He dropped the criminal charge against the fired doctor, accused of stealing the COVID-19 vaccine bottle

HOUSTON – KPRC 2 has learned that the authorities have dropped the criminal charge against a local doctor accused of stealing a bottle of COVID-19 vaccine.

Paul Doyle, Dr. Hasan Gokal’s lawyer, shared this statement with a representative:

“We appreciate today’s result and now we will move our efforts towards an unfair termination process. As I stated publicly last week, a public health apology from Harris County and the Harris County District Attorney to Dr. Gokal and his family will not be enough. The agency despised the name of this good civil servant and took his job for no reason. Those responsible need to do more to do this right. We also sincerely hope that this incident will not discourage other front-line medical staff from doing their best to ensure that vaccines are not wasted. ”

KPRC 2 asked Harris County Health if Gokal would get his job back, but received no response from this writing.

Gokal allegedly faced a Class A offense, which carries a sentence of up to one year in prison and a $ 4,000 fine. Prior to his dismissal, he was being prosecuted by the Public Corruption Division of the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.

Harris District Attorney Kim Ogg said in a press release last week that Gokal stole the nine-dose vial while working at the Lyndsay Lyons Park County Vaccination Site in Humble on December 29, 2020.

Ogg said the case against Gokal was not over yet.

“All the evidence will probably be presented to a grand jury and probably the case can be determined by the grand jury. Judges do not have sole authority, “Ogg said.

For more information on this story, read our initial KPRC 2 report.