The City of Houston Considers an $85,000 Settlement Related to a 2013 Officer-Involved Shooting
The Houston, Texas, City Council was set to vote on July 25, 2017, regarding whether or not to enter a settlement in a federal civil rights lawsuit. The potential 85,000-dollar settlement is related to a 2013 narcotics raid, during which an unarmed man was shot. During the raid, a Houston police officer allegedly shot then 38-year-old George Ralph Benard in the abdomen. Benard filed lawsuits against the Houston Police Department (HPD) and the City of Houston, and both cases were dismissed. He also filed a lawsuit against the officer who allegedly shot him, and that is the case which may end with a settlement this week. The question with regard to the officer is whether excessive force was used, when Benard was allegedly shot.
The 2013 shooting happened at about 8:20 p.m. in the 6700 block of Sherwood in Houston. According to HPD, police officers involved in the narcotics raid entered the home and identified themselves as officers. They say Benard was in the living room but then ran to a room toward the back of the home. He was ordered to stop and show his hands, but he failed to comply. According to officers, when Benard ran back into the room, he reached toward his waistband, as though he had a weapon there. He also turned abruptly toward one of the officers.
A police officer who says that he feared for his own safety and the safety of his partners shot Benard in the abdomen. The officer had been with HPD since December 1992. The case was investigated by HPD Internal Affairs, Homicide division, and the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.
Earlier in July 2017, Houston paid a settlement to the family of Kenny Releford in the amount of $260,000. It was the largest Houston settlement in the past seven years related to an officer-involved shooting. In 2012, Releford was allegedly fatally shot by a police officer and found to have been unarmed. Releford was a Navy veteran.
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