No charges against HPD officer who killed double amputee in a wheelchair

This undated photo provided by the Harris County Guardianship Program shows Brian Claunch. Houston police say an officer fatally shot Claunch when another officer was cornered by the double amputee who was wielding what turned out to be a ballpoint pen. (AP Photo/Harris County Guardianship Program) less This undated photo provided by the Harris County Guardianship Program shows Brian Claunch. Houston police say an officer fatally shot Claunch when another officer was cornered by the double amputee who was ... more Photo: HONS Photo: HONS Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close No charges against HPD officer who killed double amputee in a wheelchair 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

A grand jury has declined to bring criminal charges against a Houston police officer who fatally shot a double amputee in a wheelchair last fall, a shooting that spawned nationwide criticism and renewed calls locally for more accountability of law enforcement.

HPD officer Matthew Marin shot and killed Brian C. Claunch on Sept. 22, after the mentally ill man threatened his partner with a ball point pen, police have said.

A Harris County grand jury empaneled in the 176th District Court decided on Monday not to indict the officer, said Julian Ramirez, the assistant Harris County district attorney who is chief of the Civil Rights Division.

HPD Chief Charles McClelland declined to comment, citing a continuing investigation by the department's internal affairs division into the shooting, said spokesman John Cannon.

In December, McClelland confirmed he asked the U.S. Justice Department to review Claunch's shooting, the beating of teenaged burglar Chad Holley and the July 2011 arrest of a 16-year-old robbery suspect who, although handcuffed, was punched in the face by an HPD officer. The Justice Department later requested information from HPD on three additional cases, including the fatal shooting last July of unarmed immigrant Rufino Lara and the force used in the arrests of two other residents.

Claunch's death also prompted members of the Greater Houston Coalition for Justice to ask U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to accelerate the group's earlier request to investigate "patterns and practices" of civil rights violations by HPD against minorities and others.

Since the shooting, Marin has been assigned to administrative duties at HPD's property room facility, Cannon said.

'An objective eye'

Randall Kallinen, a Houston attorney and civil rights activist, said the officer should have been punished more severely.

"Shooting an unarmed individual, a double amputee in a wheelchair, should be considered excessive force," he said. "The city of Houston lacks a system to effectively track use of force, resulting in no discipline for officers involved in excessive force incidents, thereby encouraging further instances of excessive force."

Amin Alehashem, staff attorney for the Texas Civil Rights Project in Houston, said the grand jury's action was not surprising given a precedent of clearing police officers who shoot civilians.

"The recent trend has always been, as far as I know, that police who shoot unarmed individuals claim some sort of credible threat and after some sort of investigation an overwhelming majority - more than 99 percent - have been exonerated," Alehashem said.

However, Ramirez said "our office brought an objective eye to this set of facts, reviewed the police investigation, did some of our own investigation, presented it all to the grand jury and they made their decision."

Tragic, unfortunate

Claunch, 45, who had a long history of schizophrenia and arrests, was placed at the Healing Hands Assisted Home Care group facility on the city's eastside. His caregivers called 911 around 2 a.m. Sept. 22 after Claunch became agitated when he was not given a cigarette and a soft drink.

Marin said Claunch backed his partner into a bedroom corner with his wheelchair and attempted to stab him with a shiny object that turned out to be a pen, according to HPD's account of the shooting.

Ray Hunt, president of the Houston Police Officers Union, called the shooting tragic and unfortunate but said Marin had acted appropriately in a situation where Claunch could not be controlled by his caregivers.

"Officer Marin is relieved this is finally behind him," Hunt said. "He's very pleased his actions were shown to be justified as he knew they would be."

He added: "Anytime an unarmed person is shot by the police, it is extremely unfortunate, but again officers are making split-second decisions on what they're seeing taking place."

Defamation suit

In October 2009, reports show, Marin fatally shot a knife-wielding man. That man had killed a neighbor and injured his girlfriend when Marin fired at him.

Marin also was involved in a controversial 2008 case of an alleged assault of the father of Green Bay Packer Donald Driver. Marin and two other officers were cleared by an internal investigation and later filed a defamation lawsuit against community activist Quanell X and Marvin Driver Jr. for what they said were false statements about the arrest.

A Harris County grand jury declined to indict Driver on a charge of filing a false report after he accused the three police officers of beating him during a traffic stop. The grand jury also considered, but voted against indicting the officers for official oppression.