The suspect was eventually taken into custody.”
The Sergeant Who Fired Her Gun Has 10 Years of Experience With the Houston Police Department
Null said the officer intentionally fired at the suspect because “he had a knife and was running at the officers at the time the officer discharged.” She said the officer who shot at the suspect is a sergeant. She has 10 years of service with the Houston Police Department, Null said. The incident is the first time she has fired her gun during her time with the police department, according to Null.
Null said the investigation into the shooting is ongoing. The shooting will be investigated by the Houston Police Department’s Homicide Division Special Investigations Unit, according to Null. The HPD Internal Affairs Division and the Harris County District Attorney’s Office will also investigate as per protocol. The shooting was captured on body camera and all video will be released within 30 days.
According to the Houston Police website, officers have now fired their weapons 30 times in the city in 2021. In those incidents, 11 people have been killed and nine have been wounded, according to the police website. Including Sunday’s incident, there have been 12 times that officers have fired their weapons at someone without injuries.
The 30 incidents are the most since 2015, when officers fired their weapons 32 times, according to the department’s website. There were 26 “officer-involved shooting” incidents in Houston in 2020, with nine fatalities and 11 injuries, according to the police database.
