Officer at center of deadly HPD raid praised in past performance reviews
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner plans to talk about what's next in the botched drug raid that ended with a couple killed and five officers injured.
Four of the officers were shot, including Gerald Goines, who is at the center of the raid investigation.
Goines swore in a search warrant that a confidential informant bought drugs at the home on Harding Street in southeast Houston.
Investigators now believe that never happened.
We took a closer look at his personnel file and learned that for four years straight, his supervisor wrote he used confidential informants to a positive end.
His review last August even called him a mentor to new narcotics investigators. He was also repeatedly praised for his safety practices.
In his 34 years with HPD, there were six sustained complaints.
Five of those complaints led to written reprimands, including one for which he didn't tag crack cocaine as evidence until a month later and only when he was asked about it.
He was suspended once for attacking a man his sister said sexually assaulted her.
The police chief at the time wrote Goines didn't use sound judgment, but overall his performance was highly rated.
His files don't mention any previous drug raids that may have been questionable, even though some have been subjects of lawsuits. That means Goines was cleared of any wrongdoing.
You can get an in-depth look at what was in Goines' files here.
HPD Chief Art Acevedo has been invited to attend the mayor's press conference Thursday afternoon. The mayor said it will address accountability and transparency in the investigation.
Acevedo recently announced that no-knock warrants, which were used in this case on Harding, will be no more.
Goines' attorney is calling for an independent investigation.
