Numerous officers have been indicted after Houston police shot and killed a married couple while conducting a drug raid based on a bogus warrant.
Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo at a June 8, 2020, memorial service for George Floyd. (Courthouse News photo/Cameron Langford)
HOUSTON (CN) The families of a couple shot and killed by Houston police after they barged into their home looking for heroin in January 2019 brought federal lawsuits Wednesday night against the city and a narcotics squad.
Represented by separate counsel the Gallagher Law Firm and Doyle LLP the civil suits were filed in Houston only days after a Harris County grand jury indicted five current and former Houston police involved in the raid on charges ranging from murder to records tampering.
By KTRH News
Jan 27, 2021
Mayor Sylvester Turner and Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo dedicated the department’s newest helicopter to the memory of fallen Police Officer/Tactical Flight Officer Jason Knox. Members of Officer Knox’s family also attended the ceremony, held at the HPD Air Support Division Hangar at Houston’s Hobby Airport.
Tragically, Officer Knox was killed in the line of duty on May 2, 2020, when the HPD helicopter he was in – 75 Fox – crashed while on a call-for-service. The HPD pilot for 75 Fox, Senior Police Officer Chase Cormier, suffered catastrophic injuries in the crash.
Officer Knox was known throughout the department and the community for his love of HPD history. As a personal hobby, he restored two Chevrolets, one from 1988 and the other from 1996, to period-correct HPD patrol vehicles, even researching the paint code needed to paint them in the custom HPD blue color. He would then drive these patrol cars, particularly the 1996 Chevrolet
Mayor Turner, Chief Acevedo dedicate helicopter to fallen HPD officer Jason Knox
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HOUSTON – Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo held a ceremony Wednesday to dedicate the department’s newest helicopter to fallen officer Jason Knox.
Knox was with Senior Police Officer Chase Cormier, who also suffered catastrophic injuries in the crash.
The H125 Airbus incorporates Officer Knox’s badge number of 2374 into its registration number, which is N2374F. The fuselage also features a vintage HPD blue stripe as a nod to Knox’s passion for the department’s history.
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“It’s going to have multi-mission capabilities,” said Acevedo. “We not only have to fight violent crime and property crime, but the helicopter will assist with homeland security, search and rescue, and firefighting.”
Houston Public Media
On the anniversary of the botched drug raid that led to the deaths of Dennis and Rhogena Tuttle, a candlelight vigil is held on the doorstep of their home. Taken on Jan. 28, 2020.
Twelve HPD officers in total have been indicted. Two are charged with first-degree murder.
Six more HPD officers were indicted Monday in connection with the 2019 Harding Street raid that led to the deaths of Dennis Tuttle and Rhogena Nicholas.
Officer Felipe Gallegos was indicted for murder, a first-degree felony, and faces life in prison.
Officers Oscar Pardo, Cedell Lovings, Nadeem Ashraf, Clemente Reyna, and Thomas Wood are being charged with engaging in organized criminal activity and other first-degree felonies that could result in life sentences, after prosecutors say their roles were part of an ongoing attempt to steal overtime from the city.