A look back at Houston-area law enforcement friendly fire incidents

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Friday's shooting death of Fort Bend County Deputy Constable Caleb Rule was the latest in a tragic, yet uncommon trend of friendly fire incidents in the Houston area over the years.

Rule was responding to a call for a property check at a home in the Sienna Plantation subdivision when he was shot by a sheriff's deputy. Authorities called the incident an accident.

RELATED: Fort Bend Co. Pct. 4 deputy constable dies after being shot in friendly fire incident

Since 2015, nine police officers died in accidental firearm-related incidents in the United States, according to statistics compiled by the FBI.

In the Houston area, a police officer was accidentally shot in the arm by his partner in 2015 at the end of a chase.

In 2005, Harris County Precinct 6 Reserve Deputy Constable Nehemiah Pickens was accidentally shot and killed by a deputy during a foot chase with a suspect. Pickens was off-duty and was not in uniform when the accident happened.

Friendly fire incidents are a small fraction of the accidental deaths and injuries over the years across the country.

A Houston police officer's holster was believed to be the culprit in an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound in 2019. The officer was shot in the thigh during training, Houston police said at the time.

More than 236 officers have died since 2015 in a variety of incidents, including 10 who have drowned while on duty, according to the FBI. Most of the deaths and injuries were the result of motor vehicle crashes.