Shooting of Darren Goforth

Shooting of Darren Goforth
Time c. 8:20 p.m.
Date August 28, 2015 (2015-08-28)
Location Cypress, Texas, U.S.
Participants Darren Goforth, Shannon J. Miles
Casualties
Darren Goforth
Deaths 1
Suspect(s) Shannon J. Miles
Charges Capital murder

On August 28, 2015, at approximately 8:30 p.m., Harris County sheriff's deputy Darren Goforth was shot and killed in Cypress, Texas, while pumping gas. A 30-year-old man named Shannon Miles, who held a minor criminal history prior to the shooting, was named as the prime suspect. He was arrested the next day and charged with capital murder in relation to Goforth's death, but on February 9, 2016 he was ruled incompetent to stand trial. The shooting sparked discussions over other deaths of police officers in the line of duty.

Backgrounds

Darren Goforth

Darren H. Goforth[1] (c. 1968 – August 28, 2015)[2] was 47 years old when he was killed. He was a ten-year veteran of the Harris County Sheriff's Office.[3] Goforth was married to a woman named Kathleen,[4] and he had two children,[5] aged five and twelve at the time of his death.[3] About thirty minutes before the shooting, he had investigated a car accident but investigators do not believe that the accident was related to the shooting.[6]

Shannon Miles

Shannon J. Miles was a native of Cypress,[7] who lived about 0.5 miles (0.8 km) from the crime scene. Miles attended the Prairie View A&M University from fall 2003 to spring 2004 and the University of Houston in 2011 or 2012.[8][9] He had an arrest record dating back to 2005.[9] It consisted mostly of minor misdemeanor arrests, including resisting arrest, criminal mischief, trespassing, evading detention, and disorderly conduct with a firearm.[10][11] Two of his arrests involved him using force against the arresting officers.[12] According to his mother and one of his defense attorneys, Miles had a lifelong history of mental illness.[9]

In 2012, Miles was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in connection to an incident in which he attacked a man at an Austin homeless shelter over control of a television remote. He was found mentally incompetent to stand trial and was sent to North Texas State Hospital for six months, after which a second evaluation found him to be mentally competent. However, the charge was dropped after authorities could not find the assault victim.[13]

Shooting

At approximately 8:30 p.m., Goforth pulled into a Chevron gas station at the intersection of West Road and Telge Road in Cypress,[5] a town about 25 miles from downtown Houston. While he was filling up his car with gas, a black male in a red Ford Ranger walked up behind him and shot him repeatedly in the back of the head. The man then walked towards Goforth and shot him several more times in the back and head to ensure his death. The gunman fired a total of fifteen shots, emptying his firearm and killing Goforth. The attack appeared to be completely unprovoked.[8] The gun used to murder Goforth was described as a large handgun.[6][14]

Arrest and legal proceedings

The next morning, Miles was brought in for questioning as a person of interest after investigators linked his car to the one driven by the killer.[8] He was arrested and charged with capital murder after a Smith & Wesson .40-caliber handgun discovered in a baseball bag in Miles's garage was confirmed through ballistics tests to be the same one used to kill Goforth. Several items were seized from the home by police, including clothes matching the ones said to be worn by the shooter and 34 live rounds of ammunition. Authorities do not believe anyone else was involved in the killing. The ongoing investigation has been marred by police and judicial misconduct. Harris County Deputy Craig Clopton was fired on October 24, 2015, for inappropriate sexual misconduct toward a witness in the case; Presiding Judge Denise Collins recused herself for undisclosed reasons; and if Deputy Goforth was at the gas station to meet his mistress—instead of for the purpose of fueling his patrol car, which would have been official business—then the death penalty could be taken off the table for the suspect. [3][15][16]

On February 10, 2016, the Harris County Sheriff's Office fired another deputy, Marc De Leon, involved in the investigation.[17] Harris County Sheriff Ron Hickman said that De Leon was fired for being untruthful to investigators, but some Houston media outlets are reporting that De Leon also had a consensual sexual relationship with the witness.[18] The Houston Chronicle reported on February 10 that a third HCSO deputy is also under investigation for having a sexual relationship with the same witness.

Miles was charged with capital murder and held without bond.[9] He is expected to plead not guilty to the charge.[1] His mother claimed that her son had been shopping with her at the time of the shooting.[19]

Aftermath

Reactions

Governor Greg Abbott declared in a statement that "heinous and deliberate crimes against law enforcement" would not be tolerated. Harris County district attorney Devon Anderson said she felt it was time for the silent majority to come out and support law enforcement. She also said, "There are a few bad apples in every profession, that does not mean that there should be open warfare declared on law enforcement."[3] Harris County Sheriff Ron Hickman denounced the shooting as "senseless and cowardly" and stated that while investigators were not aware of a motive at the moment, it appeared that Goforth was targeted "because he wore a uniform."[6]

The shooting drew comparisons to the shooting deaths of two officers with the New York City Police Department, which occurred the year before. The shooting also brought criticism of the Black Lives Matter movement, alleging that they were responsible for inspiring the attack. Hickman stated, "We've heard 'black lives matter.' All lives matter. Well, cops' lives matter, too. So why don't we just drop the qualifier and just say 'lives matter,' and take that to the bank."[3]

Texas State Representative Garnet Coleman (D) criticized Hickman and Anderson for "politicizing a death that, I don't know that anyone knows what was in the mind of the shooter." Activist DeRay Mckesson tweeted that it was "sad that some have chosen to politicize this tragedy by falsely attributing the officer's death to a movement seeking to end violence."[3]

Hickman's office has previously been involved in its own fair share of serious scandals, both as sheriff and as Precinct 4 constable, including having both Goforth involved with a mistress and then a deputy homicide investigator have sex with the same mistress. Additionally, while constable, one of his deputies was charged with official oppression for beating a civilian while another was accused of partaking in an interstate witness tampering attempt. While Sheriff, and after the shooting, Sheriff Hickman has continued to use his power to allegedly tamper with witnesses engaging in legal activities, later by arresting a woman for posting pictures online of alleged animal cruelty.

In the aftermath of the shooting, Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz stated that U.S. President Barack Obama and officials in the Obama administration had partial moral responsibility for Goforth's death. Cruz blamed what he labeled as efforts to "vilify law enforcement" and stated that Obama had remained "silent" on the murder. Cruz's comments brought criticism from commentators in progressive publications such as Mother Jones and The Texas Observer,[20][21] while conservative publications such as Right Wing News expressed support for Cruz.[22]

Funeral service

On September 4, a funeral service for Goforth took place at the Second Baptist Church Houston. Thousands of mourners were in attendance, including police officers and other law enforcement personnel from various parts of the U.S. Flags in Texas were flown at half-staff.[1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Karimi, Faith (September 4, 2015). "A final salute for Texas deputy sheriff shot to death at gas station". CNN. Retrieved September 6, 2015.
  2. ↑ Darren Goforth, findagrave.com Retrieved December 7, 2015
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Fernandez, Manny (August 29, 2015). "Texas Deputy Killed ‘Because He Wore a Uniform,’ Sheriff Says". nytimes.com. New York Times. Retrieved August 29, 2015.
  4. ↑ Karimi, Faith (August 30, 2015). "Wife of slain Texas deputy describes him as 'blend of toughness and gentility'". CNN.com. CNN. Retrieved August 30, 2015.
  5. 1 2 "Deputy Sheriff Darren H. Goforth". odmp.org. Officer Down Memorial Page. Retrieved August 30, 2015.
  6. 1 2 3 Sanchez, Ray (August 29, 2015). "Suspect arrested in 'execution-style' killing of Texas deputy sheriff". CNN.com. CNN. Retrieved August 29, 2015.
  7. ↑ Johnson, M. Alex (August 31, 2015). "Darren Goforth Shooting: Mom of Suspect Shannon Miles Gives Shopping Alibi". nbcnews.com. NBC News. Retrieved September 2, 2015.
  8. 1 2 3 Chuck, Elizabeth (August 29, 2015). "Texas Deputy Slaying: Suspect Shannon Miles Charged in Killing of Darren Goforth". nbcnews.com. NBC. Retrieved August 29, 2015.
  9. 1 2 3 4 "Houston 'cop killer' has a history of 'severe mental illness' and was once declared incompetent to stand trial". dailymail.co.uk. Daily Mail. September 1, 2015. Retrieved September 2, 2015.
  10. ↑ "SHANNON J. MILES CHARGED WITH MURDER IN AMBUSH OF HOUSTON AREA DEPUTY". abc7chicago.com. WLS-TV. August 29, 2015. Retrieved September 2, 2015.
  11. ↑ "Shannon Miles: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". heavy.com. Heavy. August 31, 2015. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  12. ↑ "HCSO: Man charged in death of deputy". khou.com. KHOU. August 30, 2015. Retrieved September 2, 2015.
  13. ↑ Ellis, Ralph; Lavandera, Ed; McLaughlin, Eliott C. (September 1, 2015). "Suspect in deputy's killing found mentally incompetent in 2012, prosecutor says". CNN.com. CNN. Retrieved September 2, 2015.
  14. ↑ "Prosecutor: Gunman shot Texas deputy 15 times". cbsnews.com. CBS News. August 31, 2015. Retrieved September 2, 2015.
  15. ↑ Noll, Scott (September 18, 2015). "Search warrants detail how detectives found Goforth's alleged killer". KHOU. Retrieved September 18, 2015.
  16. ↑ Cerota, Andy (September 18, 2015). "New details about man accused of killing Deputy Darren Goforth". KPRC Houston. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
  17. ↑ "Sheriff's office fires another deputy accused of relationship with Goforth witness". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2016-02-11.
  18. ↑ Cooper, Nakia. "Deputy terminated after having relationship with mistress of Deputy Goforth". KPRC. Retrieved 2016-02-11.
  19. ↑ Robinson, Julian; Corcoran, Kieran (August 31, 2015). "'He was with me': Mom provides an 'alibi' for gunman who 'assassinated Texas deputy' in killing that police chief has blamed on anti-cop rhetoric promoted by Black Lives Matter". dailymail.co.uk. Daily Mail. Retrieved September 2, 2015.
  20. ↑ Oh, Inae (September 2, 2015). "Ted Cruz Blames President Obama for Inciting Murder of Texas Cop". motherjones.com. Mother Jones. Retrieved September 2, 2015.
  21. ↑ Hooks, Christopher (September 2, 2015). "In Houston, Ted Cruz Faults Obama for Cop Killings". texasobserver.org. The Texas Observer. Retrieved September 2, 2015.
  22. ↑ Monroe-Hamilton, Terresa (September 2, 2015). "Ted Cruz Connects the Dots and Calls Out Obama for Racial Cop Killing in Houston". rightwingnews.com. Right Wing News. Retrieved September 2, 2015.
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