The men faced allegations of negligent homicide in the death of an alcoholic last July; Prosecutors said Officers Jason W. Buckaloo and Christopher S. Jones will not face more serious charges because the two did not intend to harm Pedro Gonzales Jr.
By BRIAN ROGERS
The Houston Chronicle
Trial begins for Texas officers charged in inmate death
PASADENA, Texas — Two Pasadena police officers hope to return to work, perhaps as soon as today, after being acquitted Monday of charges that they beat an alcoholic to death during an arrest last summer.
 Pedro Gonzales, Jr. (Harris County Sheriff’s Office) |
A jury found officers Jason W. Buckaloo, 33, and Christopher S. Jones, 30, not guilty of criminally negligent homicide after less than four hours of deliberation.
The two were accused of killing Pedro Gonzales Jr. by breaking eight of his ribs and puncturing a lung while arresting him at about 2 a.m. on July 21. The officers had reported they suspected Gonzales was drunk when they spotted him in the back of a pickup truck outside an auto shop. An autopsy and testimony revealed the 51-year-old was not intoxicated but was suffering from severe alcohol withdrawal.
Defense attorney Greg Cagle said Buckaloo and Jones were relieved at the verdict but too emotional to comment immediately.
“Hopefully they’ll be back at work in the morning,” Cagle said. “It’s a stressful ordeal.”
Only one Harris County law officer has been convicted of committing a homicide in uniform in over a decade. Former Houston police officer Arthur Carbonneau was sentenced to 60 days in jail in 2005 for the 2003 shooting death of 14-year-old Eli Escobar II.
An attorney for Gonzales’ widow and children released a statement late Monday saying he anticipates filing a wrongful death lawsuit.
“The numerous efforts of the detectives of the Pasadena Police Department to exonerate their officers and to attack the eyewitness rather than to objectively investigate the beating death of Pedro Gonzales bring dishonor upon the Pasadena Police Department,” Jay Jackson said.
The two officers, who have been on paid administrative leave pending the jury’s verdict, will likely be reinstated, said Pasadena police spokesman Capt. Bud Corbett.
Before they can return to work, they will undergo psychological examinations, he said.
Corbett said whether they go back on patrol will be up to their supervisor.
“It could be an inside assignment,” he said. “It could be the dispatch office, the complaint desk, or normal patrol.”
Buckaloo has been with the department since May 2001, while Jones joined the force in April 2007.
An internal review found no evidence that they violated department policy.
After the five-day trial, Assistant District Attorney Joe Owmby said he was disappointed, but accepts the verdict.
“We put in all the evidence that we had available to us. There was nothing else we could do,” Owmby said. “The jury got a fair picture.”
The jurors, eight women and four men, included one black woman and at least three Hispanics.
Francisco B. Rodriguez III, district director of the League of United Latin American Citizens, said he was “very concerned” about the verdict.
“There was no justice served in this case,” Rodriguez said. “You’ve got a helpless man, fragile, disoriented perhaps, trying to find his way home and instead of trying to help him out, they put a knee to him and break what? Eight ribs?”
Hearing that Buckaloo and Jones may soon be back on the job “scares me to death,” the LULAC official said. “I for one am staying out of Pasadena.”
This is the second time Buckaloo has stood trial charged with a violent crime while in uniform.
In 2002, a jury found him not guilty of an official oppression charge that accused him of slamming a South Houston High School student into a wall.
Gonzales had been out of jail for less than two hours on a prior public intoxication charge when Buckaloo and Jones arrested him.
Because he had not had a drink in about 54 hours, Gonzales may have been severely agitated or hyperactive when confronted by the officers, said Dr. Vincent DiMaio, former Bexar County chief medical examiner.
Testifying for the defense, DiMaio said there was evidence that Gonzales was combative and hallucinating. If so, that would explain why the police officers thought he was drunk.
A toxicology report showed Gonzales had no drugs or alcohol in his system when he died.
Gonzales, DiMaio said, died from alcohol withdrawal.
The testimony directly contradicted Assistant Harris County Medical Examiner Merrill Hines, who said Gonzales suffocated when his chest cavity filled with blood because he had a punctured lung.
Pasadena police initially said Gonzales stumbled in a parking lot after being arrested. Later the department acknowledged the officers used “knee strikes” to subdue Gonzales, who they said was resisting arrest.
A woman who was driving by during the arrest testified that she called 911 to report that officers were beating a man, later identified as Gonzales.
Police said Gonzales was treated at the jail for what they believed to be minor injuries. He verbally refused further treatment, police said, and also signed a medical refusal form. He died about five hours later in a holding cell.
Chronicle reporters Jennifer Latson and Lindsey Wise contributed to this report.
Gonzales case timeline July 18, 2 p.m.: Pedro Gonzales is arrested, accused of public intoxication outside a Pasadena apartment complex. His attitude is listed as ``cooperative’’ on the incident report.
July 21, 1 a.m.: Gonzales is released from jail for time served. 2 a.m.: Officers Jason W. Buckaloo and Christopher S. Jones are patrolling Harris Avenue when they notice Gonzales sitting in the back of a pickup, the officers say. 2:09 a.m.: Dispatch receives a 911 call from a woman who said she had just witnessed officers beating a man at Strawberry and East Harris. 2:15 a.m.: Arrest time listed on the offense report. 2:30 a.m.: Officers report leaving the arrest scene. 2:34 a.m.: Officers state that Gonzales was booked into the jail. 2:34 to 3 a.m.: East Texas Medical Center ambulance technicians examine Gonzales after he complains of injuries. Police say the technicians found no major injuries. Police said Gonzales orally refused further treatment and also signed a refusal form. Afterward he was placed into a holding cell. 6:30 a.m.: Gonzales is removed from the holding cell for further processing. At that time he appears to be manifesting ``detox symptoms’’ and requires assistance when walking, police say. He is conscious when left on the floor of the holding facility. 6:30 to 7:30 a.m.: A police service officer assigned to the jail notices Gonzales is motionless and not breathing. Medical personnel summoned to the jail pronounce him dead. July 22: Harris County Medical Examiner’s Office’s conducts autopsy. July 23: Pasadena police issues a press release on Gonzales’ death. ``While being escorted to the patrol car, Gonzales tripped on an elevated portion of the concrete parking area. Gonzales fell, was helped to his feet; but, appeared possibly injured from the fall. Gonzales initially refused medical attention; however, following his arrival at the city jail, medical personnel were summoned nevertheless, after Gonzales collapsed near the booking window.’' Police state that preliminary autopsy report indicates Gonzales died from internal bleeding from a ``pinhole’’ perforation of the lung due to a bone splinter from a rib fracture. July 27: Pasadena police issue incident report to Houston Chronicle. The report states that Gonzales requested medical attention at the jail. Capt. Bud Corbett tells the Chronicle that the press release mistakenly left out fact that Gonzales requested medical attention at jail. Sept. 4, 2007: The Harris County Medical Examiner’s Office rules Gonzales’ death a homicide resulting primarily from lung injuries. He had 11 fractures on eight ribs. Chronic liver disease was also a factor. December 2007: Other Pasadena Jail inmates tell the Chronicle that jailers neglected to give Gonzales proper medical attention. Jan. 23, 2008: A grand jury indicts Buckaloo and Jones on criminally negligent homicide charges. April 1: Buckaloo and Jones decline a plea bargain offer that would have required a year in jail. May 27: Testimony begins in the officers’ trial. May 29: Defense expert Dr. Vincent DiMaio testifies Gonzales’ death was caused by alcohol withdrawal, not a punctured lung. June 2: Jurors find the officers not guilty after deliberating about three hours. SOURCE — Pasadena Police Department, trial testimony, Chronicle research |
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle