UPDATE: (10:45 a.m. Jan. 30) - The Harris County Sheriff's Office responded to this story today with a statement saying that undercover deputies will be exempt from the photo session. Their statement is below.
"Even though you alluded to the deputies’ organization’s concerns in an e-mail last Thursday -- in the midst of national breaking news concerning the Lone Star College shooting and the Sheriff’s Office -- we were unaware of the specific concerns voiced to you until today," said Harris County Sheriff's Office Director of Public Affairs Alan Bernstein. "We have not seen the organization’s news release. Also, as far as we can tell, the organization did not voice or send or write its concerns to Sheriff Garcia despite the numbers ways it can do so.
Most important, undercover officers have always been exempt from the photo requirement. However if a deputy works an approved “extra job” in uniform, they are not truly undercover."
ORIGINAL STORY: Members of the Harris County Deputies Organization (HCDO) are upset with a mandatory request from Sheriff Adrian Garcia, calling it a public relations grab that ignores officer safety.
Garcia sent a memo out to department staffers last week notifying them of a mandatory policy, requiring them to have a photo taken for the department's yearbook, commemorating the department's 175th anniversary.
HCDO President Robert Goerlitz said the policy could put deputies at risk, especially those that serve in undercover positions.
"We don't know who is getting copies of these yearbooks," Goerlitz said. "If drug cartels get one, they can scan pictures and put them into facial recognition databases. This is a public relations thing for the sheriff and it could cost lives."
Harris County Sheriff's Office officials responded to a request to comment on the issue by sending the Tribune a copy of Garcia's memo.
"As you are all aware, the Sheriff's Office is working feverishly towards completing our 175th anniversary yearbook," the memo states.
It goes on to say that a special yearbook committee has only been able to secure about half of the department employees pictures.
"In an effort to assist the Yearbook Committee's efforts and help facilitate the completion of this project, I am requiring all personnel who have not yet had their yearbook portraits taken to schedule an appointment to have their portrait photo taken during the next scheduled photo session this coming February," the memo states. “The intent of my instruction is to reach 100% employee participation so that all personnel are properly represented and duly recognized for their continuing commitment to their communities and for their loyal service to the Sheriff's Office."
"The problem is that the administration is requiring 100 percent participation," said Goerlitz. "A lot of these guys are currently or may work undercover in the future. It's a safety issue."
Goerlitz said that in the past, deputies have been allowed to mask their identities in photos; something he said that administrators say is not an option this time.
"The response we have gotten from them is that if it is too dangerous to have a picture taken then it is too dangerous for deputies to have jobs outside the department," he said.
"Our job function is inherently dangerous without creating additional risks," he added. "This most certainly creates undue risk that the safety of not only the deputy will be compromised, but that of their family as well."
Harris County deputies are searching for a man they believe walked into a Tomball area office and shot a worker in the face on Valentine's morning.
The Harris County District Attorney's Office has accepted charges of Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon and Aggravated Assault with Serious Bodily Injury against Gary Ishmael Bolin, 61.
Detectives said that Bolin walked into a home that had been converted into office space for a nearby business at the corner of Dogwood and Hufsmith Kuykendahl Road at about 10:30 that morning and shot a 54-year-old employee in the face, after an argument quickly escalated.
Deputies claim the two men had an ongoing dispute, when the suspect walked into the offices.
They said that Bolin did not communicate with anyone else in the building, but went directly to the victim's office and minutes later pulled out a handgun.
Detectives claim that Bolin then fled from the scene in a dark red or possibly maroon over white dually pickup truck. They won't confirm what relationship the pair had, but said that Bolin does have something to do with the property. They also claimed that the two are currently involved in a civil lawsuit against each other.
The suspect was described as a white male, wearing a white cowboy hat, light colored western shirt and blue jeans.
As of press time he was still not in custody. If arrested, Bolin will be held on $60,000 bond.
The Harris County Sheriff's Office is asking that anyone with information on Bolin's whereabouts contact Crime Stoppers at 713-222-8477, or the Harris County homicide unit at 713-967-5810.
Every member of the Tomball Police department stood waiting outside their building Feb. 27, their badges glistening in the early morning sun.
They weren't preparing to respond to an emergency, rather they had gathered in preparation for the one time a year they could all be together – the annual inspection.
Inspecting them were the departments command staff of Chief Robert Hauck, Cpt. Rick Grassi, Cpt. Anthony Solomon and Cpt. Rickey Doerre, as well as other area law enforcement officials, business owners and community leaders.
"We do this for multiple reasons," Hauck said. First is the opportunity to show off the men and women of our department, the opportunity to allow us to get together with our public safety partners and members of the community and also the feeling of pride that all of us get being together as a whole, for this one time each year."
Hauck said that while the 47 sworn officers and 13 civilian employees were all together, the city received the help of the Harris County Pct. 4 and Montgomery County Pct. 5 Constable Offices, as well as the Harris County Sheriff's Office in patrolling the city.
"We are very grateful for our partners help, it's what allows us to do this inspection each year," he said.
Meanwhile several other officials, including other law enforcement members, talked to the officers, some jokingly trying to hire them away to work for their agencies.
"We have applications with us," Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia said to laughter. "Seriously though, this community is very lucky that it has such fine men and women of the Tomball Police Department and to have Chief Hauck as well."
Montgomery County Sheriff Tommy Gage said he was grateful his agency has received help from the Tomball Police Department in the past.
"When you all come across that creek to help us, we are so appreciative," he said.
Montgomery County Pct. 5 Chief Deputy David Wood agreed.
"I also live in Tomball, so I have a good view to see what a good job you all do," he said.
Tomball Superintendent John Neubauer said the department's continued partnership with the school district has been a key for school safety.
"It has been a great partnership," he said. "The Tomball Police Department is great and I just want to thank you for all that you do."
Greater Tomball Chamber of Commerce President Bruce Hillegeist said that the key to the department's success is the character of the men and women within the organization.
"You all look handsome in those uniforms," Hillegeist said. "But under those uniforms are what's really important, you all have huge hearts and we are blessed to have you all here."
Investigators with the Harris County Sheriff's Office are seeking information about any additional incidents involving a former technology camp manager, who has been charged with sexual assault and indecency with a child.
Anthony Tang, 38, was recently booked into the Harris County Jail, on charges that he assaulted a then-14-year-old boy about two years ago. The incident allegedly took place at the Camp Katy Technology camp, near the 400 block of West Grand Parkway South. The camp has relocated since then.
Activities at the camp included overnight stays by under-age participants.
Anyone with information about any sexual abuse incidents related to this case should call Sheriff's Office investigators at 713-830-3250 or Crime Stoppers of Houston at 713-222-TIPS.
HOUSTON (AP) — Prosecutors on Monday dropped charges against a 22-year-old man who authorities initially believed was involved in a shooting that wounded him and two others at a Houston-area community college.
Carlton Berry was arrested soon after the Jan. 22 shootings at Lone Star College and charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. But authorities later accused another man, Trey Foster, 22, of being the shooter.
Foster has been charged with two counts of aggravated assault and faces a charge of resisting arrest in an earlier case. He was arrested Friday in the Dallas suburb of Plano.
Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia defended his agency's initial arrest of Berry, saying two of the victims initially indicated that Barry was the shooter. He also said Berry at first refused to talk to investigators, and it was only after he was charged that he pointed authorities to Foster.
"I support my investigators. I continue to support them," Garcia said. "I remain proud of their thoroughness and their relentless pursuit of the truth. They did what they were supposed to do."
Investigators say the shooting happened after 25-year-old Jody Neal bumped into Foster while Foster was walking with Berry. Foster and Neal argued but went their separate ways.
But when the two ran into each other 30 minutes later, they argued again and Foster fired at Neal, wounding him in the abdomen and leg. Berry also was shot and wounded, and a maintenance worker for the college, Bobby Cliburn, 55, was hit in the leg.
Authorities say at least 10 shots were fired, causing panic and a leading to a campus lockdown.
Berry's attorney, Robert A. Jones, said his client never should have been charged or jailed because the evidence showed he was a victim. Berry was shot in the left hip, which Jones said was an indication that Berry might have been facing away or running away from the shooter.
"He said that continually, whenever (authorities) talked to him, that he didn't do anything. But that wasn't enough. Then they started their investigation based upon his statement and they realized he didn't do anything," Jones said.
Prosecutor Alison Baimbridge said authorities dropped the charges in the interest of justice. She said that as with any investigation, the more witness interviews and evidence collecting that are done, authorities are "better able to determine who was where, what actually occurred."
Charges were formally dropped during a court hearing Monday, and Berry was later released from jail.
Foster made his initial court appearance Monday. He is being held on bonds totaling $100,000, and if he posts them, a judge ordered him subject to GPS monitoring and a curfew.
Quanell X, a community activist and a spokesman for Foster's family, said Foster told him Berry had nothing to do with the shooting. Berry and Foster apparently knew each other from school.
"It was inappropriate and wrong for Trey to have a pistol on campus," he said.
Quanell X said Foster legally bought the .40-caliber handgun authorities say was used in the shooting at a sporting goods store in Houston. Foster took a class for a concealed handgun license but had not completed the process to get a license, he said.
Garcia said investigators confirmed Foster bought the gun at the store, but noted there are questions about whether he should have been allowed to do so because of his criminal history.
Jess Myers, a spokesman for the sporting goods store, St. Paul, Minn.-based Gander Mountain, said the company couldn't provide firearms purchase records or comment on an ongoing investigation.
"Gander Mountain operates in strict compliance with all local, state and federal laws regarding firearms ownership and fully cooperates with law enforcement," Myers said in an email.
Quanell X said Foster bought the gun to defend himself after he was shot in the face a couple of years ago and had recently been receiving threats. He said Foster panicked during the shooting.
"He was very remorseful and sorry that innocent people got shot," he said.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.
Harris County Sheriff's Office investigators are seeking the public's help in identifying and locating a person of interest. The man is wanted for questioning in the Nov. 12, 2012 shooting death of
Coty Beavers, 28, at his northwest Harris County apartment.
Working from information provided by an eyewitness, an artist has sketched a likeness of the subject – a man with dark hair and thick dark eyebrows, wearing eyeglasses.
The man was seen asking about Beavers at the Legacy Park Apartments, 10801 Legacy Park Drive, a few days before Beavers was shot multiple times at the complex.
Beavers was the twin brother of Cory Beavers, who had been the boyfriend of Gelareh Bagherzadeh, 30. She was shot to death while driving to her townhouse in the Galleria area of Houston, reportedly after visiting Cory Beavers. Bagherzadeh was an outspoken critic of the government of Iran, where she was born.
Her killing is being investigated by the Houston Police Department. Investi-gators with HPD and HCSO have disclosed no evidence linking the killings of Coty Beavers and Bagherzadeh.
Anyone with information about the subject should call the Sheriff's Office Homicide Division at 713-967-5810 or Crime Stoppers of Houston at 713-222-TIPS.
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