Houston Police Officer Joe Fleming Celebrates Mother’s Day: Burglary, Beating and Threatening Ex-Girlfriend With Service Weapon

Houston Police Officer Joe Fleming

Houston, Texas

An off-duty police officer has been arrested and accused of threatening his ex-girlfriend with his service weapon.

Houston Police Officer Joe Fleming, 39, has been charged with second-degree felony burglary of a habitation with intent to commit other felony.

According to Harris County Precinct 4 deputy constables, Fleming celebrated Mother’s Day by burglarizing his ex-girlfriend's home in the 14600 block of Philippine in northwest Harris County.

The couple recently broke up after dating for several years.

Once inside the ex-girlfriend’s home, Detectives say Fleming held his service weapon to the woman's head and threatened to kill her. Authorities also confirm that Fleming slapped the woman in the face several times, causing visible injuries.

Cops say the woman tried to use her cellphone to call for help, but Fleming took it and broke it.

The woman was able to eventually run to a neighbor’s house and contact police.

Fleming was booked into the Harris County Jail, where he is being held without bond.

An emergency protection order barring Fleming from contacting the woman was granted, officials said.

Allegations of Racism Circulating Around Galena Park Police Department and Former Chief

Houston, Texas

Rumors are circulating about racism in the Galena Park Police Department. A local news team has uncovered troubling evidence to suggest the rumors are true, including racist photos, secret tape recordings, and even allegations of a cover-up. One of the photos discovered depicts a white man squirting an African-American boy with a hose, with the caption: “Go be a nig**r somewhere else.” Another image is photo-shopped to show a co-worker in a sombrero, on a donkey, apparently to ridicule Mexicans.

Read more on the story.

Harris County Deputy Constable Henry Williams Arrested for Driving Drunk With Child Inside His Vehicle

Houston, Texas

A Harris County deputy constable has been accused of driving drunk with a child inside his vehicle.

According to police, they were alarmed when they discovered Precinct 3 Deputy Constable Henry Williams slumped over in his pickup truck in the 12400 block of Stonefield Manor near C.E. King Parkway about 6:30 p.m. Thursday.

Worried that he might have been suffering from a medical emergency, Williams was transported to a local hospital. As it turns out, he was fine, just drunk.

Williams was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated with a child under 15. He was released from jail after posting $10,000 bond.

Precinct 3 Constable Ken Jones said Williams will remain off-duty pending an investigation.

Houston Police Officer Miles Stedman Dumas Arrested for Indecent Exposure and Stabbing Man at Galveston Bar

Galveston, Texas

A Houston police officer found himself on the wrong side of the bars, following a number of disturbing incidents at a Galveston bar.

Galveston police said they were called out to the Tsunami Bar in the 2300 block of Strand about 12:30 a.m. Wednesday. It was there, that witnesses said Houston Police Officer Miles Stedman Dumas, 24, had been exposing himself to women and bragging about an item of jewelry attached to his penis.

Prince Albert, anyone?

Detectives said Dumas was confronted by a group of men who didn’t appreciate the officer’s behavior and then escorted outside.

The disturbance escalated in the parking lot and Dumas stabbed one man, police said. Another man who was with Dumas hit another man with a pistol, police said.

Both victims suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

Dumas fled the scene, but he was arrested a short time later. He has been charged with indecent exposure and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. His bond was set at $41,000.

Houston police said Dumas has been on the force since September and he works in the Westside district. He has been suspended with pay pending the outcome of the investigation.

Tsunami Bar
Galveston, Texas

HPD Officer Accused of Stabbing Man, Exposing Self at Bar: MyFoxHOUSTON.com

Dallas Police Officer Rafael Mendoza Must Really Like Getting Arrested

Dallas Police Officer Rafael Mendoza

Dallas, Texas

For Dallas police officer Rafael Mendoza, there must be something appealing about the inside of a jail cell. After all, the officer has now been arrested for the second time in nine months.

In July, Mendoza was arrested on family violence charges. According to police reports, Mendoza was in an altercation with a female over an ex-girlfriend. The report said he then shoved the woman to the ground and put "flex cuffs" on her while telling her, "You are going to the pen for 10-15 years." Mendoza left the woman in the parking lot for about an hour before removing the plastic handcuffs, according to police documents.

This time around, the 34-year-old police officer faces charges of driving while intoxicated and aggravated assault. Mendoza reportedly opened fire on traffic along Interstate 30 in Mesquite early Sunday morning.

Mesquite police said drivers spotted Mendoza holding a gun out of his car window while he drove eastbound on the highway near Big Town Boulevard around 2:40 a.m. Sunday.

Police said Mendoza fired at least once, hitting the trunk of a passing car.

A statement by Mesquite police said Mendoza was drunk, and that officers also found marijuana in his car.

Rafael Mendoza was hired by the Dallas Police Department in 2008.

At the time of the 2011 incident, Mendoza was placed on administrative leave, but it's unclear what happened to the internal investigation or the criminal charges. Dallas police would not clarify on Sunday, although it confirmed that he was currently an officer with the department when he was again arrested in Mesquite.

Mendoza remains at the Lew Sterrett Justice Center in Dallas on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, driving while intoxicated, and possession of marijuana under two ounces.

One of Four Houston Police Officers, Andrew Blomberg, Goes On Trial for Videotaped Beating of Teenager

Houston Police Officer Andrew Blomberg

Houston, Texas

Four Houston police officers are accused of brutally beating a teenager named Chad Holley during an arrest in 2010. The beating was captured on video.

On Monday, a trial for the first officer will begin. Andrew Blomberg is charged with official oppression, a misdemeanor that could earn the officer up to one year in jail.

Defense lawyers for Blomberg claim he was trying to detain several suspects fleeing a burglary scene without drawing his gun.

Attorneys for Holley said Blomberg was the first to begin beating the teen, then a 15-year-old Elsik High sophomore, creating a "snowball effect" that led to a barrage of fists and boots.

"The beating starts with Blomberg," said Ben Hall, one of Holley's attorneys. "Whether it is one lick, five licks, whatever, someone started this slew of attacks on Chad."

"This is just a horrible example of conduct that goes too far," Hall said. "I'm just glad that some court is moving forward in prosecution of some of these claims."

He said the beating injured Holley's brain, slowing his cognitive capacity.

"That's going to be a lifelong difficulty," he said.

Despite efforts by Houston Mayor Annise Parker and Houston police Chief Charles McClelland to keep the videotape from becoming public, community activist Quanell X and local television stations exposed the tape.

The recording shows a police cruiser clipping Holley as he hurdles the hood to avoid a chain link fence. The teen who flips over on his stomach and puts his hands behind his head as several officers descend on him as they take turns kicking and stomping him.

Blomberg is the first of four former officers to go to trial for their behavior during the arrest. Trials are pending for Phil Bryan, Raad Hassan and Drew Ryser, all of whom were fired. Bryan and Hassan also were charged with violation of the civil rights of a prisoner, a misdemeanor.

Houston Police Officer Leslie Aikens Sentenced to 15 Years in Drug Smuggling Case

Sergeant Leslie Aikens

Houston, Texas

We have been following the story involving Houston Police Officer Leslie Aikens, who was allegedly involved in a drug-trafficking scheme. Authorities, including the Texas Rangers and FBI agents, uncovered the scheme and say Aikens took a bribe and used his patrol car to escort a load of cocaine in uniform.

After authorities became suspicious of Aikens, they set up an undercover sting and secretly recorded Aikens agreeing to escort the vehicle and then carrying out the deed. He escorted about 15 pounds of cocaine from just outside Houston to inside Loop 610 before peeling off and continuing his official duties.

In November or last year, a jury found 47-year-old Aikens guilty of corruption.

On Thursday, Leslie Aikens was sentenced to fifteen years behind bars and is ineligible for parole.

How much was he paid for the escort? $2,000. Aikens had been with HPD for 19 years. In another year on the job, Aikens would have been eligible for retirement.