Another Houston Police Department Beating Tape To Be Released

Houston, Texas

Community activist Quanell X said he will release a surveillance video later today showing a handcuffed man being struck three times including once with a baton by a Houston police officer who then threw the man to the ground.

The activist said the tape reinforces what he says is a culture of excessive force within the Houston Police Department.

"You'll see a young African-American male not resisting, not threatening, not fighting, handcuffed," Quanell X said. "And you will see him struck by this officer three times, and one time with his baton while he's on the ground. He's not resisting or anything like that and he's handcuffed."

The man was charged with resisting arrest and another charge, which the activist said were both dismissed after prosecutors saw the video. Quanell X said the man in the video had no previous criminal records.

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Houston Mayor Responds to HPD Beating Video

Mayor Parker Responds to Beating Video: MyFoxHOUSTON.com

Houston, Texas

Mayor Annise Parker found herself in a crowd of five hundred people at a town hall meeting Tuesday night. Those people, like so many others, want answers.

"In an organization as large as the Houston Police Department there's always going to be officers who are doing things they shouldn't be doing," Parker said.

This in response to the release of a videotape depicting Houston Police Officers kicking, punching and beating a then 15-year-old Chad Holley. So how can this happen?

Mayor Parker was asked the same question by her constituents at a NAACP meeting. She walked away with a deeper understanding of the African American community and its relationship with HPD.

"The other thing I failed to realize is the depth of distrust in the community at the ability to successfully bring police officers to justice in a court of law here in Harris County," Parker said.

Mayor Parker wasn't the only city leader responding to the release of the tape. Councilman C.O. Bradford is a former HPD chief.

"We're prepared to say it was an isolated incident but those officers were very comfortable doing what they did in broad open daylight. I have a concern about that."

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Alleged Victim Testifies About Prison Sex Abuse

Lubbock, Texas

An ex-inmate at a West Texas juvenile prison testified that former principal John Paul Hernandez told him he'd get a sandwich if the teen did a "favor" for him.

The 23-year-old man testified Wednesday that he told Hernandez he was uncomfortable when Hernandez pulled down the teen's pants inside a closet at the West Texas State School in Pyote.

The witness testified that Hernandez said he was going to get a sandwich and could get the teen one if he did a "favor" for him. According to the testimony, Hernandez pulled down the inmate's underwear, fondled him and gave him oral sex.

The Associated Press isn't naming Hernandez's accusers because it generally doesn't identify sexual abuse victims.

Hernandez faces 11 sex abuse charges stemming from alleged 2004 and 2005 incidents.

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Gregory Police Chief Back In News, Facing New Charges

Taft, Texas

The Gregory Police Chief is finding himself on the wrong side of the law again. This time he and his wife are facing assault charges for an argument.

This is dashcam video from Taft police officers who responded to the assault call between Gregory Police Chief Joseph Roberts and his wife Monica Roberts. Taft Police say, Monica Roberts slashed two of the tires on her husband's Gregory Police Cruiser, after he allegedly threw a beer bottle at her. The video from the dashcam recording is not what's compelling here, it's what Joseph Roberts can be heard saying. When talking with the Taft Officers about a recent manhunt in Gregory where a game room was robbed... Roberts seems to be saying he *wanted* the suspect to shoot him.

"A lot of me thought, if I go and get him and he shoots me because of everything that's going on in the news," Roberts said.
Taft Officer: "That ain't the way to think about stuff and that's why you didn't do it. You backed up and did it the right way."
Roberts: "But you know what? At least I would have went out a hero."

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Group Protests For More Severe Penalties For Houston Police Officers Caught Beating Teen By Surveillance Tape

Houston, Texas

A group of protesters chanted on the steps of City Hall this morning and demanded a federal investigation and more severe penalties for Houston police officers accused of beating teenaged burglary suspect Chad Holley last spring.

The demonstration by Houston-area members of the National Black United Front was one of four scheduled today by different groups of civil rights activists, many of them critical of the misdemeanor charges brought against four officers. 

Houston Police Chief Charles McClelland immediately suspended officers involved in the arrest when he was mailed a private surveillance tape last April, and announced the firing of seven officers the same day a grand jury returned misdemeanor charges against four of them last June.

After the protest ended, the Rev. Johnny Jeremiah led the group in prayer and urged Houston citizens to rise up and protest the police brutality case that is garnering nationwide attention.

"God, give us the power to bring them down for beating that child,“ Jeremiah said.

Jeremiah said he wanted to ask Mayor Annise Parker why she kept secret a surveillance tape of the March 2010 beating, and why she said last week a television reporter who broadcast the tape should be held in violation of a court order.

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Stafford Officer Charged with Felony Theft

Officer Charged with Felony Theft: MyFoxHOUSTON.com

Houston, Texas

An area police officer is finding himself on the wrong side of the law.

The Stafford Police Officer is now indicted on two felony counts. Paul Kevin Germany worked for the Stafford Police Department for 19.5 years.

A department spokesperson says Germany was in charge of the property room since 1994. Germany is now accused of stealing more than $14,000 from the very evidence room he was supposed to guard.

"He was the only person that actually maintained custody and preservation of the evidence that was submitted during the course of all the investigations," Fort Bend County Deputy District Attorney Scott Carpenter said.

The veteran police officer has been indicted on charges of theft by a public servant and abuse of office. They are third-degree felonies.

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Congressman Asks Feds to Investigate Video Depicting HPD Beating Teen

Houston, Texas

Congressman Al Green called on the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the circumstances of the arrest of a teenage burglary suspect after police officers were caught on a videotape kicking and hitting the teen as he lay on the ground last year.

A surveillance tape at a nearby business recorded several officers beating 15-year-old Chad Holley following a chase March 23, 2010. Holley was arrested for burglary. Four officers were indicted in the case.

Green, D-Houston, said he'll formally request later today that the Justice Department investigate the case.

"Ours is a request that justice be done," Green said during a news conference Monday at one of his congressional offices in southwest Houston.

Officers Phil Bryan, Raad Hassan, Andrew Blomberg, and Drew Ryser were charged with official oppression, a Class A misdemeanor for punching, kicking and stomping Holley.

Bryan and Hassan also were charged with violation of the civil rights of a prisoner, a misdemeanor. HPD Sgt. John McClellan, Lewis Childress and Gaudencio Saucedo were fired but not charged. Saucedo later got his job back after he appealed his termination and an arbitrator ordered the Houston Police Department to reinstate him.

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