Last year, six agents were charged, including Gerald Goines, accused of lying to get a warrant, and Steven Bryant, accused of tampering with government documents.
Six other officers were charged Monday, according to a statement from Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg. Those agents face a variety of charges, including murder, tampering with government files, and participating in organized criminal activities.
The raid took place on January 28, 2019, when a tactical team raided the home of Rhogena Nicholas and Dennis Tuttle, who were both killed along with their dogs. Several Houston officers on the team were injured in the raid, including Goines.
“The consequences of corruption are that two innocent people and their dogs were shot in their homes by the police; four officers were shot, one paralyzed, and now they will all face jurors who will determine their fate,” Oggs statement said.
The Civil Rights Division of the Harris County District Attorney’s Office investigated the raid and determined that Goines had lied to obtain a warrant for a “no-knock” raid from a municipal judge, and misrepresented the case. drug activities, threat level and other factors of the victims. He alleged that a criminal informant had bought heroin from a man at the address the day before and that the man who sold drugs was known to have a gun.
Last year, prosecutors said Bryant had misrepresented the facts surrounding the scene and the purchase of the drugs. Bryant added to the original report that contained falsehoods, the prosecutor said.
The investigation also found that agents “were involved in a long-term plan to steal overtime from the city,” Ogg said.
According to court documents, former Houston police officer Felipe Gallegos was charged with Tuttle’s death. His lawyer, Rusty Hardin, said on Tuesday that Gallegos only started shooting during the raid after two other officers had already been shot.
“A Harris County grand jury has charged a hero at the request of the district attorney,” Hardin said. “It appears that they (Tuttle and Nicholas) as claimed were innocent of drug activity on that scene. But once they started shooting, or as soon as Mr. Tuttle started shooting, he was not innocent. And there is no doubt, and “No one will argue with that. Mr. Tuttle started firing at the officers.”
“I have often said that the other officers involved in the incident, including the officer indicted today, were not involved in obtaining the order and responded appropriately to the deadly threat posed to them while on duty, Acevedo said, adding that all current active officers charged were relieved.
CNN’s Konstantin Toropin contributed to this report.