A man walking in the middle lane of Aldine Bender Road in North Houston, heading westbound, was hit and killed by a Houston police officer late Wednesday night.
Investigators say the incident happened right around midnight, and they were called to the scene at 1 a.m.
“This is not a well-lit area, but we’ve got to figure out all of the different facets that went into this crash,” says Sean Teare, Vehicular Crimes Division Chief, Harris County Sherriff’s Office.
Three different agencies are investigating what happened. Teare said the officer was responding to a non-emergency call without his sirens. A major aspect of the investigation, Teare said, is determining how fast the officer was going.
“Our understanding right now, is that the officer was responding to a call,” Teare said. “It wasn’t what we call a code one, so he was not utilizing his lights and sirens. And because of that, it doesn’t appear that speed was a factor at this time, but we don’t have a definitive speed yet.”
The Houston Police Department would not disclose to Houston Public Media what type of non-emergency call the officer was responding to, citing an active and ongoing investigation.
According to the Houston Police Department’s policy, there are nine different types of calls that go out to Houston Police officers. Emergency lights and sirens are only required for a priority one – or code one – call when it is assumed that “the potential of serious bodily injury is in progress.”
Investigators are currently going through surveillance footage to help them in the investigation.
Teare says the case will eventually be handed off to a grand jury, who will determine if charges will be filed.
