Driver runs over cop, rams home before police kill him in wild chase, Texas police say

A Texas deputy is clinging to life in a hospital and fellow officers killed the man who put him there, Houston police said.

Investigators are still piecing together just what led to a chaotic police chase and shooting on the city’s north side Wednesday night, but the immediate aftermath is clearer: A Harris County Precinct 1 deputy is in stable but serious condition after being run over by the suspect, and that suspect is dead, shot and killed outside a family member’s home by police, officers said.

Authorities say the incident traces back to a family disturbance earlier in the day at an area church.

What the family dispute was about isn’t clear, but at one point the suspect climbed into a vehicle — which investigators later found out was stolen — and began ramming into other cars in the church parking lot, prompting calls to 911, according to Houston Police Department executive chief Matt Slinkard.

But by the time officers arrived, the suspect was gone, Slinkard said.

Later, Houston police received a call from a resident of the 1200 block of Mitchell Road, claiming they had seen the vehicle from the church driving through the neighborhood. But again, the driver and vehicle were gone when officers arrived.

A description of the vehicle was shared with local law enforcement, and soon Harris County deputies spotted the vehicle, Slinkard said. They attempted to pull the suspect over but said he refused to stop, kicking off a chase.

The suspect led police back to the 1200 block of Mitchell Road and ended the pursuit by speeding into a family member’s home with enough force to punch a large hole through it, according to Slinkard, likely a “continuation of the potential family disturbance that occurred at the church earlier.”

“(It) was a very dangerous situation,” Slinkard said. “Luckily no one was hurt inside the home when that suspect ran into the side of that house.”

Precinct 1 deputies and HPD officers swarmed around the suspect, and as one deputy approached the vehicle, the suspect ran him over, police said. At this, four deputies and at least one HPD officer opened fire on the driver, Slinkard said. The driver died at the scene.

The deputy was taken by helicopter to a hospital for treatment.

“I just pray that he is going to be okay. I pray that he gets back to work,” Precinct 1 constable Alan Rosen said, having returned to the scene after visiting the hospital, where the deputy’s wife and other officers had gathered.

The deputy, who has not been named, has been with the precinct for four years, Rosen said, adding “he’s a great guy, a great family man … and an exemplary officer for our department.”

Police have not released the suspect’s name, and the incident is under investigation.

This story was originally published September 2, 2021 at 12:08 PM with the headline "Driver runs over cop, rams home before police kill him in wild chase, Texas police say."