Comments By Harris County Medical Examiner Raise Questions About A Police-Related Shooting

Houston, Texas

Comments Made By a Medical Examiner about an officer involved shooting are under scrutiny.

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Texas State Trooper indicted over bus encounter

Austin, Texas

A Texas Department of Public Safety trooper captured on Capital Metro bus surveillance video grabbing, dragging and pushing a male passenger in October has been indicted by a Travis County grand jury on two misdemeanor charges.

Don MacFarlane, 55, who had been assigned to Capitol District patrol, was removed from his job pending an investigation into a complaint connected to the Oct. 3 encounter on the bus. On Wednesday, DPS officials said that "termination proceedings have been initiated" against MacFarlane but that he has not yet been fired.

Last Tuesday, the grand jury handed down an indictment charging him with official oppression, a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail, and assault, a Class C misdemeanor punishable by a fine.

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Remember the tape of Houston Police Officers beating teen Chad Holley? Officers only receive misdemeanor charges and local TV station faces silence when asking about grand jury

Houston, Texas

It's now infamous, the video detailing the beating of a burglary susupect by HPD officers. The district attorney fought its release. Now the courthouse doesn't want you to know who was on the grand jury.

The video stunned the city. Four Houston cops await trial.

The criminal charge in the Holley case is official oppression. That's just a misdemeanor.

"If I wear a uniform and I come into your store and make you give me a hamburger because I'm in uniform and me beating a suspect who is handcuffed and that gets the same charge -- I think everybody in Houston should be appalled of that," said Rev. DZ Coffield, the president of the Houston NAACP.

Joe Larsen is a lawyer specializing in the public's right to know.

"The names of the grand jurors are announced in open court when they are empanelled," Larsen said.

But after Houston’s KTRK-TV asked, the district attorney's office notified the judge over the grand jury, Vanessa Velasquez.

Two days after our request, the judge issued an order barring any county employee from releasing the names. The DA's office now says its hands are now tied. The names of the grand jurors could be secret forever.

"I'm extremely dismayed. I think this subverts the Public Information Act on its face," Larsen said.

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Port Arthur police officer being investigated for improper relationship with High School Student

Port Arthur, Texas

A Port Arthur police officer who worked security at Memorial High School has been assigned to station duty while an investigation takes place into his possible criminal behavior.

The officer, who has not been named, is being investigated for possibly having an improper relationship with a student at the school.

Chief Mark Blanton said the department was notified by the Port Arthur school district about the issue Monday afternoon.

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Family questions man's shooting death by off-duty Houston Police Officer

Houston, Texas

A family is questioning the use of deadly force after their son was shot and killed by a Houston police officer, their neighbor. The victim was 32-year-old Chad Nash.

According to the officer, he saw the victim with a knife, and fearing for his life, fired his gun.

Rhonda Nastasi is still reeling from the death of her only child, 32-year-old Chad Nash, who was shot and killed early Valentine's Day morning by their neighbor, an off-duty Houston police officer.

She said, "We had no idea that that off-duty officer was going to kill him."

Now, as the grand jury investigation is ongoing, the officer has returned to his job at the police department.

Nastasi says she knew her son had some issues but wonders if he had to die.

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Conroe police officer accused of tampering with government documents; fired and indicted

Conroe Police Officer David Demura

Conroe, Texas

A Conroe Police Department officer was fired on allegations he used the department's letterhead to purchase weapons for personal use and avoid paying taxes.

Officer David Demura was indicted Tuesday by a Montgomery County grand jury on a charge of tampering with a governmental record, which is a felony, according to a Conroe Police Department statement.

An investigation was launched in late February after the police department received a tip that one or more of its officers had been using Conroe Police Department letterhead to buy and possibly resell weapons. Using letterhead to buy the weapons allows police departments to avoid federal firearms checks and taxes.

But since federal investigators allege Demura used the letterhead to buy weapons for personal use, they say he violated federal firearms laws and state laws. Investigators also say they discovered discrepancies in paperwork that deals with the purchase and transfer of the weapons in question.

Several other officers were being questioned through the course of the investigation, but they were cleared of any involvement.

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A Snapshot of Houston Police Officers who have amassed the most complaints

Houston, Texas

The Houston Chronicle provides a snapshot of Houston Police Officers racking up the most complaints, though very little is done about it. Here's the list of the fine folks in blue.

Selvyn J. Ellis

Roderick D. Caldwell

Jaime Luis Escalante

Ted A. Adams

Kenneth L. Flowers

Joseph Roy Brashier

Robert Scott Kessler

Daphine E. Stevensen

Karl M. Pederson

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