Six police officers were indicted last year, including Gerald Goines, who is accused of lying for a warrant, and Steven Bryant, who is accused of tampering with government records.
Six other officers were indicted on Monday, according to a statement by Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg. These officers face a variety of charges, including murder, tampering with government records and involvement in organized crime activities.
The operation took place on January 28, 2019, when a tactical team broke into the home of Rhogena Nicholas and Dennis Tuttle, who were killed along with their dog. Several Houston officials on the team were injured in the operation, including Goines.
“The consequences of the corruption are that two innocent people and their dog were shot dead in their home by the police; four policemen were shot, one was paralyzed and now they will all face jurors who will determine their fate,” said the Ogg statement.
The Civil Rights Division of the Harris County Prosecutor’s Office investigated the operation and determined that Goines lied to obtain a “no beat” operation warrant from a city judge and misrepresented the victims’ drug activity, threat level and others factors. He claimed that a criminal informant bought heroin from a man at the address the day before and that the drug dealer was known to have a gun.
Last year, prosecutors said Bryant distorted the facts surrounding the scene and the purchase of drugs. Bryant added a supplement to the original report that contained falsehoods, the prosecutor said.
The investigation also found that police officers were “involved in a long-term scheme to steal overtime from the city,” said the Ogg statement.
Former Houston policeman Felipe Gallegos was indicted for Tuttle’s death, according to court documents. His lawyer, Rusty Hardin, said on Tuesday that Gallegos did not start shooting during the operation until two other policemen had already been shot.
“A grand jury in Harris County, at the request of the prosecutor, has appointed a hero,” said Hardin. “It seems that they (Tuttle and Nicholas) were innocent of the drug activity in that scene, as alleged. But once they started shooting, or once Mr. Tuttle started shooting, he was not innocent. doubt, and no one will contradict that. Mr. Tuttle started shooting the police. “
“I have said many times that the other officers involved in the incident, including the officer indicted today, had no involvement in obtaining the warrant and responded appropriately to the deadly threat they posed during their service,” said Acevedo, adding that all current active duty officers who were indicted were released from office.
Konstantin Toropin of CNN contributed to this report.