Houston Police release search warrant from drug raid that left five officers injured

The home at 7815 Harding is shown Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2019 where five Houston Police Officers were shot in a gun battle while serving a search warrant on Monday. Police identified the two suspects who died as Rhogena Nicholas, 58, and Dennis Tuttle, 59. less The home at 7815 Harding is shown Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2019 where five Houston Police Officers were shot in a gun battle while serving a search warrant on Monday. Police identified the two suspects who died as ... more Photo: Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle Photo: Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle Image 1 of / 33 Caption Close Houston Police release search warrant from drug raid that left five officers injured 1 / 33 Back to Gallery

Houston police narcotics officers sought a no-knock warrant to search a Pecan Park home Monday, one day after a confidential informant bought what officers believed was heroin inside, according to a sworn statement filed in the case.

The informant was tapped to make the buy after police received a tip that the man inside — described only as a 55-year-old man about 5'11 and weighing about 180 pounds — was selling narcotics from the wood-frame home in southeast Houston.

The three-page affidavit, released Wednesday by the Houston Police Department, lays out in new detail the basis for the raid on the suspected drug den, which left five officers injured and two occupants dead, along with their pitbull.

It also underscores the dangers of no-knock raids and the potential for violence, law enforcement procedure experts and criminal justice reform said Wednesday. Four officers were shot in the raid and a fifth injured his knee trying to rescue his colleagues.

"The tactical considerations are huge for safety," said Roger Clark, a now-retired Los Angeles County sheriff's office supervisor and veteran narcotics investigator.

RELATED: A squad of veteran officers takes fire in drug raid

Three officers remained hospitalized Wednesday evening, with two in serious condition. The remaining two officers were discharged from the hospital earlier in the week.

The sworn statement — submitted shortly before the raid to a municipal court judge by an officer whose name was redacted by police — sought a warrant to search a home at 7815 Harding Street, described as a "one story residence constructed of wood."

It notes the house is "tan in color with white trim," matching the structure where police assembled later that day.

Officers investigated the tip for about two weeks before bringing in an informant they had worked with on at least 10 other cases. The officers gave the informant money to make a controlled buy Sunday.

The informant, whom police searched before he went inside the house, turned over a packet of brown powder when he came out.

"The confidential informant advised that the substance was purchased as 'boy,'" the affidavit noted. "The term 'boy' is a street slang for heroin."

The informant also warned police of a "large quantity" of drugs inside, packaged in plastic baggies, and a 9mm handgun. Police cited the weapon as the reason they needed a no-knock warrant to search the house.

"When weapons are used or displayed at a narcotics transaction, it is there for the protection of the narcotics, and or to buy time so that the narcotics may be destroyed," the investigator wrote.

The shooting began as soon as officers entered the property Monday afternoon. Two people inside the house — two Dennis Tuttle, 59, and his wife, Rhogena Nicholas, 58 — were killed. The couple had no prior drug convictions in Harris County.

On Wednesday, Houston police Chief Art Acevedo tweeted out key portions of the sworn statement and warrant, saying it was consistent with the department's "commitment to transparency." He attended the execution of a convicted cop killer in Huntsville Wednesday evening and was not available for additional comment.

In the aftermath of Monday's shooting, one of the most violent days in HPD's history, Acevedo said that his officers found marijuana and a white powder — possibly cocaine or fentanyl — along with two 12-gauge shotguns, a 20-gauge shotgun, a .22-caliber rifle and a second rifle.

Police didn't specify what quantities of the suspected drugs were recovered, nor did they report recovering any heroin at the location.

On Wednesday, police also said they had previously received a 911 call, with a complaint about a suspicious person with a gun.

BACKGROUND: 4 HPD officers shot in southeast Houston narcotics operation, a fifth also injured

No-knock operations have caused dozens of deaths across the country in recent years.

A 2017 New York Times' investigation of deadly no-knock raids nationwide from 2010 through 2016 found that at least 94 people had died in similar operations, including 81 civilians and 13 law enforcement officers.

Scott Henson, interim executive director of Just Liberty, a bipartisan justice-reform organization, questioned why police didn't wait to arrest the target of the investigation until he came out of the house.

"Intentionally creating siege conditions makes things less safe for everybody," he said. "I don't believe it's appropriate to use SWAT tactics for routine search warrants, which is what this appears to have been."

Union officials, however, defended the tactic.

"If you just knock on the door, guess what happens? They're still going to shoot through the door," said Doug Griffith, vice president of the Houston Police Officers' Union and a longtime gang officer who has worked with several of the wounded officers in years past.

"The element of surprise is what you usually want," he said. "These search warrants happen all over the city every day, and there's not an issue."

Staff writer Todd Ackerman contributed to this story.

st.john.smith@chron.com

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