An 82-year-old Waller man is claiming Harris County deputies roughed him up for no reason, following an incident last month.

W. L. (Lee) Goodman says that deputies pushed him around and kicked him Nov. 6, after a former tenant called the sheriff’s office to complain about Goodman’s maintenance man.

“I can’t believe they did this,” Goodman said. “It was like they were the Gestapo in Germany. Something’s got to be done.”

Incident reports say that the call for service originated when a now former tenant called, claiming the maintenance man for the property, Michael Spaniel, would not allow the woman to leave the residence. No one was arrested or charged after the alleged incident.

Goodman and Spaniel both contend that it wasn’t true and that the way the deputies responded to the complaint was unfair and possibly illegal.

Goodman, who says he is a retired Houston police officer and several others claim they were handled roughly by deputies and Goodman says that one deputy kicked him in the ankle hard enough to cause bruising and swelling, after forcing him into the back of a patrol car.

“My ankle swelled up like you wouldn’t believe,” he said.

He also claims that deputies on the scene never responded when he asked what was going on and that deputies entered several apartments without a warrant. He claims a deputy made comments about an air pistol inside his residence.

“How did they know (Spaniel) had a BB pistol on the nightstand if he didn’t come in?” Goodman asked.

Goodman said he sent statements from himself, Spaniel and others to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) after the incident, but has received no response.

Alan Bernstein, a HCSO spokesperson, said that isn’t unusual, considering the complaint wasn’t filed through official channels.

“He may have sent the material, but we have no way to trace it,” Bernstein said. “I am confident that if (Sheriff Adrian Garcia) or his staff had received it, that they would have advised him to file a complaint.”

Bernstein also said that deputies heard gunshots while on scene, but until an official complaint is filed he can’t comment on the alleged actions of the deputies.

“Deputies heard gunshots behind the house,” Bernstein said. “I can imagine hypothetically (why deputies responded with force), but we don’t know until or unless it becomes the subject of an investigation and he takes the complaint to internal affairs.”

Goodman stated that he will contact the sheriff’s office to file a complaint, but he also wants to file charges against the officer that kicked him.

“I want to file assault charges against this deputy,” he said.

Photo by Caleb Harris

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