Radio host goes on offensive about alleged hit-and-run

Former Houston city councilman and talk show host Michael Berry for the first time on Tuesday publicly commented about an investigation into hit-and-run allegations against him, angrily insisting he was the target of a smear campaign. less Former Houston city councilman and talk show host Michael Berry for the first time on Tuesday publicly commented about an investigation into hit-and-run allegations against him, angrily insisting he was the ... more Photo: handout email Photo: handout email Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Radio host goes on offensive about alleged hit-and-run 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Former Houston city councilman and talk show host Michael Berry for the first time on Tuesday publicly commented about an investigation into hit-and-run allegations against him, angrily insisting he was the target of a smear campaign.

Berry, who said he was speaking against the advice of his defense attorney, talked at length about the case on his radio show Tuesday. He, however, declined to discuss details of the incident publicized last week because he said he may, or may not, face legal charges.

Berry has not been charged over the Jan. 31 accident, but a Houston Police Department crash report identified a car registered to him as the vehicle suspected of backing into another vehicle outside a well-known gay bar in Montrose. Employees of TC's bar also have said Berry was seen in the business the night of the alleged hit-and-run.

Berry said during his radio program on KTRH that critics assumed as a conservative radio host he is biased against gay people but stressed he never disparaged them on his program or elsewhere. Berry said he has employed gay workers and that some of his best neighbors were gay, referring to them as "gaybors."

"I don't bash gays. In fact, I bash people who bash gays,'' said Berry, referring to denunciations he said he made over anti-homosexual statements by former presidential adviser Karl Rove and televangelist Pat Robertson.

Berry said he has cooperated "100 percent" with police. He strongly denied a cover-up of the incident was under way and hinted darkly there were forces trying to send him to jail for the misdemeanor offense of failing to stop and give information.

Berry said he didn't go to TC's because it was a gay bar but just went there for a beer, and "there was some gay people" inside.

TC's manager, Rod Gonzales, said most of the customers at the neighborhood bar are gay. "Other than the weekends, it's usually 99.9999 percent gay," he said. The bar hosts popular drag shows every night of the week except on Mondays, karaoke night.

Additional inquiry

Harris County prosecutors confirmed last week they met with police accident investigators and asked them to do additional work on the hit-and-run case. Prosecutors said they turned away an HPD accident investigator who asked to get charges filed but brought only the license plate number of Berry's vehicle and no other evidence, not even an offense report.

Meanwhile, HPD's renewed investigation is moving ahead, with the owner of the damaged car saying investigators took paint samples from his vehicle late Monday.

Tuderia Bennett, 26, who works as a bouncer at TC's, said his only interest is getting Berry to pay for the $2,000 in damages. His 2007 Volkswagen Passat was parked on the street outside the bar when Berry's Chevy Tahoe allegedly backed into it.

Bennett said that on Monday afternoon he brought his car to an HPD facility for a paint sample test after an interview with a senior investigator.

"At first, it was inexcusable, it was way too lax," said Bennett of HPD's initial inquiry. "Now, they're going in and doing a lot more in-depth review, doing street measurements, talking to way more witnesses, talking to me and getting me involved more."

Surveillance footage

While he didn't see the crash, Gonzales said he recognized Berry as a customer at the bar that night. He was with Bennett examining the damage the second time the driver of the Tahoe circled back to the scene of the crash that night.

Gonzales said he provided police with a formal statement initially and was contacted by an investigator a second time Tuesday morning. He said police also recently requested additional footage from the bar's surveillance system from the night of the alleged hit-and-run.

Berry said he won't comment on the criminal investigation.

james.pinkerton@chron.comanita.hassan@chron.com