Officer involved shooting off Spring Loop (February 8, 2023)

Hornbeck

1:44p, 2/8/23

https://www.kbtx.com/2023/02/08/college-station-police-spring-loop-blocked-while-officers-conduct-investgation/

One thing I thought odd is that CSPD's policy is to not release body cam footage. That feels not right to me, if everything is on the up and up, and FOIA…

Rapier108

2:07p, 2/8/23

There are reason to not release it right away, especially if the person who was shot (after opening fire first) was not the subject of the warrant. There could be video that is needed as part of the overall investigation into the person who was the subject of the warranty, and the shooting investigation by the Texas Rangers.

Automatically thinking it is some kind of coverup for police maleficence does not do anyone any good.

The video will be released sooner or later and if it is like most body camera footage, it will show it to be a justified shooting.

"If you will not fight for right when you can easily win without blood shed; if you will not fight when your victory is sure and not too costly; you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance of survival. There may even be a worse case. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves." - Sir Winston Churchill

lethalninja

2:18p, 2/8/23

For those of you wondering, the last deadly officer involved shooting in Brazos County was the Roderick Merchant shooting in May 2021 (there was a thread on here about it when it happened, and he was in one of my classes in middle school).

Another Doug

2:24p, 2/8/23

Best to wait and see for more facts, but some of the things they are saying (and not saying) seem odd.

Brian Alg

3:00p, 2/8/23

In reply to Rapier108

As far as I know, footage was never released of the Ryan Stallings, Roderick Merchant, or Albert Finnie, Jr. shootings. So I wouldn't necessarily expect there to be footage released in this one.

Brian Alg

Brazos Coalition for Responsible Government

MiMi

3:03p, 2/8/23

In reply to Rapier108

Rapier108 said:
There are reason to not release it right away, especially if the person who was shot (after opening fire first) was not the subject of the warrant. There could be video that is needed as part of the overall investigation into the person who was the subject of the warranty, and the shooting investigation by the Texas Rangers.

Automatically thinking it is some kind of coverup for police maleficence does not do anyone any good.

The video will be released sooner or later and if it is like most body camera footage, it will show it to be a justified shooting.

From the KBTX article:

Quote:
"Couch would not give a timeline on when, or if, body camera footage would be released. He said it's standard department policy to not release that footage to the public."

MB19

5:14p, 2/8/23

CSPD isn't releasing body camera footage while this is still an on-going investigation.

lethalninja

7:32p, 2/8/23

https://wtaw.com/man-who-fired-at-college-station-police-during-a-search-warrant-is-killed/

This article says the name of the man who was killed and also has ten minutes and twenty-six seconds of comments from Police Chief Billy Couch at the bottom. I looked up the man who was killed in the court and jail records, and he doesn't have a criminal record except for one traffic related charge that was dismissed. Coincidentally, him and Roderick Merchant were only born five months apart, and they were both Brazos County residents killed in officer related shootings

AgProgrammer

9:09p, 2/8/23

This is going to get messy. Roommate of the person the search warrant was for.

Rapier108

9:12p, 2/8/23

In reply to AgProgrammer

AgProgrammer said:
This is going to get messy. Roommate of the person the search warrant was for.

Why?

He opened fire with a shotgun. According to the chief, it wasn't a no-knock raid. It was a "knock and announce."

Start shooting at the police and they're going to shoot back.

If he had left the gun alone, he would still be alive.

"If you will not fight for right when you can easily win without blood shed; if you will not fight when your victory is sure and not too costly; you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance of survival. There may even be a worse case. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves." - Sir Winston Churchill

lethalninja

9:14p, 2/8/23

From the article I posted: The chief says this was one of an undisclosed number of locations where search warrants were being served as part of what he said was a "complex investigation". No other information was provided about the nature of the investigation.

Wednesday afternoon, CSPD announced two arrests on undisclosed charges from a search at another location.

AgProgrammer

9:24p, 2/8/23

In reply to Rapier108

I'm not saying he's not in the wrong. I'm just saying if this wasn't the person they were after today, it's a messy and unfortunate situation. I'm sure these things happen very quickly and it just takes a second for one of the two parties involved to make the wrong reaction.

Bunk Moreland

9:28p, 2/8/23

A pre dawn raid. FFS when will the police learn. We better get the body cam footage.

Bunk Moreland

9:30p, 2/8/23

In reply to Rapier108

Rapier108 said:
AgProgrammer said:
This is going to get messy. Roommate of the person the search warrant was for.
Why?

He opened fire with a shotgun. According to the chief, it wasn't a no-knock raid. It was a "knock and announce."

Start shooting at the police and they're going to shoot back.

If he had left the gun alone, he would still be alive.

You seem to assume a whole lot of details that you know nothing about yet.

Hornbeck

10:05p, 2/8/23

Maybe the guy was asleep when they announced. If I wake up to people trying to break down my front door, a reasonable person might pick up a shotgun. Just a thought as to the "why" question.

Rapier108

10:06p, 2/8/23

In reply to Bunk Moreland

Guess you didn't listen to the press conference earlier today.

"If you will not fight for right when you can easily win without blood shed; if you will not fight when your victory is sure and not too costly; you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance of survival. There may even be a worse case. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves." - Sir Winston Churchill

Rapier108

10:13p, 2/8/23

In reply to Hornbeck

Hornbeck said:
Maybe the guy was asleep when they announced. If I wake up to people trying to break down my front door, a reasonable person might pick up a shotgun. Just a thought.

Why do you want this to be a bad shooting?

"If you will not fight for right when you can easily win without blood shed; if you will not fight when your victory is sure and not too costly; you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance of survival. There may even be a worse case. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves." - Sir Winston Churchill

Hornbeck

10:20p, 2/8/23

In reply to Rapier108

[Stop derailing this thread. -Staff]

CS78

10:22p, 2/8/23

How do I find out the address for the Tranquil Path warrant? Have some rentals there.

Smeghead4761

12:58a, 2/9/23

Quote:
KBTX confirmed the shots were fired inside the home but Chief Couch declined to say where everyone was located specifically at the time.

That can really mean just about anything, from the police broke the door down and entered, to they were already inside after a resident let them in, and the dude with the shotgun jumped out shooting like the scene in Pulp Fiction.

And yes, it's actually quite easy to miss with a shotgun at across-the-room distances. Even cheap birdshot in a cylinder choke doesn't spread out very much when you're only 15-20' away.

Added: I graduated the academy at TEEX in December, 2016. I'm wondering if the officer was one of my classmates.

Another Doug

10:22a, 2/9/23

Coordinated pre-dawn raids across the city over some marajuana.

https://www.kbtx.com/2023/02/09/drug-related-arrests-college-station-linked-fatal-search-warrant-spring-loop/

Stupe

10:55a, 2/9/23

People that have prepackaged weed for distribution aren't usually just selling weed.

And I don't care what kind of illegal drug is being sold. If it's in a school zone, the people doing it need to be in jail.

If illegal drugs are being sold, the chance of violence is always there.

gettingitdone

10:59a, 2/9/23

In reply to Bunk Moreland

CSPD doesn't owe the public the body cam footage.

Rapier108

11:23a, 2/9/23

Weed is illegal in Texas.

If people think it should be legal, then work to change the law. (How to do that would be a F16 topic.) Until that time, either follow the law, or risk getting in trouble.

And don't shoot at the police, or even an armed citizen, if you don't want to get shot.

"If you will not fight for right when you can easily win without blood shed; if you will not fight when your victory is sure and not too costly; you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance of survival. There may even be a worse case. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves." - Sir Winston Churchill

lethalninja

12:53p, 2/9/23

In reply to Stupe

The article posted by Another Doug said they had THC in addition to weed. The jail records say each of their THC charges are for possession of four to four hundred grams with intent to distribute. Michael's bond is $100,000 and Leslie's bond is $80,000. Leslie doesn't have a criminal record, but Michael has several previous misdemeanor convictions.

Buford T. Justice

1:19p, 2/9/23

I'll be damned. They lived in "that house."
You know the one that looks like either the Munsters or Adams Family must have lived there years ago.

Stupe

1:26p, 2/9/23

I drive by it all of the time.

And there are always a bunch of vehicles parked out in front. So many that we just assumed that it was a frat house.

Another Doug

1:27p, 2/9/23

In reply to Stupe

Stupe said:
I drive by it all of the time.

And there are always a bunch of vehicles parked out in front. So many that we just assumed that it was a frat house.

Not that far off apparently

Smeghead4761

4:30p, 2/9/23

5-50 pounds is A LOT of marijuana. Even at the low end, 5 lbs.

The most weed I've ever seen in one batch (seized from the car of a dealer) was just under a kilo - 2.18 lbs. That filled a bag roughly the size of one of those bulk cereal bags from HEB.

So, 5 lbs would be roughly the size of two and a half bags of generic Cheapie-Os.

The article also said "packaged for wholesale." So these are people supplying the dealers who sell to the users.

I wouldn't be surprised if someone at the address where the shooting happened is one of those dealers.

JP76

8:31p, 2/9/23

BCAD info is interesting on that property

jskin261

9:06p, 2/9/23

In reply to JP76

Who is APISPEDIGREE LP

Another Doug

9:29p, 2/9/23

I bet people get to see the body cam in this case. So far it sounds like no drugs were found at location where the shooting happened, no one was arrested there, doesn't sound like the kid who died had a record, and he comes from a good family with money.

trouble

9:32p, 2/9/23

In reply to jskin261

Looks like a defunct mineral rights company

Pantera

10:16p, 2/9/23

Im assuming the police's objective in doing these super early "knock and announce" but still knock the door in raids is to try to catch the suspects off guard so they can gather more evidence at their home?

I have had acquaintances undergo the raid from CSPD for weed related crimes and it was a similar ordeal.

I understand that weed is illegal and related criminals were found with THC cartridges which are listed as a felony, but I still think it seems a bit overkill to bust in at 5:30 AM for pot, unless it was way closer to the 50 pounds than the 5, which is still a bunch.

I totally understand that if you shoot at anyone, especially the cops, you may be shot and killed (and rightfully so) but this is sad that someone died over this and a cop had to take a life today.

wareagle044

11:34p, 2/9/23

In reply to jskin261

jskin261 said:
Who is APISPEDIGREE LP

Google associates the business with a local businessman.