Fiancee: Killing by officer 'senseless' Fiancee calls killing by officer ‘senseless'

She says her boyfriend was leaning on truck as shots were fired

The fiancee of a Kingwood man killed by a Houston police officer disputed his version of events that led to the deadly shooting, saying the officer used unnecessary and excessive force.

“The shooting was totally senseless,” said Karen Bennett.

Officer R. Gardiner has said he shot John Barnes in self-defense.

Gardiner, who has worked on the Houston force for seven years, was wearing his security uniform and patrolling the grounds at the Woodland Hills Village Apartments after locking up the pool when the shooting occurred about 10 p.m. Saturday.

The apartment office's staff declined to say Monday whether Gardiner continues to serve as security officer at the complex. The Houston Police Department, meanwhile, has given Gardiner three days off, department policy while any police shooting is under review.

According to Houston police investigators, Gardiner happened onto the couple arguing outside their apartment.

Barnes, 39, a tow truck driver, had lived there about a year with Bennett and her three children, she said.

She said the couple raised their voices, but that he never touched her physically and she never asked for help. The couple was outside on the front porch as Barnes was preparing to leave in his car parked a few feet away, she said.

“The officer only asked, ‘Who lives here?' and I said, ‘I do' and then he ordered my fiance to lie on the ground,” she said Monday.

Barnes asked why and refused to do it.

“I don't understand why the officer never asked us any more questions about what was going on. This shooting should not have happened,” she said.

In the officer's statement, he reported seeing Barnes' hands come near the woman's face when he gave a verbal command, which Barnes ignored.

Bennett said after Barnes refused to lie on the ground, Gardiner tried to pull him down with a neck hold and got into a wrestling match.

Barnes pushed the smaller officer off, she said, and then the officer pulled his Taser and pointed it at Barnes.

Being Tasered would have been dangerous for Barnes, she said, because he has a metal plate embedded in his skull, the result of an accident several years ago.

“So (Barnes) slapped the Taser from the officer's hand, and it flew about 5 feet under the back of his car,” she said.

The two men then backed about 10 feet away from each other. Barnes was leaning against his vehicle with his arms folded, she said, when Gardiner drew his handgun.

“John said, ‘What are you going to do, shoot me?' The officer didn't say anything, just started firing,” she said.

5 fatal bullet wounds

She said she was stunned that the officer didn't give any warning or call for backup, and that she was afraid to check on Barnes because the officer seemed shaky and was still waving his pistol.

“I asked the officer to check (Barnes), and he finally did feel for a pulse,” she said. An autopsy ruled Barnes died from five bullet wounds.

In his statement, Gardiner said Barnes grabbed his Taser, threatened to shoot him with it and said, “You're dead now,” before Gardiner fired.

Bennett said she thinks Gardiner fired because he was mad at being unable to take Barnes down.

Gardiner's attorney, Cindy Ring, has advised him against further comments.

“But I can assure you that we will have issues with her statements,” Ring said.

Records show Barnes had a previous conviction for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon against a police officer in Harris County in 1998. He paid a fine and received five years of probation and deferred adjudication.

Bennett's next door neighbor, who did not want his name used, said he has given a statement to detectives. The neighbor said he saw part of the shooting through the peephole of his front door. He said his account concurs with Bennett's.

“There was a struggle, but when the shots were fired, Barnes was standing by his vehicle and not making any aggressive moves. He was not holding a Taser when the five shots were fired in rapid succession,” the neighbor said.

He did not see how the Taser got under Barnes' car.

“I could see him maybe firing once, but not five times,” he added.

Houston police's internal affairs and the district attorney's office are investigating the shooting.

“All the facts will come out,” said Houston Police investigator J.R. Johnston. “But right now we cannot comment.”

cindy.horswell@chron.com