Drug Dealer Ambush or Defense Against Home Invasion?

The recent killing of a couple in Houston, Texas, and the wounding of four police officers, has been claimed to be an ambush of police by drug dealers.

Later accounts by the police show the police broke into the house, and fired first, killing the couple's dog.

The husband then fired back, wounding the officer who killed their dog.

Officers then shot the unarmed 58 year old wife. They claim she was attempting to get the shotgun from the wounded officer. From cnn.com:

When Monday afternoon's raid was over, two suspects were dead and five officers were injured, four of them suffering gunshot wounds.

The first officer fired a shotgun blast, killing the dog. Suspect Dennis Tuttle, 59, initially retreated but returned with a .357 Magnum, shooting the officer in the shoulder, the chief said. The officer collapsed onto a couch in the living room.

As the other narcotics officers charged through the door -- which Acevedo described as a "fatal funnel" -- the second suspect, Rhogena Nicholas, 58, tried to wrestle the shotgun away from the officer on the couch. Police quickly shot her.

More gunfire was exchanged as the 54-year-old officer who breached the door -- the officer who knocks down the door goes in last -- charged into the fray, realizing his fellow officers were in trouble.

"He immediately knew his partners were down and he made entry. When he made entry, he got shot," Acevedo said. "You know your brother's down, your sister's down, you go in, and that's what they did."

This account differs markedly from what was first released. From  foxnews.com:

At about 4:15 p.m. local time, a group of about a dozen officers with the Houston Police's narcotics unit responded to a residence they suspected was a hub for drug dealing, particularly the sale of "street-level narcotics" like "black tar heroin," Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said at an evening news conference held outside the hospital. The two suspects had opened fire on the team of officers.

"Narcotics officers tried to serve a search warrant," Acevedo said. "They announced themselves as police at the time. Immediately upon reaching the door, the officers came under fire from one or two suspects." One suspect, according to the police chief, momentarily retreated into the home and then returned to the front of the location to resume shooting.

Early reports are often wrong. We should get more details as an investigation occurs.

Particularly disturbing about this case is information about the married couple who were killed in their home, along with their dog. They were 59 and 58 years old.  So far, there has not been any indication of criminal records. Nor did the police find any "black tar heroin" they claimed was being sold at the house.

This was a planned raid.  We should be able to determine exactly what happened, from the police point of view, from the body cameras.

The police had them,and had them turned on, right? It was all planned. They knew there would be action. So they had video to defend themselves if there was a problem... Right?

There are enough inconsistencies in this raid to want to see the video.

None of the officers' names are being released... Because it is claimed, they all work undercover.  At least two of the officers are 50 year old sergeants.

The response of the President of the Houston Police Officer's Union, Joe Gamaldi, is not reassuring.   From abc13.com:

"Enough is enough. If you're the ones out there spreading the rhetoric that police officers are the enemy, well just know we've all got your number now," Gamaldi said. "We're going to be keeping track on all of y'all, and we're going to make sure to hold you accountable every time you stir the pot on our police officers."

That sounds a lot like a threat to anyone who dares to question the police narrative.

I hope this was treated like other crime scenes. I want a proper investigation. We should be able to recreate who was where and who fired what.

Show us the video, Joe. Then you may have some credibility.

We now know this wasn't an ambush by drug dealers. The police admit they fired the first shot, killing the family dog. That is not an ambush.

How much was a legitimate defense of home against home invaders who, as far as the married couple knew, might be simply claiming to be police? How much was criminal resistance against a legitimate police action?

An armed home defender in Houston recently shot and killed three home invaders. He wounded two others. The police told him he did the right thing.

Most Texas homes are armed. Texas law is designed to facilitate armed defense of the home.

Show us the video. I want to see where the police knocked on the door and waited for a response.

©2019 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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