The recent shootout in southeast Houston that resulted in the deaths of a married couple and their dog as well as 4 undercover officers who broke into their home being shot is being exposed as an unnecessary act of aggression on the part of Houston PD. On top of that, the lead narcotics officer in the case Gerald Goines (who previously framed an innocent man on a drug charge and shot people), falsified the very “evidence” that led to the deadly “no-knock” raid! And to think the Police Union President Joe Gamaldi tried to place blame for the incident at the feet of anyone who has even been critical of police instead of where it truly belongs.
HOUSTON (AP) — A lead investigator lied in an affidavit justifying a drug raid on a Houston home in which two residents were killed and four undercover officers were shot and wounded during a gun battle, the city’s police chief said Friday.
In the search warrant that was used to justify entering the home, officers with the Houston Police Department’s narcotics unit had alleged that a confidential informant had bought heroin at the house the day before the Jan. 28 raid. The informant had also allegedly seen a handgun in the home.
But according to an affidavit filed as part of the ongoing investigation into the raid and made public Friday, the informant told investigators he or she had not bought any drugs at the home and had not been involved in any work leading up to the raid.
The heroin allegedly bought at the home had been obtained elsewhere, according to the affidavit.
The informant had allegedly been working with the lead investigator in the case, who was identified in the affidavit as Officer Gerald Goines. He prepared the search warrant and has been with the police department for more than 30 years, according to investigators.
Goines was one of the four officers who were shot in the gunfight that killed 59-year-old Dennis Tuttle and 58-year-old Rhogena Nicholas, who both lived in the home. A fifth officer injured his knee during the shooting.
Investigators also spoke with several other informants who had previously worked with Goines and all said they had not bought drugs at the home, according to the affidavit.
After the raid, police said they found several firearms at the home, along with marijuana and cocaine but no heroin.
Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said the ongoing investigation into the drug raid appears to have uncovered “some untruths or lies” in the search warrant. He called this “unacceptable.”
“When we prepare a document to go into somebody’s home … it has to be truthful, it has to be honest, it has to be absolutely factual,” Acevedo said. “So, we know already there’s a crime that’s been committed. A high probability there will be a criminal charge.”
Acevedo said his department’s investigation has yet to determine what charges Goines could face.
Goines, who remains hospitalized, could not immediately be reached for comment Friday. The president of the Houston Police Officers’ Union did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
In the hours after the raid, Acevedo had praised Goines as being “tough as nails.”
Acevedo said Goines has been suspended. Another officer involved in the drug raid had previously been suspended.
Authorities still believe Tuttle and Nicholas were involved in criminal activity, but Acevedo said the case now is undermined.
Local community activists have been critical of the raid and neighbors have portrayed Tuttle and Nicholas as a disabled couple who seemed law abiding. The Greater Houston Coalition for Justice was set to hold a town hall meeting about the raid on Monday.
Acevedo said authorities will conduct an extensive internal review of Goines’ prior cases as well as other cases by the agency’s narcotics division.
“We have 5,200 officers and I would ask that nobody paint our department with a broad brush. …This is not indicative of the greater work that goes on here,” Acevedo said.
During a news conference, Acevedo repeatedly said the problems related to the search warrant were discovered through the ongoing investigation and his agency is not trying to hide anything.
“We’re going to get to the truth. We will report back the good, the bad and the ugly,” he said.
- HPD WARRANT: Informant didn’t buy drugs from suspects killed in police shootout
- A No-Knock Raid in Houston Led to Deaths and Police Injuries. Should Police Rethink the Practice?
- No-Knock Warrant for Deadly Drug Raid Describes Heroin and a Gun Cops Didn’t Find
- The Cops Were the Aggressors in This Week’s Deadly Houston Drug Raid
- ‘They’re far from drug dealers’: Neighbors confused after deadly shootout
United States Hypocrisy 
Two people lost their lives because a cop lied and he is merely suspended pending what charges? That is not enough! This is why such as this continues to happen because cops are not held accountable for the criminal shit they do! So any of us can be home minding our business and have the cops knock down our door and shoot us and then turn around and say, “My bad!???” This should be beyond the realm of comprehension and yet this is the status quo! For the love of !!!!!!
Exactly Shelby. This shit is beyond out of countrol. These cops don’t even wear uniforms anymore. They just show up and bust down the door because they think (without evidence) something is going on there, and then wonder why the hell they are being shot at!
Caleb, the cops shot my mentally ill cousin 6 times and then fabricated a 911 call stating lies that he was threatening people with knives when even witnesses said that he was not bothering anyone. They then handcuffed him to a hospital bed while he was recovering from them having shot him to pieces. I was his only relative in town and they refused to allow me to see him even when they told me to come to the hospital to bring pertinent information on him. They took my ID and then told me to get out! I called a lawyer and stated that I would give a press conference and only then was he released from handcuffs while still recuperating in the hospital. This happened in Baltimore, MD. Those cops there are just as bad as those depicted here! It’s horrific the shit they do, ALL OVER this country!
As you have clearly demonstrated, these police are the same in every damn state and city in this country! Why people are so quick to believe their version of events I will never understand. They are most lying, conniving, thieving people that exist.
I could not agree with you more! And the sad fact is, we still don’t even know the half of it!
And they will do everything in their power to ensure we never do.