HPD releases bodycam video of officers shooting gunman near Chicken Plus in northeast Houston

Houston police on September 11 released body camera video showing the moments three HPD officers and a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper opened fire on a man accused of shooting at passing vehicles near a Chicken Plus restaurant in northeast Houston, wounding three people.

The shooting happened around 11 a.m. on August 14 in the 6200 block of North Wayside Drive near St. Louis Street. HPD said officers received multiple 911 calls reporting that a man was firing randomly at vehicles in the Settegast area. A DPS trooper working nearby was flagged down by residents who pointed him toward the shooter, according to police.

Investigators say three people were struck by gunfire before officers arrived. Two victims were taken to a hospital and a third was treated at the scene. HPD said all three survived and were listed in stable condition.

The newly released footage shows officers tracking the suspect, identified by police as 45-year-old Demetri O'Neal Thomas, to the front porch of a home in the 7800 block of St. Louis Street. In the video, officers repeatedly order Thomas to drop his weapon. The footage does not clearly show what Thomas did in response, but police say he raised the weapon after ignoring the commands. Three HPD officers and the DPS trooper then opened fire.

Thomas was struck multiple times. Officers are seen in the video moving onto the porch afterward to render first aid until Houston Fire Department paramedics arrived. No officers were hurt.

The three HPD officers involved in the shooting were identified as J. Avila, J. Luna and J. Avery, all assigned to the department's Northeast Patrol Division. A DPS trooper also fired his weapon at the scene.

HPD Assistant Chief Adrien Rodriguez said at the time that the investigation was in its early stages and that detectives were continuing to review evidence. The department warned that portions of the body camera video contain graphic images and strong language.

Thomas faces four counts of aggravated assault against a public servant and three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Court records show a judge denied him bond, and he is due back in court in October.

The case is being investigated jointly by HPD's Homicide Division Special Investigations Unit, the department's Internal Affairs Division, and the Harris County District Attorney's Office, as is standard practice after Houston police shootings. That review will determine whether the officers' use of force was justified under department policy and state law.

The shooting drew a large police response to the North Wayside corridor on the day it happened, closing off streets near the restaurant for hours as investigators processed the scene. The body camera footage, released a month later, gave the public its first look at the confrontation with Thomas on St. Louis Street.

HPD has not said whether additional footage from other responding units will be released. Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call the HPD Homicide Division at 713-308-3600.