http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/4988448.html?plckCurrentPage=1
July 23, 2007, 7:05PM
Houston man killed after 'pummeling' police car
Mother, activist say man's mental illness known; HPD says he was brandishing a pipe
By MIKE GLENN
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle
The mother of a pipe-wielding man killed by Houston police said she pleaded with officers not to fire at her son because he had a history of mental health problems.
"I said, 'My son is schizophrenic, don't shoot him. He's bipolar,' " said a grieving Joyce Guillory on Sunday, on the front lawn of her home in the 6600 block of Foster near Yellowstone. "They didn't listen to me. They shot him anyway."
Houston police have not discussed in detail the incident Saturday night that led to the death of Steven Guillory, 39.
In a statement released Sunday evening, Houston Police Department officials said the incident "did not offer an opportunity" for sending members of the police departments' Crisis Intervention Team to the scene. The statement also said the shooting serves to "highlight the increasing need for more mental health professionals and earlier intervention prior to police involvement."
Earlier this month Houston Police Chief Harold Hurtt told the Houston Chronicle editorial board the department's dealings with the mentally ill were an issue of concern and that all cadet classes are now required to complete 40 hours of Crisis Intervention Team training.
Houston police said Guillory was shot after he refused orders to drop a metal pipe he was carrying. Police said Guillory charged at officers while holding the pipe "in a menacing manner."
On Sunday, a small, makeshift memorial marked the spot where Guillory fell to the ground, dead from at least one gunshot wound.
Police may have known him
Guillory was well-known to police as someone with serious mental health issues, said community activist Quanell X.
"This was the address of a known paranoid schizophrenic who they have dealt with in the past (and) who they have 'talked down' in the past," Quanell said.
An HPD spokesman on Sunday said he wasn't aware if officers had dealt with Guillory before, but said that would be part of the investigation into the shooting.
Quanell wanted to know why officers trained in crisis intervention were not sent.
"They knew what they were dealing with," he said.
Quanell said at least 20 minutes elapsed before the backup officers arrived at the scene.
"When they pulled up and jumped out of their cars, they didn't negotiate they didn't try to talk the young man down," Quanell said. "There were multiple officers out here. They could have immediately requested a (Crisis Intervention) team."
Joyce Guillory said she called police after her son struck her during an argument at the home. When officers arrived, they saw him standing in the front yard, brandishing a large pipe.
He appeared agitated, police said, and began moving toward them with the pipe in his hands. Officer T.K. Richardson tried to use his Taser to subdue Guillory but was unsuccessful, police said.
The officers backed away and called for assistance as Guillory began striking an HPD patrol car, smashing out most of the windows and lights.
Local pastor Louis Jolivette lives nearby and saw portions of the violent confrontation between Guillory and the police. The first responding officers remained 15 or 20 feet away from Guillory as he attacked the car, Jolivette said.
"When the second group of policemen came around, it seems that's when things really got out of hand," said Jolivette. "We heard some shooting and I saw (Guillory) fall down in the street."
Ordered him to drop pipe
The pipe Guillory was using during the melee broke in half as the backup officers reached the scene. He threw one of the broken sections at them, then began approaching officers T.D. Jackson and R.B. Wieners.
Police said the officers ordered Guillory to drop the pipe, then fired at him. Richardson was struck by one of the officers' rounds. He was treated at an area hospital, police said.
Guillory's mother said she was able to calm her son when he became agitated in the past.
"I could have talked him back in the yard (but) they wouldn't let me get nowhere near him," she said.
The Harris County District Attorney's Office and detectives with HPD's homicide and internal affairs divisions are investigating the shooting.
July 23, 2007, 7:05PM
Houston man killed after 'pummeling' police car
Mother, activist say man's mental illness known; HPD says he was brandishing a pipe
By MIKE GLENN
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle
The mother of a pipe-wielding man killed by Houston police said she pleaded with officers not to fire at her son because he had a history of mental health problems.
"I said, 'My son is schizophrenic, don't shoot him. He's bipolar,' " said a grieving Joyce Guillory on Sunday, on the front lawn of her home in the 6600 block of Foster near Yellowstone. "They didn't listen to me. They shot him anyway."
Houston police have not discussed in detail the incident Saturday night that led to the death of Steven Guillory, 39.
In a statement released Sunday evening, Houston Police Department officials said the incident "did not offer an opportunity" for sending members of the police departments' Crisis Intervention Team to the scene. The statement also said the shooting serves to "highlight the increasing need for more mental health professionals and earlier intervention prior to police involvement."
Earlier this month Houston Police Chief Harold Hurtt told the Houston Chronicle editorial board the department's dealings with the mentally ill were an issue of concern and that all cadet classes are now required to complete 40 hours of Crisis Intervention Team training.
Houston police said Guillory was shot after he refused orders to drop a metal pipe he was carrying. Police said Guillory charged at officers while holding the pipe "in a menacing manner."
On Sunday, a small, makeshift memorial marked the spot where Guillory fell to the ground, dead from at least one gunshot wound.
Police may have known him
Guillory was well-known to police as someone with serious mental health issues, said community activist Quanell X.
"This was the address of a known paranoid schizophrenic who they have dealt with in the past (and) who they have 'talked down' in the past," Quanell said.
An HPD spokesman on Sunday said he wasn't aware if officers had dealt with Guillory before, but said that would be part of the investigation into the shooting.
Quanell wanted to know why officers trained in crisis intervention were not sent.
"They knew what they were dealing with," he said.
Quanell said at least 20 minutes elapsed before the backup officers arrived at the scene.
"When they pulled up and jumped out of their cars, they didn't negotiate they didn't try to talk the young man down," Quanell said. "There were multiple officers out here. They could have immediately requested a (Crisis Intervention) team."
Joyce Guillory said she called police after her son struck her during an argument at the home. When officers arrived, they saw him standing in the front yard, brandishing a large pipe.
He appeared agitated, police said, and began moving toward them with the pipe in his hands. Officer T.K. Richardson tried to use his Taser to subdue Guillory but was unsuccessful, police said.
The officers backed away and called for assistance as Guillory began striking an HPD patrol car, smashing out most of the windows and lights.
Local pastor Louis Jolivette lives nearby and saw portions of the violent confrontation between Guillory and the police. The first responding officers remained 15 or 20 feet away from Guillory as he attacked the car, Jolivette said.
"When the second group of policemen came around, it seems that's when things really got out of hand," said Jolivette. "We heard some shooting and I saw (Guillory) fall down in the street."
Ordered him to drop pipe
The pipe Guillory was using during the melee broke in half as the backup officers reached the scene. He threw one of the broken sections at them, then began approaching officers T.D. Jackson and R.B. Wieners.
Police said the officers ordered Guillory to drop the pipe, then fired at him. Richardson was struck by one of the officers' rounds. He was treated at an area hospital, police said.
Guillory's mother said she was able to calm her son when he became agitated in the past.
"I could have talked him back in the yard (but) they wouldn't let me get nowhere near him," she said.
The Harris County District Attorney's Office and detectives with HPD's homicide and internal affairs divisions are investigating the shooting.
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