HPD RAID: Justice group holding town hall meeting tonight over no-knock warrant that led to deadly shootout

Charly Edsitty Image
Monday, February 18, 2019
Town hall tonight on deadly HPD raid
A town hall will be held over the HPD raid that killed two people and injured five police officers.

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Members of the community will be coming together to demand answers in the weeks after a deadly officer-involved shooting that left two people dead and five officers injured.

Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo confirmed in a press conference on Friday that the narcotics operation that led up to the deadly shootout inside a home at 7815 Harding is now being looked at by the department's internal affairs.

Specifically, the department is looking at claims coming from the lead case agent, who was injured in the shooting, that a confidential informant made a previous drug purchase at the home, which prompted the approval of a no-knock search warrant.

HPD WARRANT: Informant didn't buy drugs from suspects killed in police shootout

New documents obtained by ABC13 showed no confidential informant ever bought drugs at the home on Harding Street.

Fifty-nine-year-old Dennis Tuttle and 58-year-old Rhogena Nicholas were both killed by officers performing this raid.

In total, five officers were injured in the operation with four sustaining gunshot wounds.

"I'm going to reserve my comments until that investigation is complete," said Mayor Sylvester Turner, who spoke with Eyewitness News over the weekend. "We want to make sure that we do a full and complete investigation, and we do it as quickly as possible."

The Greater Houston Coalition for Justice is holding a town hall to discuss the shooting on Monday from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at 333 Jensen Drive.

Mayor Turner, Chief Acevedo and the district attorney have been invited to the meeting, but it is unclear if any of the public officials will attend.

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