Houston police officer subject of 4th deadly investigation since 2022

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- An officer with the Houston Police Department is part of a deadly use of force investigation for the fourth time in his six-year career.

HPD confirms he is back on the streets while they look into the most recent incident.

Officer Devin Inocencio's body camera footage shows the moments he shot 44-year-old Roosevelt Overton on March 11. Officials said the shooting happened near a liquor store on the feeder road in the 26800 block of the North Freeway in Montgomery County.

He and five other officers were chasing Overton, who was believed to have robbed the liquor store clerk at gunpoint.

Overton is seen running away with a gun in hand when officers fired multiple shots.

Inocencio was working as part of a crime suppression team that was surveilling Overton. They believed he was involved in more than 20 other robberies in Harris, Montgomery, and Fort Bend Counties.

Innocencio was also part of a squad of officers who shot and killed Charion Lockett. The law student was wanted for aggravated robbery at the time, but he did not have any prior criminal history. Body camera footage shows officers swarmed in on him in the driveway of his home.

Inocencio was in an unmarked car and did not announce himself as an officer before the shooting. He was holding his gun at the door of the car, which can be seen in the body cam video.

SEE ALSO: Man accused of kidnapping ex and coworker shot to death by HPD in Splendora, police say

Police claim Lockett fired the first shot, but his family disputes that.

"When citizens are killed in the streets by officers with badges, the public always has the right to know why and how this occurred," Shelby Stewart, a former HPD Sgt. turned community activist, said.

SEE ALSO: Robbery suspect shot and killed by HPD officer involved in lawsuit for shooting death of another man

Questions are being raised by Stewart and others about the fact that Inocencio has been investigated for deadly use of force four times over his six-year career.

• In February 2022, he fatally shot Law student Lockett outside his home.
• In August 2022, he shot and killed a kidnapping suspect during a hostage situation.
• In April 2023, Inocencio fired a fatal shot, killing a teen robbery suspect.
• In 2024, he's under the microscope again for shooting and killing Overton.

HPD said investigations were completed on the first three shootings, and they found Inocencio did not violate policy.

Although he was not indicted in any of the fatal shootings, he is facing a civil lawsuit in the shooting of Lockett.

In the lawsuit, family members claim officers ran up on Lockett with their guns drawn but didn't announce themselves.

"Civil cases can take time. He is currently working in the same position that he was working in before," Randall Kalinen, the civil rights attorney who filed the lawsuit, said.

ABC13 did make contact with Overton's family. They are still processing but do have questions about the deadly use of force.

Inocencio was put on administrative duty for three days after this last shooting, which is the minimum.

This isn't punishment according to HPD, but rather, it gives them time to finish their critical incident protocol, which involves seeing a therapist and meeting with their attorneys.

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