2 fired in Holley beating case back on job, HPD chief says

Phil Bryan is one of the former Houston police officers involved in the beating of Chad Holley. The defense argues they would not receive a fair trial in Houston. Phil Bryan is one of the former Houston police officers involved in the beating of Chad Holley. The defense argues they would not receive a fair trial in Houston. Photo: Nick De La Torre Photo: Nick De La Torre Image 1 of / 38 Caption Close 2 fired in Holley beating case back on job, HPD chief says 1 / 38 Back to Gallery

Houston Police Chief Charles McClelland confirmed on Thursday that two of the seven police officers he fired for their roles in the videotaped beating of burglar Chad Holley are back on duty after regaining their jobs in the appeals process.

However, McClelland said he assigned both officers to the department's property room to prevent them from interacting with the public.

McClelland said he still feels justified in firing senior police officer Lewis Childress and police officer Guadencio Saucedo in June 2010. They were among a dozen officers from the westside division who McClelland disciplined after receiving a surveillance tape showing the officers running down a group of fleeing burglars.

One of the burglars, 15-year-old Chad Holley, was kicked and punched repeatedly even though he was lying face down with his hands behind his head.

"I feel like I made the right decision the first time when they were terminated from this organization," McClelland said. "Obviously, they have a right to appeal. They availed themselves of the appeal process, and presented their case to an independent arbitrator who disagreed with me."

HPD officials could not immediately provide the dates of the officers' reinstatement.

Ray Hunt, president of the Houston Police Officers' Union, said McClelland's assignment of the officers to the property room is a way of punishing officers despite the successful appeals to a city arbitrator and state district court.

"That is nothing more than punishment, and unfortunately we have yet to get legislation passed that a chief can't do something like that," Hunt said. "When an arbitrator says to put somebody back to work and make them whole, the chief shouldn't be able to put them in the property room.

"But as it stands, when they reinstate an officer that doesn't mean they have to go back to their previous position."

Were not indicted

Hunt said neither Childress nor Saucedo harmed Holley, and he noted they testified in front of a Harris County grand jury who chose not to indict them. Of the seven officers McClelland fired, four were indicted, and one resigned. The first HPD officer to stand trial, Officer Andrew Blomberg, was found not guilty of stomping Holley by a jury in May.

McClelland fired Childress after finding he used excessive force and delivered "two light kicks" to get Holley to release his arms from behind his head so he could be handcuffed. He said the officer not only failed to report his use of force, but had a duty to protect Holley from mistreatment and report the use of excessive force by other officers to his supervisor.

However, an independent arbitrator never heard the facts in the case but dismissed Childress' firing in an October 2010 ruling that found the city's legal department did not schedule an appeal hearing before the legal deadline. The city appealed to a state district judge, who ruled in favor of Childress in May 2011.

A decorated veteran

Saucedo, a military reservist who has been on active duty since he was fired, won his appeal before an independent arbitrator in December 2010. The city appealed his firing to state court and lost in November.

"This guy's a decorated military person who has been deployed twice since the Chad Holley incident. He's an outstanding officer,'' Hunt said.

McClelland had said Saucedo used excessive force when he kicked Holley's leg once while officers tried to handcuff him.

james.pinkerton@chron.com