HPD releases body camera video of officer shooting that missed suspect, hit apartment

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Dramatic video from police body cameras shows the moment a Houston police officer fired his weapon while chasing a man accused of stealing a car. While the man was not injured, the officer’s bullet ended up hitting an apartment nearby.

The shooting happened on Aug. 25 at about 9 p.m. at 8701 Town Park Drive in the Sharpstown area.

The Houston Police Department said hours after a man, later identified as Lester Johnson, Jr., fired into the air and took his girlfriend’s car without permission, officers spotted it.

An attempted traffic stop turned into a short pursuit, which ended at the apartment complex in Sharpstown, according to police.

Video from the body-worn cameras of three officers was released Wednesday. It shows them jumping out of their units to catch the suspect. One of them, Officer P. Hoss, fired his weapon. That night, Commander Michael Collins reported preliminary information.

“As officers pursued the suspect through the parking lot, they observed him reach toward his waistband to possibly a concealed firearm,” Collins explained. “At that point, one officer discharged the weapon a single time.”

Officers searched the suspect for a possible bullet wound. He was not hit.

Instead, the bullet went through a nearby apartment window, through a bedroom, into a closet, and right through several shirts.

The man who lives there told his nephew normally would have been sleeping in the bed nearby. At least three others also call the apartment home. No one was hurt.

The entire incident is still being investigated. Whether the discharge was accidental or negligent has yet to be determined.

HPD said Hoss, a 15-year veteran, remains on administrative duty, as is standard protocol and not a punishment, a spokesman pointed out.

The department releases body-worn camera video of officer shootings within 30 days. It has been less than three weeks since this incident.

Johnson, 41, was charged with felony evading arrest in a motor vehicle and felon in possession of a firearm.