The 'head-cams' can store up to 400 hours of footage with soundtrack on their hard drive
Posted on 10/19/2007 2:59:25 PM PDT by Bayou City
HPD officer shoots, kills naked man who chased him Account by police disputed by family members, community activist
By ROSANNA RUIZ Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle
A Houston police officer used his Taser on, then fatally shot a combative, naked 29-year-old man Thursday afternoon in northwest Houston, police said.
The man, identified by relatives as Raymond Smith Jr., stopped his pickup next to the officer's cruiser in a median in the 6000 block of T.C. Jester near DeSoto. The officer, identified today as five-year veteran Brian Bueno, had just ticketed another motorist.
Activist Quanell X said he had talked to an eyewitness whose account of the incident differed from that of police.
According to Houston Police Department spokeswoman Johanna Abad, Smith shouted at Bueno and began to take off his clothes. Bueno told Smith to get back into his truck and leave.
Bueno called for backup about 1 p.m. before getting out of his car and trying to subdue the man. The officer's Taser had no effect on Smith, Abad said.
Smith then ran into a nearby wooded area.
"The male is undressed completely, turns around and starts chasing the officer," Abad said. "The officer at this time begins retreating and as he is running backward, as he is retreating and seeing the guy come at him, he discharges his weapon."
Abad said she did not know how many times Smith was shot or where he was wounded. She also said she did not know if he was armed.
"The suspect gets up after being shot," Abad said, "and goes into the patrol car attempting to leave ... The officer receives backup and is being assisted in getting the suspect out of his car and in custody."
Two other Houston police officers and a deputy constable had arrived on the scene, Abad explained. "The suspect gets up and runs into the woods and this is where he expires."
Hans Marticiuc, president of the Houston Police Officers Union, said Smith was shot twice, but continued to struggle with officers and was Tasered again.
Police account disputed Family members and others at the scene questioned the version of events Abad related to reporters.
"You'll need to come up with a better story than that!" one person shouted.
"Why did they have to shoot him?" another person said.
Later Thursday, Quanell X held a news conference where he produced an eyewitness, Rhonda Kersee, who he said told him she had given police a different version of the events.
It could not be confirmed late Thursday if police had taken such a statement.
Kersee, who lives nearby, told police that Smith was pulled over by Bueno, who made Smith get out of the truck and patted him down, Quanell X said.
Smith did not disrobe, but his pants may have fallen down during the search, Quanell X said the woman told him.
Kersee said Smith was brought out of the woods, handcuffed, to the officer's car, where he may have been shot again because "there was some smoke," Quanell X said.
HPD and the Harris County District Attorney's Office will investigate the shooting, as is routine in such incidents. The Harris County Medical Examiner's Office will conduct an autopsy to determine the cause of death.
Relatives at the scene Thursday afternoon were skeptical of Bueno's version of events. Smith's father, Raymond Sr., said he could not explain his son's behavior as it was described by police. He said that his son did not have a history of mental illness and was not on any medication.
Court records show Smith had a criminal record dating back to 1995 — eight convictions, half of them on drug charges.
The most recent charge was in 2003. He pleaded guilty in June of that year to the manufacture and delivery of less than a gram of a controlled substance and served almost all of a two-year prison sentence, records show.
Father of two daughters In 2001, Smith pleaded guilty to possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and was sentenced to four years in prison, serving two. In 1999, he pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance and received a three-year sentence. He served one year.
He also was convicted of evading arrest, auto theft and other drug offenses.
Smith, known to relatives as "Tukey," was a longshoreman at the Port of Houston and the father of two daughters.
"Every time you saw him he had a smile on his face and he always wanted to give you a hug," said Evelyn Swan, the slain man's cousin. "He is not a rowdy person."
Other family members at the scene included Smith's brother and mother, whose car was parked near the cordoned-off police scene.
His mother, Patricia, sat in her car and wailed, "My baby, my baby!"
Chronicle reporters Dale Lezon and Anne Marie Kilday contributed to this story.
rosanna.ruiz@chron.com
This is my pistol. This is my gun. This one’s for pleasure. This is for shooting naked guys who chase me.
One could say the cop saw through this guy’s disguise.
The Naked and the Dead.
“Quannell X?” Is Tom Wolfe writing another satire?
“Activist Quanell X”
That’s where I stopped reading....
So the naked guy, how big was his weapon?
If the perp had been a female, the cop probably would have wrestled her to the ground.
It’s looking like a slow weekend. Where will “Quannell X” be holding the rally?
I should have the T-shirts ready by tomorrow afternoon. Does anyone have Malik Zulu Shabazz on speed dial?
One person called Quannell a Nubian Goddess!
Both above were from comments at the story source.
That's a good indication that the guy was on some heavy drugs, very possibly PCP. People in this condition are extremely dangerous. They don't feel pain and have tremendous strength. A lot of people will be on the cop's case for discharging his weapon, but I'm thinking he did the right thing.
Naked bad guys are really bad news. I heard of some PD somewhere that was developing something like a net to subdue people like this guy. It's sad, but guys taking their clothes off in situation like this -- death is a high probability.
It’s the crawl at the bottom of the screen that really makes the picture.
Further,Police account disputed Family members and others at the scene questioned the version of events Abad related to reporters. What the hell does this mean?
Coroner’s report will tell a lot. Smith had to be jacked up pretty high on something to act like that.
When hysterical and agenda-driven activists can take video, edit it out of context, and then endlessly replay it on national TV with the enthusiastic support and complicity of an adoring Leftist media 'culture'; and when this has the effect of swaying juries against law enforcement, police will soon have no choice in the matter if their side is to be given any credence in today's rabidly litigious and nonsensical environment.
'Smile, you're on camera!' Police to get 'head-cams' News This is London
The 'head-cams' can store up to 400 hours of footage with soundtrack on their hard drive
Each unit costs around £1,700
Wikipedia:
Quanell X
(born Quanell Jefferson Evans on December 7, 1970 in Los Angeles, California) is a member of the New Black Panther Party and a community activist in Houston, Texas. His parents were both Nation of Islam members from Los Angeles. After his parents’ divorce, Quanell moved to Houston with his mother and younger brother.
Quanell was a drug dealer in the Sunnyside community of south Houston, Texas.[1]. In May 1989, Quanell spent a brief time in jail and received 10 years probation for possessing and dealing crack cocaine. It was during this time that Quanell had a life changing conversion and decided he would devote his life to the betterment of African-Americans in Houston. Once a “young street thug” according to himself, Quanell polished up his image to set a better role model for the people he leads. He always appears in a suit and tie to show young Black men that it is important to be respectable and to command respect in appearance. Quanell is a skilled speaker and also began to use his skills in oratory to help lead his organization.
In September 1990, Quanell was inspired by a Louis Farrakhan speech at Sam Houston Coliseum, and joined the Nation of Islam. The newly dubbed Quanell X rose quickly to become a spokesman in the organization.[2] In July 1992, Quanell found his brother Quinten dead in his apartment with three others, all with bullets to their heads. It was here that he met State Representative Ron Wilson (D-Houston).[3] Quanell was kicked out of the Nation of Islam for publicly inciting violence with his televised, and highly publicized, exhortation to Houston-area blacks that “[i]f you feel that you just got to mug somebody because of your hurt and your pain, go to River Oaks and mug you some good white folks.”[4][5]
Quanell joined the New Black Panther Party under the leadership of Khalid Abdul Muhammad.[6] In June 2004, Quanell was charged with evading arrest. He was on the phone with Executive Assistant Chief Charles A. McClelland of the Houston Police Department when arranging the surrender of cop shooter Derrick Forney. Quanell was convicted on a lesser charge of ‘running from a police officer’, a class-B misdemeanor in the State of Texas; on December 1, 2006, the State of Texas First Court of Appeals overturned the conviction. The term high-tech lynching has been used to describe this event.[citation needed] Quanell X is credited with helping officers in the March 2007 murder investigation of Texas A&M University student Tynesha Stewart.[7] He helped obtain a confession from Timothy Wayne Shepherd, the suspect in the murder.[8] He also criticized the Harris County sheriff’s decision not to search for Stewart’s body in an Humble, Texas area landfill.[9][2]
maybe naked guy found the officer kinda attractive
What, did his Dad forget about all those drug charges? and the fact that his drug addictions and problems could have led to this?
It's too bad for those who cared for this man, but a guy doped up on PCP or something similar can kill you with his bare hands.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.