QUIS CUSTODIET IPSOS CUSTODES
Means "Who Polices the Police?"

Another Harris County Sherriff's Department friendly fire incident has once again shocked Houston, and this one appears to be particularly egregious. From the Houston Chronicle:

All 4 shots hit deputy from behind, report says

A reserve deputy constable who was killed last week had his back turned to the sheriff's deputy who shot him four times during a foot chase through an apartment complex, according to an independent autopsy.

All of the bullets that struck Nehemiah Pickens, who was working an off-duty security job early July 6 when the deputy mistook him for a suspect, came from behind, pathologist Dr. Paul Radelat reported.

A witness also has told police that, contrary to deputies' account of the incident, Pickens was not warned before the deputy opened fire.

Click here for the rest.

Within the last three years I can remember off the top of my head three friendly fire incidents involving Harris County Sheriff's deputies, one in Humble resulting in a fatality, one in North Shore which was not fatal but ended up with deputies running around my apartment with their guns drawn, and this new one, also resulting in a fatality--there may be more that I haven't heard about. It's pretty clear that something's up. I haven't done any research to see if these guys have been shooting "suspects" with as much ferocity, but the fact that they keep shooting other cops shows that they're pretty damned trigger happy at the very least. I keep writing about how the strain of militaristic machismo running down the middle of police culture is a major problem nationally, but it appears that the Harris County Sheriff's Department is bound and determined to be the worst of the lot. I hope that the outrage provoked by this latest killing is enough to spawn some kind of reform, but given Harris County's bloodthirsty nature, I'm not holding my breath.

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