Category: Amarillo Police Department|Police Shooting

On Wednesday, February 14, 2018, officers with the Amarillo Police Department received an emergency call that approximately 100 people were being held at a local church in a hostage situation. When the officers entered the chapel, they opened fire at a man seen holding a gun. It turned out, however, that the man with the gun had just disarmed the suspect. The man who was allegedly shot was identified as a bystander who took away the suspect’s firearm. The injured man was transported to a nearby hospital by ambulance. According to police, the man’s injuries are not life-threatening. The 35-year-old suspect was taken into custody. No one else at the scene was hurt.

It is standard procedure that when an officer fires a weapon, the officer is placed in an administrative capacity while an investigation into the incident is conducted. The actions of police officers are evaluated. Sometimes, it is determined that an officer acted outside the realm of proper procedure. Not only do officers sometimes lose their jobs in such instances but sometimes they are charged with crimes.

An example of a controversial shooting occurred on July 23, 2017, in Southaven, Mississippi. Police officers went to the wrong address as they were searching for a suspect in an assault case. A man who lived at the wrong address ended up allegedly being fatally shot in the back of the head by police as the officers tried to gain entrance. The incident stirred a great deal of public outrage. As the family has continued to seek answers, the latest news came out in December 2017, only to say that the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is still ongoing. The names of the officers involved were never released to the public.

As with every post on this website, we are only providing information in this post and do not make any allegation or assertion that anyone acted inappropriately or engaged in misconduct.

–Guest Contributor

On Friday, September 8, 2017, SWAT team members and negotiators with the Amarillo Police Department (APD) were called to a home in the 800 block of North Forest just after 4 p.m. They had received a report that a suspect was in possession of a handgun. According to Officer Jeb Hilton, an attempt was made to make contact with the suspect with both a bomb robot and a canine officer with APD. The suspect was hiding in the crawl space inside the home. The sound of muffled gunfire was heard, after which officers removed the canine officer from underneath the house. Police next used a chemical irritant in the crawl space. The suspect came out of hiding at around 7:39 p.m., and he was allegedly pointing a handgun at police officers. The officers opened fire, and the suspect was struck multiple times. Medical attention was immediately given at the scene. The suspect was transported to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The K-9 SWAT officer had allegedly been shot by the suspect, and he was transported to the Small Animal Emergency Clinic. The dog was treated and released.

The name of the deceased suspect was withheld so that relatives could be notified.

All of the officers involved in the alleged police shooting were placed on a three-day administrative leave, per department policy. The Special Crimes Unit of the APD is investigating the incident.

As with every post on this website, we are only providing information in this post and do not make any allegation or assertion that anyone acted inappropriately or engaged in misconduct.

–Guest Contributor