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Here's a great story from HOUSTON!

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?secti ... 0&ft=print

HPD officer accused of firing weapons at woman's home
Gunfire occurred during New Year's Eve party
By Kevin Quinn
(1/02/07 - KTRK/HOUSTON) - A Houston woman's house literally became a target for gun-play on New Year's Eve. But the man accused of pulling the trigger is a Houston police officer.


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Investigators say Ricardo Pineda fired two guns at a New Year's party at a home in southwest Harris County.

Gunfire could be heard across the Houston area as residents rang in the New Year.

"I heard the noise, and I looked and I saw a couple of guys," said homeowner Huyen Nguyen.

She heard the gunfire and she says her husband saw it. He was in the laundry room hanging up a jacket when the bullets narrowly missed him.

Nguyen said, "He hung it up, and then he saw the bullet go over him."

Two rounds went through Nguyen's garage door, through the laundry room door and into the laundry room. Her three young children were all nearby.

Investigators say the holes left behind prove the guns were pointed right at the house.

Lt. John Martin with the Harris County Sheriff's Office said, "It appears in this case that they were fired pretty much level. It was not a case of being fired up into the air and then they came back down."

Sheriff's detectives say eyewitnesses saw Pineda firing the guns from outside a home during the party. Pineda is a Houston police officer.

Nguyen called 911 when she realized what was happening. When deputies arrived, they found Pineda, wearing his officer's badge around his neck, and a jacket with the word police on the back.

"He had been drinking," asserted Lt. Martin. "I don't know exactly what his level of intoxication was."

Pineda was arrested on suspicion of deadly conduct. His car was towed, and inside it investigators found two weapons -- a handgun and a rifle -- both recently fired.

Nguyen can't believe someone entrusted with the public's safety could do something that clearly could be so dangerous.

"It's sobering," she said. "Because I think police know the rules and know the law, so they cannot do that. It's so dangerous."

Pineda has posted $30,000 bond and is out of custody. He is expected to appear in court on Wednesday. He has been suspended with pay by the Houston Police Department pending the outcome of both the criminal and an internal investigation. Investigators cannot say if the weapons used were Pineda's service weapons.

I've heard everything now!!

No comment, OE

That is awful. People need to be held accountable for their behavior. And drunkenness isn't an excuse for dangerous behavior.

The sad part is that this is giving ammo (pun fully intended) to the Brady Bunch. Thanks Pineda.

It sounds like sumbuddy is gonna be OUT of the cop business shortly ... Notice suspended "with pay".

Greybeard wrote:It sounds like sumbuddy is gonna be OUT of the cop business shortly

Yup. He's a future former cop.

... Notice suspended "with pay".

Suspending someone without pay is a punishment. An employer can't punish an employee without a finding of wrongdoing. Yes, this is an "at-will" state, but the PD will have a labor contract and policies they must follow.

For starters, they have to find that the officer actually was the shooter.

Kevin

Wow, I bet this guy is probably wondering what he was thinking that night.......totally wreckless. If it was he that did the shooting, he deserves to have the book thrown at him.

And to think just last Thursday or Friday Houston PD held a televised press conference to reinforce that celebratory shooting of firearms is illegal and dangerous, and anyone found doing so this holiday would be summarily arrested. Guess Pineda didn't get the memo...

My guess is if you have enough evidence to arrest and arraign, you have enough evidence to suspend without pay.

He wasn't even firing into the air; He was firing at the neighbor's house. Absolutely incredible!!

At the moment, all that is known is Pineda was in possession of two recently fired guns near a home that has two fresh bullet tracks in it. Having said that, it wouldn't surpise me a bit if Mr. Pineda turned out to be the guilt party.

I've lost count of the stories my dad and cousin told me of fellow HPD cops doing stupid things with guns. One guy thankfully no longer wears a badge. I'll never go out on a boat with him again though. I mean, if you're going to freak out about a stingray on your line, shoot it BEFORE you land the darn thing on the BOAT! And don't keep shooting when it starts flopping around!

Oh, and then there are all the guys who had unreported GSW's. Of course, that was back before hospitals started filing police reports for GSW patients. I rode to school in several unmarked cars with unexplained bullet holes in the dash, floor or seat. I even remember one marked patrol car with a distinctive shotgun pattern on it's trunk lid.

Don't get me wrong...I know that idiots in HPD are the exception rather than the norm. But I still saw an awful lot of evidence to suggest HPD had way more negligent discharges than they would ever want to admit when I was a kid.

G.C.Montgomery wrote:At the moment, all that is known is Pineda was in possession of two recently fired guns near a home that has two fresh bullet tracks in it.

Thanks, G.C. That's my point about drawing conclusions from news reports: you have very few data points, and their accuracy is questionable at best. There were two recently fired guns in Pineda's car. Pineda was drunk, but he was surrounded by drunks at a party. At this point, we have nothing that puts the guns in Pineda's hands.

To repeat my point about "suspended with pay": HPD has a labor contract and a negotiated policy for dealing with suspected misconduct. Docking an officer's pay is a punitive action, which can only take place after due process. Placing him on administrative leave (home duty, with pay) is the proper response until the facts of the case are sorted out.

Kevin

Skiprr wrote:And to think just last Thursday or Friday Houston PD held a televised press conference to reinforce that celebratory shooting of firearms is illegal and dangerous, and anyone found doing so this holiday would be summarily arrested. Guess Pineda didn't get the memo...

I was wondering that too...

The other evening, I "STILL" heard gunfire mixed in with the fireworks...Sometimes a few blocks away, and some a few houses away...

The problem is there is NO enforcement...But then again what can you do about it, unless you actually see it, and who is doing it...

Unless theres a fire, or someone gets seriously injured or killed...I just don't see a lot happening here...

In this case unfortunately, I believe the book needs to be thrown extremely hard and fast on this person...

We'll have to wait and see...

HPD's always short on manpower these days, and to lose an investment like this, even though he showed extremely poor judgement, it will be worked hard to keep him on the payroll, even though we know he should be let go...

Alcohol can make a person do things he/she would not normaly do. I am
speaking from expererince as I drank for many years be fore I got married.
I use to Ride the railroad tracks ( tires on top ) from Humble toward Houston
for 3 miles and the only way I would have enough nerve to do such an idiotic
thing was to be well drunk. There was many other things I did that I would not
have done if I hadn't been drinking but this was the worst.

stevie_d_64 wrote:The problem is there is NO enforcement...But then again what can you do about it, unless you actually see it, and who is doing it....

You are right about the enforcement. I witnessed my longstanding nuisance neighbors shooting into the air this past New Years. I heard the shots, ran upstairs to look out the window and could see the guy reloading. He emptied the gun into the air and proceeded to reload and repeat.

I called 911 and it rang with no answer for at least 3 minutes (comforting right?). A few minutes later 4 Sheriff's Deputies arrived and I explained that I had personally seen a man shooting in the air, but could not identify who it was as it was dark. I told them exactly where the man was standing, in hopes they would look for spent casings, but they never even entered the back yard and were gone within a few minutes.

ghentry wrote: I witnessed my longstanding nuisance neighbors shooting into the air this past New Years. I heard the shots, ran upstairs to look out the window and could see the guy reloading. He emptied the gun into the air and proceeded to reload and repeat.

And you didn't shoot back?

llwatson wrote:

ghentry wrote: I witnessed my longstanding nuisance neighbors shooting into the air this past New Years. I heard the shots, ran upstairs to look out the window and could see the guy reloading. He emptied the gun into the air and proceeded to reload and repeat.

And you didn't shoot back?

that was the first thing I thought of!

that's where a camera-phone is handy!

You know...As stupid as this sounds...And it depends on how passionate you feel about it...

I'd get my camera (digital, camcorder, cell phone etc etc) charged up and ready to record with a fresh tape, or plenty of memory...

Keep it handy, and record the incidents as best and as safe as you can, documenting any witnesses that are right there with you to confirm your activities...Make sure the correct date time stamp is on the recording as well...

Keep plenty of spare tapes available for each incident...

I dunno, maybe its not so hot an idea...