Thread: Officer's slaying spurred HPD's focus on searches

Officer's slaying spurred HPD's focus on searches

In year since, HPD has focused on proper pat-down methods and revised immigrant policy


Houston Police Department Officer Rodney J. Johnson was killed during a traffic stop on September 21, 2006. Handout photo from HPD.

By PAIGE HEWITT
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle

Family of slain officer marks a difficult anniversary

In the year since Houston police officer Rodney Johnson was shot dead by a man cuffed in the back seat of his patrol car, the department revised its policy on processing illegal immigrants, explored bullet-resistant shields for patrol vehicles and considered requiring two officers per car.

But while each of those measures has merit, the real key to ensuring the tragedy that befell Johnson is not repeated may be the new emphasis trainers at the academy are putting on the right way to search a suspect.

That search is what Johnson likely did wrong the afternoon of Sept. 21 last year after stopping Juan Quintero in his car near Hobby Airport. Johnson cuffed him and put him in the back of his patrol car.

Minutes later, the friendly, 12-year veteran police officer and father of five was dead, shot four times with a 9 mm pistol he missed. "Unfortunately, he (Johnson) made a mistake" said Hans Marticiuc, a close friend of Johnson's and president of the Houston Police Officers' Union. "He missed a gun."

Rick Hartley, executive director of the 100 Club, agreed, describing the apparent error as a "frailty of being human."

Quintero was in the U.S. illegally. The Mexican national, 32, was deported in 1999 after being charged here with indecency with a child, but returned to the Houston area.

He was charged with capital murder in Johnson's death, for which he faces the death penalty and is awaiting trial. He has confessed to the shooting and is "incredibly remorseful," said his attorney Danalynn Recer.

In the weeks after Johnson's death, HPD officials said the department would review certain procedures to see if there was anything it could do to prevent such incidents.

Because Quintero fired the pistol through an air vent in the shield separating the front and back seats of Johnson's patrol car, a bullet-resistant partition probably would not have saved his life. But, in an effort to improve officer safety in patrol cars, HPD has been exploring the option for months.

HPD Captain Bruce Williams said it is a "possibility" that the department will purchase the shields for all patrol cars.

"If it saves lives and if it's functional, I don't think they're going to let cost be an obstacle," said Williams.

Johnson's death also expedited a revision, already in the works before the killing, of a different and controversial aspect of department policy — how HPD handles illegal immigrants who break the law.

Now, all people arrested are asked at booking whether they are U.S. citizens and if they were born here. Also, most non-U.S. citizens who are flagged, or wanted, by federal officials are transferred into the custody of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

"If you've been flagged, you're not going to get out because you're on a criminal hold with ICE," said Craig Ferrell, general counsel for HPD. The department referred more than 140 cases involving illegal immigrants to ICE from Oct. 10, 2006, to July 31, 2007, HPD said.

Punishment in Texas
The policy revision also calls for criminal prosecution by the U.S. Attorney's Office of any illegal immigrant in possession of a firearm or any previously deported illegal immigrant, Ferrell said. Those criminals must serve their punishment in Texas before being deported to their native country, he said.

"If they have killed a police officer, they should face Texas justice," Ferrell said.

Having another officer in the patrol car helping Johnson manage a busy scene might have made a difference, Marticiuc said.

"He's concentrating on not only the person he has in custody, but the other people in the car, the traffic, the pedestrians," Marticiuc said. "Another officer might have saved him."

HPD acknowledged that two officers in each patrol car would be ideal but, "given the staffing constraints we have, it would be unrealistic," Williams said.

Quintero's trial begins in March. His defense is being paid by taxpayers on both sides of the border, with the Mexican government picking up Recer's fees. Harris County District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal will lead the prosecution.

paige.hewitt@chron.com

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/chr ... 53131.html

MEXICO SHOULD BE PAYING ALL OF THE EXPENSES RELATED TO MEXICAN NATIONALS. ALL SOCIAL SERVICES THAT THEY RECEIVE, ALL MEDICAL EXPENSES AS WELL AS LEGAL AND INCARCERATION EXPENSES.