Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare has dismissed charges against eight former police officers involved in the Harding Street raid, citing insufficient evidence for conviction. The decision has led to heated exchanges with former DA Kim Ogg, who accuses Teare of undermining accountability.
In October of last year, now-former Harris County District Attorney Ogg, a Democrat, reindicted eight former Houston Police Department officers in connection with an alleged overtime corruption scandal. This came just weeks after Gerald Goines, the HPD officer responsible for the controversial 2019 Harding Street raid, was sentenced to 60 years in prison, with the possibility of parole in 30 years. Goines was convicted on two counts of felony murder.
The Harding Street raid took place on January 28, 2019, when HPD conducted a no-knock raid on the home of Dennis Tuttle and his wife, Rhogena Nicholas. The raid was authorized based on a fabricated story from Goines, who initially claimed he had witnessed an informant purchasing heroin from Tuttle. Later, Goines changed his story, claiming he was the one who had bought the drugs. Regardless of his conflicting statements, the judge later admitted that the raid would not have been authorized if not for Goines’ claims. The raid resulted in the tragic deaths of Tuttle, Nicholas, and their dog, as well as injury to five HPD officers.
On Thursday, Democrat Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare decided to drop all charges against the eight former officers involved in the case, citing a lack of sufficient evidence to secure convictions.
Teare wrote, “Nothing about these dismissals changes the fact that the Harding Street raid should have never happened. As the chief law enforcement officer of Harris County, I want people to know that we remain steadfast in our commitment to uncovering and addressing corruption wherever it may be found – but we will always be guided by the facts, not politics.”
In addition to dropping the charges, Teare criticized the handling of the case under Kim Ogg’s administration, suggesting that the charges were kept alive to generate sensational headlines.
He stated, “These charges were kept on life-support by the previous District Attorney to generate headlines, damaging the reputations of the officers and the Houston Police Department, and they inevitably fell apart under the weight of the truth. As District Attorney, I am determined to pursue real justice instead of using the lives of innocent public servants to score political points.”
Ogg has since voiced her opposition to the dismissals, telling Houston Public Media, “This pattern of dismissing corruption cases without letting a Harris County jury hear the facts is shaping up to be an epic failure in public accountability, courtesy of the new DA, Sean Teare.”
Here is the list of the officers involved, along with the charges that have been dropped:
- Hodgie Bernard Armstrong Jr: Tampering with records, theft by a public servant, and engaging in organized criminal activity.
- Thomas Alan Wood: Tampering with records, theft by a public servant, and engaging in organized criminal activity.
- Clemente Robles Reyna Jr: Tampering with records, theft by a public servant, and engaging in organized criminal activity.
- Frank Medina: Engaging in organized criminal activity.
- Oscar Pardo: Engaging in organized criminal activity.
- Griff Maxwell: Engaging in organized criminal activity.
- Nadeem Ashraf: Engaging in organized criminal activity.
- Felipe Gallegos: Engaging in organized criminal activity.
When the charges were reintroduced last October, one figure was absent from the reindictment: Cedell Lovings, an officer who was left paralyzed following the Harding Street raid.
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