Officer involved shooting off Spring Loop (February 8, 2023)

68,374 Views | 281 Replies | Last: 20 days ago by phillytex24
lethalninja
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Scott Siddons's bond was decreased from $300,000 to $200,000. He's still in jail.
Smeghead4761
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I will note that Nashville PD released bodycam video of their officers dispatching the school shooter within 24 hours.

And I will leave it at that.
Another Doug
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AG
Smeghead4761 said:

I will note that Nashville PD released bodycam video of their officers dispatching the school shooter within 24 hours.

And I will leave it at that.
I imagine if CSPD had videos making them look as badass as Nashville PD we would see them.

In this case, if the grand jury and the family saw them (I don't know for certain that has happened), I am ok if the public doesn't.
lethalninja
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Scott Siddons, Leslie Siddons and Abraham Escobar were all indicted last Friday. Also, Leslie Siddons's bond was reduced from $200,000 to $115,000, but her and Scott are still in jail.
Joyceann1972
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The guy wasn't even on the warrant he never should have started firing at the police
oklaunion
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I'm sure he never thought he was firing at police. Just someone breaking down his door really early in the morning after he was awaken.
CS78
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Thought this was going to be the bump where they released body cam footage.
maroon barchetta
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More news on this case

https://www.kbtx.com/2023/10/09/family-man-killed-during-warrant-execution-sues-city-college-station/
phillytex24
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This has always not added up. They went after a cannabis dealer looking for some glory for the local small town police department. Then they killed an innocent man who never got to go to court! Then it turns out the real criminals might be the CSPD. More than one person would have to cover this up! This is getting really scary! The truth will prevail and looks like many will lose their careers!!! This is a political earthquake of the highest proportions. So shocking!
oklaunion
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I think the key will be whether they allowed the grand jury who no-billed the officer to view all of the unedited body camera footage.
Hornbeck
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AG
I've said this doesn't pass the smell test all along, but the mob says "move along, nothing to see here". If someone kicks down my door without announcing, you'd better bet I'm firing.
AG81
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phillytex24 said:

This has always not added up. They went after a cannabis dealer looking for some glory for the local small town police department. Then they killed an innocent man who never got to go to court! Then it turns out the real criminals might be the CSPD. More than one person would have to cover this up! This is getting really scary! The truth will prevail and looks like many will lose their careers!!! This is a political earthquake of the highest proportions. So shocking!


Cannabis? That's not what the story says. Not what any story says
AgProgrammer
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I can't say I'd react/respond differently if someone broke into my house at 5AM. My startle reaction is to grab the gun if I think someone dangerous is busting in. I seriously doubt I'd hear or be able to process in that moment that someone announced "police" while I was sleeping. Even if I was able to hear that, that doesn't mean only police can yell the word "police". A burglar yelling police doesn't mean all self defense stops.

We'll never know if the young person shot actually heard the announcement. It's not like they announced, saw him trying to leave the house and then broke in. No-knock breaches are stupid, especially for a situation like this. It baffles me this was approved when they knew the suspect they were after wasn't the only person in the house (aka had a roommate who also happened to have his girlfriend with him during this). There was no surveillance by officers on this house before to know who was actually in there?
maroon barchetta
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There was an LEO killed a few years ago in a no-knock in Snook or Somerville area (don't recall the exact location).

Five HPD officers were shot a few years ago when they did a no-knock raid on Harding Street. The residents and their dog were killed but not before they got off some shots. That raid was ugly and is being investigated for being illegal although the process is taking a long time.

It's a bad look for CSPD to tell KBTX they can't have the unedited body cam video. It doesn't foster trust in law enforcement.
MeKnowNot
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This was a "knock and announce" warrant.

Perhaps in the future, the police should notify the suspects via certified mail and schedule a search at some time that fits-in with the suspects schedule?

trouble
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I think no knock warrants are stupid and dangerous.

I'm not willing to take the word of the family's lawyer as gospel though. There's nothing that says lawyers can't lie.

Until proven otherwise, I'll assume CSPD isn't releasing the whole thing because there's either information on the still ongoing investigation and trial prep or it identifies an undercover officer.
Another Doug
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AG81 said:

phillytex24 said:

This has always not added up. They went after a cannabis dealer looking for some glory for the local small town police department. Then they killed an innocent man who never got to go to court! Then it turns out the real criminals might be the CSPD. More than one person would have to cover this up! This is getting really scary! The truth will prevail and looks like many will lose their careers!!! This is a political earthquake of the highest proportions. So shocking!


Cannabis? That's not what the story says. Not what any story says
It wasn't even cannabis, no drugs were found and no arrests were made at this location. Just the killing of a kid that was not part of the investigation.
Another Doug
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MeKnowNot said:

This was a "knock and announce" warrant.

Perhaps in the future, the police should notify the suspects via certified mail and schedule a search at some time that fits-in with the suspects schedule?


Pre-dawn raid at a location that had no suspects.
AgProgrammer
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Knock and Announce. No-knock. Whatever. They breached the house while everyone was asleep in a pre-dawn raid.

The suspect wasn't even there. If they were going to go to as extreme of measures as a pre-dawn raid, you'd think they would have staked out the house to make sure the suspect was there before they went in guns a blazing. Or not done it when other residents, not involved in the warrant, weren't also there? Was the risk assessment of the situation done and concluded that the risk of the non-involved parties who also lived there being caught up in the raid worth it?
Stucco
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I'm very uncomfortable with how opaque CSPD has been on this event. If they did nothing wrong, they have nothing to worry about.
Another Doug
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Stucco said:

I'm very uncomfortable with how opaque CSPD has been on this event. If they did nothing wrong, they have nothing to worry about.
Any time you raid a dwelling, make no arrests and kill a non-suspect you obviously messed up. CSPD has every right to not further incriminate themselves.
AG81
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Another Doug said:

AG81 said:

phillytex24 said:

This has always not added up. They went after a cannabis dealer looking for some glory for the local small town police department. Then they killed an innocent man who never got to go to court! Then it turns out the real criminals might be the CSPD. More than one person would have to cover this up! This is getting really scary! The truth will prevail and looks like many will lose their careers!!! This is a political earthquake of the highest proportions. So shocking!


Cannabis? That's not what the story says. Not what any story says
It wasn't even cannabis, no drugs were found and no arrests were made at this location. Just the killing of a kid that was not part of the investigation.


Way simplified version.... But sure, go with it
AG81
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maroon barchetta said:

There was an LEO killed a few years ago in a no-knock in Snook or Somerville area (don't recall the exact location).

Five HPD officers were shot a few years ago when they did a no-knock raid on Harding Street. The residents and their dog were killed but not before they got off some shots. That raid was ugly and is being investigated for being illegal although the process is taking a long time.

It's a bad look for CSPD to tell KBTX they can't have the unedited body cam video. It doesn't foster trust in law enforcement.


Particularly with those who are predisposed to not trust law enforcement.
AG81
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Another Doug said:

AG81 said:

phillytex24 said:

This has always not added up. They went after a cannabis dealer looking for some glory for the local small town police department. Then they killed an innocent man who never got to go to court! Then it turns out the real criminals might be the CSPD. More than one person would have to cover this up! This is getting really scary! The truth will prevail and looks like many will lose their careers!!! This is a political earthquake of the highest proportions. So shocking!


Cannabis? That's not what the story says. Not what any story says
It wasn't even cannabis, no drugs were found and no arrests were made at this location. Just the killing of a kid that was not part of the investigation.


I didn't say that. What I said was the assertion that the warrant was for cannabis was false. No need to attribute to me that which I did not say.
Stucco
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Another Doug said:

Stucco said:

I'm very uncomfortable with how opaque CSPD has been on this event. If they did nothing wrong, they have nothing to worry about.
Any time you raid a dwelling, make no arrests and kill a non-suspect you obviously messed up. CSPD has every right to not further incriminate themselves.


Individuals have rights. CSPD has obligations.
Stupe
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S
AG81 said:

maroon barchetta said:

There was an LEO killed a few years ago in a no-knock in Snook or Somerville area (don't recall the exact location).

Five HPD officers were shot a few years ago when they did a no-knock raid on Harding Street. The residents and their dog were killed but not before they got off some shots. That raid was ugly and is being investigated for being illegal although the process is taking a long time.

It's a bad look for CSPD to tell KBTX they can't have the unedited body cam video. It doesn't foster trust in law enforcement.


Particularly with those who are predisposed to not trust law enforcement.
There is nothing that can be done or said by law enforcement to change that.
Another Doug
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Stucco said:

Another Doug said:

Stucco said:

I'm very uncomfortable with how opaque CSPD has been on this event. If they did nothing wrong, they have nothing to worry about.
Any time you raid a dwelling, make no arrests and kill a non-suspect you obviously messed up. CSPD has every right to not further incriminate themselves.


Individuals have rights. CSPD has obligations.


Since when? Because it's pretty evident that in this case they don't.
Hornbeck
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How about be honest and forthcoming with the video?
Another Doug
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AG81 said:

Another Doug said:

AG81 said:

phillytex24 said:

This has always not added up. They went after a cannabis dealer looking for some glory for the local small town police department. Then they killed an innocent man who never got to go to court! Then it turns out the real criminals might be the CSPD. More than one person would have to cover this up! This is getting really scary! The truth will prevail and looks like many will lose their careers!!! This is a political earthquake of the highest proportions. So shocking!


Cannabis? That's not what the story says. Not what any story says
It wasn't even cannabis, no drugs were found and no arrests were made at this location. Just the killing of a kid that was not part of the investigation.


Way simplified version.... But sure, go with it


The simplified version is the only version CSPD has allowed us to know.
Stucco
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Was the AG ruling on the public information requests published?
Smeghead4761
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The thing is, the shooting can be entirely legal even if nothing was found during the search.

As long as the warrant was obtained legally - nobody lied, no misleading information was presented (and in all of these cases, the warrant request would have been reviewed by the DA's office before it went to a judge) - and the search was conducted according to the warrant, then the police were legally present in the guy's living room.

Is it perfectly understandable for someone to point a gun at someone who busted into their home at oh-dark-thirty? Yes. But that doesn't change the fact that he was pointing a gun at police who were legally present at that place at that time. Which means the police were legally justified in shooting him.

And the dead guy's estate has a right to sue. The case will probably be settled out of court, because it's generally cheaper to pay out that the pay lawyers.

CSPD, as was stated earlier in this thread, has a policy of not releasing bodycam or other video. I think that policy is dumb, but that's the policy.

If you want that policy changed, the way to do that is to pressure the Mayor and the city council to make them change it. Big city PDs like Houston release critical incident video. Podunk agencies like Rapides Parrish, LA sheriff's department release critical incident video. There's no reason CSPD can't as well.
Stucco
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Texas law supercedes CSPD policy. In practice, the actual CSPD policy is to do their best to find legal loopholes to avoid releasing bodycam footage like they are legally obligated to do.
Brian Alg
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Assuming everything investigators put in the warrant for the Spring Loop residence was true, the warrant was still invalid. It was so grossly deficient that no reasonable person could have a good faith belief it was valid. The basis for the warrant boils down to "guy who was a drug dealer visited that house where his girlfriend lived." That is not an indication of probable cause to believe that there would be evidence of any particular crime to be found there. KBTX reported something about him bringing packages to that residence. I suspect they misread the affidavit because police only said Escobar brought packages into Brazos County.

If police had found anything relevant to the case against Escobar and his coconspirators in a search based on that warrant, it would have been inadmissible.

Edit: In their statement, CSPD has implied that the findings of the Texas Rangers' investigation clears CSPD of any wrongdoing. I am going through the process of trying to get CSPD's records of those findings and will be happy to be corrected by what I learn from those.
Brian Alg

Brazos Coalition for Responsible Government and Moderator Restraint
phillytex24
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Brian Alg said:

Assuming everything investigators put in the warrant for the Spring Loop residence was true, the warrant was still invalid. It was so grossly deficient that no reasonable person could have a good faith belief it was valid. The basis for the warrant boils down to "guy who was a drug dealer visited that house where his girlfriend lived." That is not an indication of probable cause to believe that there would be evidence of any particular crime to be found there. KBTX reported something about him bringing packages to that residence. I suspect they misread the affidavit because police only said Escobar brought packages into Brazos County.

If police had found anything relevant to the case against Escobar and his coconspirators in a search based on that warrant, it would have been inadmissible.

Edit: In their statement, CSPD has implied that the findings of the Texas Rangers' investigation clears CSPD of any wrongdoing. I am going through the process of trying to get CSPD's records of those findings and will be happy to be corrected by what I learn from those.


Also, Escobar is very well known in the Northgate & service industry scene as a really nice guy. He was always so friendly. He also came into my restaurant and was so nice to wait tables on. He cared about people. This is all so ridiculous.
Pantera
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AG
Sounds like Lovelace is screwed for lying if the lawsuit is true.

CSPD is known to name college kids as known accomplices, then try to flip the scared youngsters against the real criminals or get them to wear a wire. Didn't work in their favor this time. Sad knowing they killed a 22 year old kid for existing while knowing the gf of a suspected criminal. Do better.
 
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