HPD chief says officer involved in deadly shooting likely won't be charged

HOUSTON On Friday evening, the Houston Police Service released two tapes of the 911 they received in the moments preceding a fatal shooting involving an officer in southeast Houston on Thursday evening.

Chief Art Acevedo said the tapes provide eyewitness accounts of the chaotic scene Thursday evening at a bus stop near the intersection of Scott Street and Noah Street. Although there are police body camera images of the incident, it said it will be released at a later date.

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"We want to remind the community that this police service is formed and is a reflection of this community, the most diverse community," he said. "I am proud of the fact, I can lead and serve with these men and women."

Acevedo said the first person to call was a man, while the second was a 53-year-old woman who was in a car with someone else. On the second call, Acevedo said the witness was concerned about the sole officer dealing with the suspect, who was later identified by his family as Rayshard Scales, 30.

Officials said the first officer, identified as J. Goff, tried to check the scales for almost five minutes. When the rescue units arrived, the police said the scales had made a move to remove the weapon from its size. It was then that the officer fired his pistol several times and hit Scales.

Scales were transported to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Goff has worked with HPD for two years, said Acevedo.

Officials later discovered that Scales was carrying a Daisy Powerline 340 BB repeater gun, which looks like a 99mm pistol, Acevedo said.

Acevedo said that despite the rumors, the suspect had not raised his hand and that the first officer had discharged his weapon.

"I am not playing (the recordings) to justify or change my mind. This is so that people can know the facts," said Acevedo. "I want people to understand how others react, imagine being the only officer for five minutes so you don't shoot the guy who had none of this."

First call to 911

In a recording of the 911 dispatch, a man said that there was a guy with a gun on the street near Popeyes in a gray sweatshirt with black basketball shorts. The appellant said that he was not waving the gun but that it was in his hand and that he was going to the stop of bus. He also stated that the suspect had a dog with him.

He described the man as a black man in his thirties.

The dispatcher said they were going to send police to the scene.

Second call to 911

The woman in the second of 911 seemed terrified and the call included profanity and called the officer to "shoot him".

The appellant stated that a man had a gun on Scott Street in front of the fire station near a bus stop. She said the officer needed help because the suspect had a gun.

The appellant repeatedly shouts for the police to shoot the man. He described the dispatcher to a tall but short man wearing a gray jacket in his thirties.

Transparency

The second recording reveals a "real and raw" account of the shooting, said Acevedo. He said that the appellant feared for the safety of the officer.

Although registration provides perspective, the decision whether or not to use force rests with the officer, said Acevedo.

"We want to be transparent and be a proud department of community relations," he said.

Acevedo said he would not wait to hear rumors of the deadly shooting.

"People want to break the fabric that we have in the community," he said. "I'm not going to wait and let people make things up."

& # 39; I'm going home & # 39;

The police are still trying to understand what prompted Scales to react as he did. Acevedo said Thursday evening that Scales had called the officer the nth word and approached him saying, "I'm going home."

The witness told police that Scales' mother died while he was in prison and that he had been drinking that day.

However, Acevedo said he couldn't "make sense of the behavior".

HPD found no evidence that the suspect was a mental health patient. But Acevedo said he understood that this did not mean that he had no mental health problems. He added that mental health related calls increased during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Acevedo said the toxicity report will reveal what was in his system at the time of the shooting.

"My heart goes out to everyone who loved this man," he said. “Also for this 53-year-old woman, she had to attend (the shooting). My heart goes to the officer who desperately tried not to use lethal force, but ultimately had to do so. "

Following?

Acevedo does not believe that the officer involved in the shooting is charged.

"I don't want the community to think that the officer will be charged. I don't see that happening. It is a bridge that needs to be crossed," he said. "No way, I see it happening."

Acevedo responded to those who thought that the altercation could have been treated differently.

"Everyone has the right to their opinion," he said. "We must be guided by the law, the evidence and the facts when they look at the big picture, they will have to draw their own conclusions."

He also said that he did not want rumors to weaken relations between the police and the public.

"People may not agree with the rights of the agent, but it is something else to invent things. I have a problem with that. He is someone who is trying to break the relationship with the community, it is not good, "he said.