HPD: Several officers fire at man while responding to domestic violence call

Google Maps view of the 11000 block of Spottswood Drive. Google Maps view of the 11000 block of Spottswood Drive. Photo: Google Maps Photo: Google Maps Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close HPD: Several officers fire at man while responding to domestic violence call 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Several Houston Police officers fired their guns at an armed man who had assaulted and threatened his girlfriend Friday night.

Police arrived on the scene around 6:40 p.m. at a home in the 11000 block of Spottswood Drive near the intersection of Little York Road for a report of a domestic violence assault.

After arguing with the woman and allegedly assaulting her, the 35-year-old, who has previous domestic violence convictions, ran into a wooden shed on the property, said Houston Police Chief Art Acedvedo.

Officers attempted to calm the man and negotiate with him, Acevedo said, but he kept demanding to see the woman he assaulted. The suspect also kept telling the officers to kill him.

The man eventually pointed a semi-automatic firearm at the officers, the Chief said, at which point several officers shot at him.

The man, who was not publicly identified by police, was taken in a helicopter to a nearby hospital, said Acevedo, and was undergoing surgery Friday night.

No officers were injured, according to the chief.

The man had “very aggressively” assaulted the woman and was wanted on a warrant for attacking her in October, Acevedo said.

The suspect was also wanted on another warrant for a parole violation issued on an aggravated robbery conviction in November, said Acevedo.

The chief said the officers took measures like deploying tasers and giving the suspect space during a long negotiation.

When he was shot, Acevedo said the officers immediately began rendering aid and taking measures to treat the suspect.

The woman who was assaulted is safe now, the chief said, but is “shaken up” by the incident.

“She said when he drinks, he gets very violent,” said Acevedo.

The fatal officer-involved shooting was the result of another incident of escalating domestic violence, Acevedo said.

“He should not have a firearm in the first place,” he added.

Last month, Acevedo made headlines when he called out Republicans in the U.S. Senate for failing to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act, which would include legislation that would bar more convicted abusers from owning firearms.

He said legislators have failed to reauthorize the legislation that also provides funding and grants for domestic abuse prevention and survivor support programs, due to pressure from the National Rifle Association, which “doesn’t like the fact that we want to take firearms out of the hands of boyfriends that abuse girlfriends.”

Houston Police Department’s Special Investigations and Internal Affairs divisions are conducting a joint investigation with the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, as is standard practice in all officer-involved shootings.