Statement from HPD on Incident at 6600 Foster Street

July 22, 2007 - The Houston Police Department will commit all necessary resources to fully investigate the fatal shooting of Steven Guillory at 6600 Foster Street on Saturday (July 21).

This is a tragic event for the family, community and the Houston Police Department. The Houston Police Department has a great deal of sympathy for the Guillory family in their time of grief.

While many of our officers are members of the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) and received the required training, the events of last night highlight the increasing need for more mental health professionals and earlier intervention prior to police involvement.

The loss of life is always regrettable, however at this time, the circumstances presented on Saturday (July 21) at 6627 Foster Street did not offer an opportunity for CIT intervention. Responding officers exhibited incredible restraint, by initially retreating from Guillory’s deadly threat. Despite the repeated attack by Guillory on the officers, they managed to deploy the less-than-lethal Conductive Energy Device (Taser) without effect. During this deadly confrontation, Guillory continued to pursue officers with a deadly weapon, a large metal pipe. Guillory destroyed a police vehicle with the pipe, which depicts his overly aggressive behavior.

The Houston Police Department places the highest value on the preservation of life. We place no less value on the lives of officers who have to respond to these tragic events, as demonstrated by the injury received by Officer Richardson during this incident.

We ask the community to allow the review process to proceed fairly and objectively. This review process includes the HPD Homicide and Internal Affairs Divisions and the Harris County District Attorney’s office.

For additional information, please contact the HPD Public Affairs Division at 713-308-3200.