Police Veteran Houston cop shot third time on the job 'had to go in' to gunfight

[TBO]

Veteran Houston cop shot third time on the job 'had to go in' to gunfight

“I had to go in, I knew my guys were down,” the officer said in a note passed to the Houston police chief from his hospital bed

 

HOUSTON — One of the four officers shot while serving a warrant in Houston on Monday didn’t hesitate in engaging the gunman, despite being shot twice on the job before.

The 54-year-old officer, who was shot in the neck Monday and hasn’t been publicly identified by the Houston Police Department, has been shot twice previously in the line of duty since joining the department in 1984, NBC News reports.

“I had to go in, I knew my guys were down,” the officer said in a note passed to Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo from his hospital bed on Tuesday, where he was in critical but stable condition.

The 32-year veteran was leading a team to execute a warrant in a narcotics case when suspects opened fire. He was among five officers who were wounded in the shootout. Two suspects were killed.

"He’s done something really good in life that God looks over him," Acevedo said. "The only thing bigger than his stature is his strength and courage."

In addition to the 54-year-old officer, one other LEO was also shot in the neck and is in critical, but stable condition. One officer, who was shot in the shoulder, was released from the hospital on Monday.

link

 

[deputy tom]

Prayers sent for complete and rapid healing. tom.

[Moshe]

This is why Houston sucks.  Some of that crap, I have heard has rubbed itself on the Sugarland area with human sex trafficking.   I got to meet the Constable and former military guy that got blasted with a shotgun on a call about last year by a tweaker.  One pellet nearly hit his femoral, and shattered a testicle.  He showed me his scars, that you could get away with showing in public.  I know him through someone my wife works with and met him at a dinner party.  He too was determined to move forward.

[PATCHMAN]

One of the four officers shot while serving a warrant in Houston on Monday didn’t hesitate in engaging the gunman, despite being shot twice on the job before.

The 54-year-old officer, who was shot in the neck Monday and hasn’t been publicly identified by the Houston Police Department, has been shot twice previously in the line of duty since joining the department in 1984.

“I had to go in, I knew my guys were down,” the officer said in a note passed to Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo from his hospital bed on Tuesday, where he was in critical but stable condition.

The 32-year veteran was leading a team to execute a warrant in a narcotics case when suspects opened fire. He was among five officers who were wounded in the shootout. Two suspects were killed.

Reads like he's the real deal! 

What else to say except God bless the men and women in blue who chose a profession where they put their own lives on the line to protect their communities.    

 

[TXUSMC]

And herein lies the difference between those who cower when faced by evil, and those who engage evil knowing that good cannot prevail otherwise.

As noted elsewhere, the President of Mexico has capitulated to the cartels. Raised the white flag. No will to fight.

And then there are these cops in HPD narcotics squad. All veteran officers. Trust built between each other. Dangers known. They execute the mission. Four officers hit, two bad guys dead. I wonder if the public appreciates them. It would be easier not to face evil... but this is not Mexico, and never will be as long as we have men and women willing to risk all for good.

[steve4102]

Police Union makes threats to activists and those that speak out against the Police.

 

[steve4102]

Skip to the 50:46 mark. 

https://houstontx.swagit.com/play/01292019-1295

[steve4102]

His neighbors had spotted him out and about walking the dog.

But, generally, he and his wife of 21 years kept to themselves.

They didn't seem like troublemakers.

Then on Monday, both Dennis Tuttle and his wife Rhogena Nicholas were killed in a shoot-out with police during a drug raid gone wrong.

A day later his family offered kind words for the five lawmen wounded in the drug bust.

But at the same time, Ferrari and others who knew the couple started asking questions: Had the quiet, Harding Avenue couple really gotten into heroin?

"I don't buy it at all," Ferrari said. "Not one hot minute."

The raid started around 5 p.m., when an undercover narcotics officer burst into the house with a shotgun and killed a pit bull that allegedly lunged at him, officials said.

At the same time, Tuttle ran around from the rear of the house with a .357 Magnum revolver and opened fire, hitting one officer in the shoulder.

When the shot lawman collapsed onto a sofa in the living room, a woman - later identified as 58-year-old Nicholas - reached over and allegedly made a move for his weapon, Houston police Chief Art Acevedo said Tuesday morning at a news conference at Memorial Hermann Hospital in the Texas Medical Center.

A backup officer shot at Nicholas and hit her, but the shoot-out continued. In the end, four officers were hit, including a 54-year-old, who officials identified as the case agent who breached the door while the first officers entered the house.

 

It's not clear how many shots were fired, or how many officers fired their weapons.

Afterward, authorities recovered marijuana and a white powder - possibly cocaine or fentanyl - along with two 12-gauge shotguns, a 20-gauge shotgun, a .22-caliber rifle and a second rifle. It's not clear whether the couple may have legally owned them, and police didn't specify what quantities of the suspected drugs were recovered.

The whole thing, officials said, came about as the result of an undercover drug sale before the raid. In that instance, police allegedly bought black tar heroin from someone at the home. It's not clear if there were repeated sales or who the alleged seller was, but police said they first learned of the alleged drug den from complaints by neighbors.

Police did not recover any heroin on Monday.

To those who knew the long-time couple, it all came as a shock.

"I can't believe she's dead," Monique Caballero, a friend of the couple, said, as she sobbed on the phone. "They were private people. They stayed at home. They loved their dogs; they loved their animals."

She'd never gotten any indication the couple did or sold drugs, and forcefully questioned the official narrative.

"I cannot believe this; she's not like that. " Caballero said. "She's not a drug addict or dealer."

Instead, she said, officers killed "innocent people."

Other friends and relatives offered similar disbelief.

Nicholas grew up in Mississippi, and later moved to Texas where she got married in 1990. Her first husband, Bennie Valites, said Tuesday that he hadn't seen her in roughly a decade, but he had never known her to use drugs.

After the two separated, Nicholas remarried in 1998, this time to Tuttle. She only had one prior arrest in Harris County - a misdemeanor charge for a bad check. She paid restitution for the $100, and a judge tossed the case, court records show.

Tuttle doesn't appear to have any local criminal history at all, and his sister said he'd been honorably discharged from the Navy.

He took prescription pills for injuries stemming from his time in the service, but there was no indication of any hard drug use, Ferrari said.

"My brother was a fine human being," she said. "He was a kind human, it's just a sad, sad situation."

https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/houston-texas/article/We-are-so-sorry-Family-of-man-killed-in-drug-13571054.php#photo-16844591

 

So, the PD got a tip from neighbors complaining that drugs are being sold out of that house, yet the neighbors say they are shocked that anyone would even think these two sold drugs.

Something doesn't add up here.  That and the first officer through the door was "undercover". Not sure what that means as far as Officer identification smashing in a door doing a No Knock, but odds are that if a man (out of uniform) breaks down a door and the first this he does his kill your dog, most here would be shooting back and asking questions later.

[steve4102]

The female victim was a Trump supporter.  The media made sure that that was considered a yuge deal.

https://heavy.com/news/2019/01/dennis-tuttle-rhogena-nicholas/

[NWPA]

 

Prayers for full recovery of all.

 

The reporter should check his facts  "since joining the department in 1984"...……." The 32 year veteran"....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[steve4102]

Allegedly dealing Heroin  out of the house and relaying on a revolver stowed in the back bedroom of the house. Check.

Allegedly dealing  Heroin out of the house, yet no heroin found. Check

Allegedly dealing Heroin out of the House, yet no stash of cash found. Check

Allegedly dealing Heroin out of the house and their Arsenal consisted of 2 twelve gauge shotguns and a 20, (not used in the shootout),  a 22 rifle and one "other" rifle.  If this mystery rifle was an AR it would have been the first thing the Media reported and prolly the first weapon a Drug dealer would reach for.  Yet he went for his 6 shooter.  Not much of a weapons stash for a drug dealer. Check

No neighbors have come forward taking credit for informing the cops that these two were dealing out of their home.  Just the opposite, neighbors don't buy it for a second. Check.

Edited February 1, 2019 by steve4102

[geofri]

https://thefreethoughtproject.com/they-did-not-deal-drugs-neighbors-of-slain-couple-who-shot-4-cops-refute-official-story/?fbclid=IwAR3UHTfsJ5_xN9j045BolQyvjIG1cniKqaCa3JoXJ1MUZUqMCGGFuKf-PqU

Quite a different story is now coming out, as a few above posters brought up. 

Has HPD addressed why officers were plainclothes? ( if they indeed where).  I can't figure out why they would be. 

 

[steve4102]

 

1 hour ago, steve4102 said:

His neighbors had spotted him out and about walking the dog.

So, if he and his wife were such dangerous criminals that they needed to break in his front door unannounced and shoot the first thing that moved, why didn't they just arrest him when he was out and about walking his dog?

[steve4102]

22 minutes ago, geofri said:

https://thefreethoughtproject.com/they-did-not-deal-drugs-neighbors-of-slain-couple-who-shot-4-cops-refute-official-story/?fbclid=IwAR3UHTfsJ5_xN9j045BolQyvjIG1cniKqaCa3JoXJ1MUZUqMCGGFuKf-PqU

Quite a different story is now coming out, as a few above posters brought up. 

Has HPD addressed why officers were plainclothes? ( if they indeed where).  I can't figure out why they would be. 

 

Thanks for the article.

Should we still praise these"plain closed" officers for their heroism for killing these two and their dog?

Quote

In this couple’s case, the “investigation” of their deaths is now being conducted by the very people who killed them.

 

Edited February 1, 2019 by steve4102

[geofri]

2 minutes ago, steve4102 said:

Thanks for the article.

Should we still praise these"plain closed" officers for their heroism for killing these two and their dog?

Stossel did a good bit on the rise in swat raids a number of years ago. I'll try to link it. 

I'm no expert, but I think if we didn't have door smashing, we wouldn't see so many LEOs get shot. I think it's placing them in more danger than needed. 

Especially if I was sleeping, or busy doing something noisy in the garage, yelling PD before smashing in the door would likely NOT fully communicate your authority as police and I'd be on my way to shooting back. Terrifying situation to think about being placed in. 

[geofri]

Just as I respect and support our troops, I can still question wars we enter. 

I think we ask too much of police.. scale it back a notch. 

 

[geofri]

On 1/31/2019 at 10:42 AM, Moshe said:

This is why Houston sucks.  Some of that crap, I have heard has rubbed itself on the Sugarland area with human sex trafficking.   I got to meet the Constable and former military guy that got blasted with a shotgun on a call about last year by a tweaker.  One pellet nearly hit his femoral, and shattered a testicle.  He showed me his scars, that you could get away with showing in public.  I know him through someone my wife works with and met him at a dinner party.  He too was determined to move forward.

Hadn't heard that about Sugarland.

I don't make it down there much.. though lately I've been down towards bissonnet x 59 for asian groceries every couple weeks. Lot of parking lot security guards and more police than I'm used to seeing.. wondered what that was about. 

[Moshe]

Magistrates just don't issue warrants, because someone said, "Hey, it would be really neat if we could knock down this door, and find out what is inside."

Maybe not in this BFE that I am in, where we stopped working with the locals, because they don't understand the 4th Amendment, and just walk into houses because. 

The actually educated HPD, don't play that.  Large places, don't play that.  They have to do surveillance, collect evidence, vet it through supervisors, understand who is going to do what.  Announce who you are and that you have a warrant before the guy in front hits the door, steps to the side, and there is an outside perimeter, to keep flight from happening, and lookey-loos out as a protective bubble against anyone who might go after the team inside to harm them.  Rear entries are covered.  The main team goes in announcing who they are and they have a warrant.  So, in my mind, the couple knew they were shooting at HPD.  So, it was obvious whom they were shooting at when they shot at the entry team. 

There is a crap ton of work that goes into these things before they happen.  Layouts of the property, where the nearest trauma center is, the list goes on.  The team lead is responsible for the whole scenario.  This is carefully vetted before a complaint with evidence is brought to a Magistrate. 

[steve4102]

Many of us on this forum carry, we also have loaded firearms at the ready in our homes.

How many here would fire back, if an armed man or men in plain clothes burst into your home and stated shooting killing you dog first then your wife?

Would you defend your home and your family first and ask questions later, or would you sit back and hope the intruders are the so called good guys?

[Moshe]

3 minutes ago, steve4102 said:

Many of us on this forum carry, we also have loaded firearms at the ready in our homes.

How many here would fire back, if an armed man or men in plain clothes burst into your home and stated shooting killing you dog first then your wife?

Would you defend your home and your family first and ask questions later, or would you sit back and hope the intruders are the so called good guys?

I comply with Law Enforcement.  My first instinct is not to reach for a firearm and began shooting at them when they announce they have a warrant.  I would let the warrant be conducted without resistance.  If I am innocent, that is what attorney's and Bivens torts are for.  I am carrying now.  16 rounds of 230gr hollow point, plus 4 15 round reloads.  My first thought, would not be, I am going to shoot at the SO for conducting a warrant.  Now, if someone is foolish enough to attack my home as a criminal, I would not be merciful.

[steve4102]

The guys first mistake was not having his self defense weapons close by.  He had his revolver in the back room, big mistake.

If he had kept his firearm close, he would have had a better chance and protecting his wife, himself and his dog from these plain closed invaders.

Had he done this, he may have survived and then had a Grand Jury rule, "no Bill" on his murder indictment as in the Henry Magee case also in Texas.

  https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/opinions/wp/2014/02/10/some-justice-in-texas-the-raid-on-henry-magee/?utm_term=.67cf4cd014dd

Last December 19th, nine of the 10 members of the Burleson County Sheriff’s Department staged a raid on the rural home of Henry Magee. An informant had told Deputy Adam Sowders that Magee was running a major marijuana grow. They’d find 12-14 plants, all over six fee tall, the informant said. Magee also had, according to the informant, a vicious dog and several guns, one of which had been stolen from the Burleson County Sheriff’s Department.

By the time the raid was over, Deputy Adam Sowder was dead. Magee shot him as Sowder and his fellow deputies attempted to force their way into Magee’s home.  Magee was arrested and charged with capital murder — the knowing and intentional killing of a police officer.

A subsequent search of Magee’s home by the Texas Rangers didn’t turn up any six foot pot plants. According to Dick DeGuerin, the well-known criminal defense attorney who took Magee’s case shortly after the raid, the police found two plants about six inches tall, less than an ounce of dried marijuana,  and several seedlings. According to DeGuerin, Magee had four guns in his home, all of them legal, three of which were locked in a safe at the time of the raid. They also didn’t find the gun the informant claimed Magee had stolen. DeGuerrin says Magee’s allegedly vicious dog barked, but never attacked, even when the officers had Magee cuffed and on the ground.

Earlier this month, District Attorney Julie Renken presented the case against Magee to a grand jury. “I made a very thorough presentation on Texas law on cap murder and Texas self defense law,” Renken told me in a phone interview. “There were over three hours of testimony. I did not make a recommendation either way. I just wanted to present the law and evidence very fairly.”

Remarkably, this week the grand jury returned a “no-bill” on the murder charge. That is, they found that Henry Magee had acted in self-defense. He was indicted for possession of marijuana.

 

[steve4102]

8 minutes ago, Moshe said:

I comply with Law Enforcement.  My first instinct is not to reach for a firearm and began shooting at them when they announce they have a warrant.  I would let the warrant be conducted without resistance.  If I am innocent, that is what attorney's and Bivens torts are for.  I am carrying now.  16 rounds of 230gr hollow point, plus 4 15 round reloads.  My first thought, would not be, I am going to shoot at the SO for conducting a warrant.  Now, if someone is foolish enough to attack my home as a criminal, I would not be merciful.

Is that what they did, knock and say, "we have a warrant?", not hardly.  They broken in and started shooting.  Granted it was the dog first, but they indeed started shooting.

[Moshe]

1 minute ago, steve4102 said:

Is that what they did, knock and say, "we have a warrant?", not hardly.  They broken in and started shooting.  Granted it was the dog first, but they indeed started shooting.

Were you there?  I have had to hit drug houses in my career.  The announcement was constant.  We were taught to make it clear who we were, and what we were doing there.  Oddly, enough, we didn't have to shoot anyone.

[steve4102]

17 minutes ago, Moshe said:

Were you there?  I have had to hit drug houses in my career.  The announcement was constant.  We were taught to make it clear who we were, and what we were doing there.  Oddly, enough, we didn't have to shoot anyone.

Was this a drug house? Were you there.

Everyone but the police say, NO, not a drug house.

All the evidence collected say, Not a Drug House

[Moshe]

6 minutes ago, steve4102 said:

Was this a drug house? Were you there.

Everyone but the police say, NO, not a drug house.

All the evidence collected say, Not a Drug House

I have been involved in many drug warrants when I was in ICE  Investigations.  I also had extensive training at FLETC on the do's don'ts in mock warrants and some of them were set up to face role players who were armed with blanks and were there to kill you.  We were under complete surveillance in the raid house, and extensively critiqued.  We had to do all the things that are supposed to done in the real deal, and a lot of time was spent on these scenarios.  I have been there on several warrants and arrests for drugs and human trafficking.  In the real world, not one person was shot, not one person was injured.  We had Federal Magistrate warrants.  I even made a single SSA armed stop by myself, and had them handcuffed on the trunk before my backup ever arrived.  Still, never had to harm or shoot anyone. 

I have the trust and confidence that this was done correctly, and not just 'cause.

As a side note, I am also a USCCA member.  If **** goes sideways as it almost did for me last week, when I was in the right and did things the right way, there is always an attorney on standby.

Oh, I am also an NRA member, but that is probably pretty cliché these days.