Houston Police Officer Noe Juarez Arrested by Federal Drug Enforcement Agents

Officer Noe Juarez

Houston, Texas

The Houston Police Department is short one man, after federal agents requested the arrest of an officer during the Tuesday morning roll call.

A spokesperson for the Federal Bureau of Investigations, Shauna Dunlap, confirms Officer Noe Juarez was arrested by Houston police and turned over to federal agents with the Drug Enforcement Agency and FBI after he arrived for work at the HPD Central Command. An arrest warrant had been issued for Juarez by a federal court in New Orleans.

Neither Dunlap nor Anna Christman, with the federal attorney's office in New Orleans, would discuss the specific charge against Juarez until the indictment is unsealed, but police sources told KPRC-TV that Juarez was arrested in connection with a federal drug probe.

Juarez has been a Houston Police Officer since 1995, and for most of his career served as a patrolman with the Central Patrol Division. In March, he transferred to he department's motorcycle detail.

Back in 2009, Juarez was named as one of the Houston Police Officers Union's officers of the year for his work with the Central Division Tactical Unit.

If his name sounds familiar, Juarez gained media attention In February 2008, as one of three officers involved in a shooting at Northwest Mall that left one of the policemen wounded, and a robbery suspect dead. Juarez did not fire the fatal shot.

In 2006, Juarez was named as a defendant in a federal wrongful arrest lawsuit that was settled out of court.

Juarez is scheduled to appear before a federal magistrate on Wednesday. Federal officials said more information will be made available following the court appearance.