Pedestrian killed in collision with Houston police officer for third time in three weeks

Lucio Vasquez/Houston Public Media

A woman was hit and killed by a member of the Houston Police Department as he answered a call early Tuesday morning, marking the third time in less than three weeks that a pedestrian was killed in a collision with an on-duty officer hired by the city.

The latest crash happened shortly after midnight on the 11,500 block of the Southwest Highway access road, near Wilcrest Drive, according to Assistant Police Chief Wyatt Martin, who told reporters at the scene that the Hispanic woman, believed to be in her 40s years, “gone off the road.” curb and was hit by a patrol car.” Martin said the cop driving the car, a man with two years of experience with HPD, was driving to another location to help with the double shooting but did not activate the hazard lights or sirens.

“It’s just a tragic situation,” Martin said, adding that the woman could be homeless, citing a witness.

As with other pedestrian casualties on Jan. 4 and Dec. 30, in line with HPD policy, when an officer is implicated in the death of a community member, Martin said two HPD officers in a squad car are going into administrative duties on Tuesday pending the outcome of the investigation. . It is unclear whether officers involved in other recent accidents remain in administrative service. HPD spokesman Victor Sentis said on Tuesday he could not verify an officer’s status without knowing the officer’s name, although none of the officers involved have been disclosed by the department.

HPD Assistant Chief Wyatt Martin delivers an update on a fatal pedestrian vehicle involving a police officer on the Southwest Highway access road near S. Wilcrest Drive.

— Houston Police (@houstonpolice) January 17, 2023

Suzanne Garofalo, a spokesman for the Harris County District Attorney’s office, said each of the three cases will be presented to a grand jury to determine whether it is appropriate to file criminal charges against the officers involved.

“Grand jury proceedings are being held in secret and we have no information on when the hearings will take place,” she added.

Senties said he could not comment on the cases or provide details about them, citing an ongoing internal affairs investigation. Instead, he cited agency news releases about the accidents, as well as media briefings given by officers at the scene of the clashes.

“We are not making any announcements at this time,” Sentis said.

Following the first recent accident involving a police officer around 2 a.m. Dec. 30 on East Highway near Lathrop Street, Assistant Chief of Police Ernest Garcia told reporters at the scene that a male police officer was on his way to an 911 call when he “felt a hit” , his airbags deployed and he stopped to see what happened. The officer found that he had hit and killed a man in his 30s, according to Garcia, who said pedestrians should not attempt to cross freeways, “especially at night with limited lighting.”

According to multiple news reports, another police officer on a non-emergency call ran over and killed 24-year-old Caleb Swafford late on the evening of January 4 as he walked along Aldean Bender Road near Lee Road, west of the Eastex Highway. Senties said the accident is being investigated by the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, which did not immediately respond to an email Tuesday asking for more information.

Under Mayor Sylvester Turner, first elected in 2015, Houston has adopted a Vision Zero goal of eliminating all traffic accidents by 2030.