By Zach Despart
Houston Press
October 14, 2016
A Houston police officer shot his neighbor during a dispute over a dog Thursday evening, Houston police said Friday.
According to police, off-duty Officer Jason Loosmore knocked on his 21-year-old neighbor's door around 6:20 p.m., on Riderwood Drive in Westside, hoping to ask the man for medical and shot records for his German shepherd, which Loosmore told police attacked his own Pug mix that evening.
The neighbor, who police declined to name, began "verbally cursing and yelling" through his closed front door, and Loosmore walked away and called 911 for assistance. It was then, police said, that the neighbor rushed out of his home and attacked Loosmore, punching him in the "head, face and upper chest area."
Police said Loosmore became disoriented from the blows, feared for his life and shot the neighbor in the chest and abdomen with his off-duty pistol. Loosmore then provided aid to the man until an ambulance arrived.
The neighbor is in critical condition at Ben Taub General Hospital, police said.
Despite supposedly attacking Loosmore to the point where the officer had blurred vision, Houston Police Department spokesman Kese Smith told the Houston Press, the neighbor has not been charged with any crimes related to the incident. He added that could soon change as police and the Harris County District Attorney's Office continue to investigate.
Smith said Loosmore, a seven-year veteran of the force assigned to the South Gessner Patrol Division, remains on duty, though he may stick to administrative work for the coming days. The department's statement does not include Loosmore's first name nor his address, but Harris County property records state Loosmore owns a home about 100 feet from the location of the shooting.
Smith said police believe the 911 call Loosmore had placed before the altercation may have captured most if not all of the incident, but investigators have yet to listen to the tape.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Was this a good shoot? Hnnn, I would say it was if the neighbor was big enough to inflict serious bodily harm to Loosmore. In any event, expect that the unnamed neighbor has a swarm of lawyers hovering outside his hospital room, each eager to file a bigtime lawsuit against Loosmore, the Houston Police Department and the City of Houston.
2 comments:
The Harris County Tax Office may be in trouble for releasing the police officers property information. Most police officers fill out a county form provided to them by their department that makes it unlawful for the county to provide residential property information to anyone if this form is filled out. This form is for law enforcement only.
My inclination is that, at least up to the shooting, the cop was 100% correct and doing what any reasonable person would do under the circumstances. Fortunately the voice recording off the 911 tape will probably tell a great deal about the justification or lack thereof of the shooting. Off the top of my head it sounds kosher to me.
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