A Confrontation With Police Escalated Into A Shooting After Man Allegedly Ignored An Officer’s Orders Multiple Times

A Harris County Sheriff’s Office deputy reportedly shot a man over the weekend. He allegedly ignored repeated “verbal commands” to stop.

What happened: According to a report by ABC 13, deputies responded to an incident at a Walgreens at 12097 Veterans Memorial at about 8:42 PM on Saturday.

• Assistant Chief John Nanny said in a statement that they received a call from Walgreens that a man was harassing customers in the parking lot. He explained that an officer approached the suspect, who was still sitting outside the store, and attempted to detain him.
• “The suspect got up and started walking away and became non-compliant at that time,” Nanny said. The officer reportedly followed for roughly 50 yards, giving constant verbal commands to stop.
• Nanny explains that the officer advised the man he was going to tase him, but he continued to walk away. “The deputy tased him once. It was ineffective, so the deputy continued to follow him again,” the assistant chief explained. The officer reportedly tried to tase the man a second time, which also failed to stop him.

The Suspect Continued To Be “Non-Compliant” As The Officer Drew Their Weapon

Shots fired: Nanny noted that the officer was continuously asking the man to stop, even after firing the taser. The suspect allegedly continued to be non-compliant, so the officer drew their weapon.

• “At that point, the deputy ended up discharging his firearm one time, striking the male in the wrist and in the hip,” Nanny said. “After the male went down, the deputy applied a tourniquet to his upper leg area,” he added. The officer called the emergency services shortly after.
• Nanny revealed the suspect’s condition in the hospital was “stable but critical.” He also stated that the Sheriff’s Office received another call about the same individual earlier in the evening, but he wasn’t in the area when officers arrived.
• Authorities claim the suspect has frequented the area in the past. ” Historically, this male has been here. He’s been given numerous, like 15, criminal trespasses in the past. And he continues to come back. So he’s obviously been here harassing customers for quite a while,” Nanny said.

The Assistant Chief answered several questions from reporters and confirmed the officer was not injured. Police also believe the suspect is homeless.