Sheriff’s deputy fatally shot in Houston while pumping gas in his patrol car

[TexasTowelie]

Source: AP

HOUSTON — A sheriff’s deputy in uniform was shot and killed Friday night while filling up his patrol car at a suburban Houston gas station, according to authorities.

Deputy Darren Goforth, 47, was pumping gas into his vehicle when a man approached him from behind and fired multiple shots, Harris County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Ryan Sullivan told The Associated Press. Once the deputy fell to the ground, the suspect fired more shots.

Goforth was a 10-year veteran of the force.

Police described the suspect as a male with a dark complexion, about 5-foot-10 to 6-feet tall, wearing a white T-shirt and red shorts and driving a red or maroon pickup-style truck with an extended cab. They said an intensive search for the suspect remained ongoing Saturday morning.

Read more: http://www.dallasnews.com/news/crime/headlines/20150829-sheriffs-deputy-fatally-shot-in-houston-while-pumping-gas-in-his-patrol-car.ece

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Cross-posted in the Texas Group.

[C Moon]

1. Awful!

[jtuck004]

2. Said they arrested a suspect after a tip about 2:30 am their time

http://abc13.com/news/hcso-deputy-fatally-shot-at-gas-station-in-nw-harris-county/961336/

[the_sly_pig]

3. Guilty until proven innocent for wearing a uniform.

Disgusting. Where is the outrage? Where is the condemnation? Where are the protests? This too is a hate crime.

[trumad]

4. And you know this how?

[the_sly_pig]

58. Really?

If it looks like a duck and it walks like a duck, it's a duck. If this guy was looking to commit murder he could have chosen anyone. He didn't. He chose someone wearing a uniform which is equally as pathetic as shooting someone due to the color of their skin.

I feel the silence of the condemnation of this act by national leaders is deafening. It's a hate crime, and hate is hate.

[trumad]

65. And you know this how?

[Helen Borg]

5. We don't know that...

[rainy]

6. What should the protest signs read?

Should they be against big pharma for drugging our citizens with dangerous drugs that make then homocidal and suicidal? The NRA for keeping too many guns in drugged up people's hands? What should our protest be about?

[the_sly_pig]

60. The cowardly act of murdering someone for being a cop.

Don't obfuscate the issue. This is a hate crime, plain and simple. My post was rhetorical to make a point.

The signs should read "Blue lives matter" if that is what is most important to you in this discussion.

[ncjustice80]

14. Becuase they are part of the systemic system of abuse against the poor and minorities.

People are sick and tired of the abuse/murder heaped upon black and low income communities by law enforcement. And unlike all the killers in uniforms, this man's murderer will actually go to jail for his sick crime.

[S_B_Jackson]

44. Where he will sit for approximately 10.87 years until his

well-deserved sentence is carried out at the Polunsky Unit located at 12002 FM 350 South, Livingston, TX 77351.

[the_sly_pig]

61. "They"

That is where you lose the argument. Murder is murder and hate is hate.

Homogenizing any group is bigotry and I believe institutional racism exists.

However, that does not excuse the fact this deputy was murdered for wearing a uniform while pumping gas, regardless of any other situation anywhere in the country. It deserves resounding condemnation from all sectors of our society and I'm not hearing it.

[Taitertots]

18. There is no need for protests. Do you think the shooter will go unpunished?

People wouldn't be protesting police abuse if the cases where cops are beating/murdering innocent people received equal treatment to this case.

[Supersedeas]

42. False equivalency

Institutional racism is not the same as random acts of violence.

[Chemisse]

23. Why should there be protests?

A stricken police officer is always given respect. The murder of a cop is intensely investigated and prosecuted, and the penalties are often far greater than those for anyone else's murder.

So what is there to protest? That some unknown person killed a cop for some unknown reason? What would be the demands of the protesters?

This is just not comparable to the situation in which the men and women we pay to protect and serve their communities rough up and kill members of this community. We are literally paying some of these cops to kill unarmed people, who are disproportionately black! In this case there IS something that can be done to stop it.

[bucolic_frolic]

7. Let me throw this out there ..........

is there a common thread or motivation to all these shootings?

we hear lots of explanations

does FRUSTRATION fit the bill as a general root cause of feeling no other
solution than to grab a gun and pull the trigger?

Shooters feel blocked from something .... significant dialogue perhaps with family,
economic opportunity, perceived social justice, pop culture fame ... is this
getting anywhere?

Then their frustration, their perceived dehumanization and devaluation turns to
RAGE and HATRED. They reach an overflow point, like water building up in a dam.

Is our culture breeding these feelings? Most people would do something to soothe
themselves, watch a movie, grab a pizza, drink ... but these folks just build
frustration and anger.

Do you see other root causes, what feelings are MOTIVATING gunmen?

Surely for these off the charts mentally unstable guns are too easy to own and
they should not have them.

[Sunlei]

10. hundreds of thousands of very angry people in and out of USA prison system.

Untreated PTS in all those kept in USA prisons, every single person.

Even President Obama pointed out in his visit to the 'top flight', best ranked' prison he visited,

"3 men live in a 9x10 cell"

[bucolic_frolic]

12. Very True

but so many have never been in prison before they create their
violent event

[Sunlei]

13. all it takes is one family member to be 'in the system' to destroy an entire family. Our society cre

Our society created this over many, many decades.

I don't know what the answer is or how to fix it.

More tickets, more police, more stops every time a person leaves their dwelling, more road blocks, more street stops to check pockets, more 'excuses' to breakdown the homes door and charge inside... that doesn't seem to work at all. Seems to make people more desperate, make families more decompiled.

[Sunlei]

8. What a tragety. I think police need to go back to two officers in a car.

The USA has a well armed and a very divisive society.

[DamnYankeeInHouston]

30. That is one of the first things I noticed

when I moved to Houston from the Northeast in 1980. I couldn't believe cops rode around by themselves.

[Sunlei]

34. yet if there is trouble 50 police will be standing around, most idle. A very poor use of resourse$

To go alone isn't 'safe' even for civies, police should be in teams its always safer to 'bring a friend'

[Taitertots]

38. And cut the effectiveness of their patrols in half

In a misguided attempt to prevent a crime that is already rare.

[Sunlei]

46. patrols? to follow a 'target' until they don't turn single on 100 feet from a turn off. because

they're nervous a police officer follows them as they drive through his 'patrol' route.

Everything else, the cars stickers are already scanned through the police computers and the car is revealed to be legal. This is done while the single officer follows his 'target'.

Todays 'patrols' aren't for community safety, they're intended to stop the car and get at the people inside the car.

Wrong of police management to send a single officer on their 'stop and frisk' random people 'patrols'.

[Taitertots]

48. I want effective policing too. Not revenue collecting on trivial infractions.

When they do need to respond to an emergency, do you want half as many units distributed across the area that they need to cover?

Emergencies are not rare, random police shootings are extremely rare. How much longer do you want to wait when you call the police?

[Sunlei]

50. It's wrong to allow police to "stop & frisk" everyone*, they abuse 'personal discretion'

*people in cars too.

[ColesCountyDem]

43. In an ambush situation, it very likely wouldn't matter.

Not meaning to be disrespectful, but if there were two officers in a scenario like this, it would be quite likely that one officer would be pumping gas while the other officer went inside to get snacks, beverages or maybe use the restroom. It's what virtually every duo, police officer or civilian, does at a convenience store.

[thebighobgoblin]

9. Just reminds us of how dangerous that job is

I absolutely agree that most police departments are in need of serious reform, particularly in the area of training as it relates to first response to a potentially hostile situation. That being said, I think it's nevertheless important to remember that cops react in real time to situations that can become deadly in the blink of an eye. Over the past year, we've seen a number of high profile events involving police officers. In a lot of cases, I find fault with the officers and their training as the rest of us probably do. But in some cases, I think it's fair to say that the victims didn't always conduct themselves in a way that deescalated the situation either.

[Sunlei]

11. It's dangerous to stop for gas late at night no matter who you are. Don't go alone.

[thebighobgoblin]

15. It's especially dangerous at night when its your *job* to confront people who could be armed...

and violent

[Sunlei]

21. Especially when you're part of a 'group' who is 'outright hated' by so many people in our society.

our easy guns for everyone society doesn't help either.

[ncjustice80]

16. It isn't a dangerous job. That is a myth.

Not even in the top ten for most dangerous jobs according to national bureau of labor statistics. And most of those deaths are car accidents. I honestly don't even see why this is national news, other than an attempt to hype up some phony "war on cops" to justify more brutality. Good to hear they caught the shooter though.

[7962]

17. Because any story of a cop shooting someone gets national attention

This cop wasnt even involved in an incident, he was executed. If you cant understand how that gets national attention, I cant help u

[ncjustice80]

19. Well, I stated why.

I just don't think it is DESERVING of national attention. It creates the perception of a problem that doesn't exist. How many black men and women did Texas kill this year, and no one suffered any consequences?

[AnPak]

20. Do you know the answer?

[romanic]

31. Why even compare the two?

[TeddyR]

55. "Texas"

Didn't kill anyone. A police officer who is tasked with protecting the public and who has to deal with a bunch of crappy situations -- drunk drivers, domestic violence, etc. -- on a day to day basis was gunned down from behind by some coward who hopefully will get the death penalty.

[ncjustice80]

72. Advocating the death penalty?

You sure you on the right website? I suggest you review the TOS.

[Sunlei]

22. I think working with livestock or being President of USA are the 2 most dangerous jobs

just my opinion.

[Joe Chi Minh]

24. It's not normally so dangerous; about 7th in the list of lethal occupations.

Garbage collectors come top and taxi drivers rank highly too. The stress on their heart I expect would be the cause.

It if becomes any kind of low-intensity war, any war, there will be good police as well as bad hit, as war is always a blunt instrument.

[Sunlei]

25. IMO, if Police & prisons start to get rid of their worse 'in public', this 'problem' will get better

right now no, the good protect their rotten fruits like they're beloved brothers.

[thebighobgoblin]

33. Getting an education and a job wouldn't hurt either.

[Sunlei]

35. for who? police?

[Joe Chi Minh]

37. A simple but true analysis, imo. But a big ask, when racist oppression is so extensively

institutionalized.

We had a major problem in London of institutionalized criminality in the police, 'instituionalised' being the term used in the report into it by the Operation Countryman team. Note the 'country bumpkin' imputation. Of course, it occurred during the interregnum of the Leaderene, Baroness Lady Cardboard. Who else? A total cover-up in the end, though a lot of heads rolled (while relatively few given the number of villains).

[Sunlei]

39. you're right. Some heads must roll. But just a simple change like body cams on all authority

will 'force' a change for the better without having to make all the 'worse, most corrupt, rotten heads roll.

I agree with what Mrs. Clinton said last month, "We can't change hearts" but we can change policies.

[Joe Chi Minh]

54. I agree with what Mrs. Clinton said last month, "We can't change hearts" but we can change policies'

Also true. But failure to produce the film for any reason would have to incur automatic dismissal in the event of a controversy.

[TeddyR]

56. So the 7th deadliest job in the US

Isn't "so dangerous"? Seems pretty dangerous to me.

[7962]

57. Really. 7th out of hundreds or thousands of possible jobs

[thebighobgoblin]

26. Wow, just wow

So rather than acknowledging the tragedy and how dangerous police work is in an armed society, one could be forgiven for reaching the conclusion that there's a certain level of callousness reflected among the so-called progressive wing of our party.

Well let's get one thing straight: your wing of the party will NEVER get elected. Ever.

[Joe Chi Minh]

29. Off your meds again? How many times have I told you about it?

[thebighobgoblin]

32. As I said, your worldview will never be represented. Enjoy posting here, I guess.

[Joe Chi Minh]

27. In the majority, if not all the incidents in the news, I don't recall one

in which the officer could be said to have been at risk.

Those responsible are criminal lowlifes in the police, nicely in tune, too, with their judicial authorities. The civil populace in the US that supplies these maleficent functionaries, needs sorting out, for that matter, root and branch.

But, like gun control, it's surely too late, now. It will take a cataclysm to purge US culture of the cults of Mammon and Moloch, and plain racist knuckle-draggers.

[Igel]

28. The guy they arrested lives less than a mile from where the shooting happened.

With the usual statement by the mother that he was innocent and was with her the entire time, didn't go out.

If they find conclusive evidence that it was him, that bit should be remembered: That she was an idiot and lied to cover up a murder, or acted as an accomplice after the fact. That she was more interested in protecting her family, the group closest to her, than in being concerned about justice.

Which is, after all, what we say is so horrible about other groups who protect their own instead of being worried about truth and justice.

[underthematrix]

36. Isn't TEXAS an open carry state?

[christx30]

41. Open carry vs not isn't really a factor here.

The officer would have been open carrying while in uniform. And the murderer, being a criminal, wouldn't have given a crap one way or another. At most, he may have concealed the weapon until he got within range so he wouldn't get stopped.

[underthematrix]

66. Oh but open carry has everything to do with this case. the point of open carry is that

EVERYONE gets to open carry, not just angry white folks. This is why open carry is such a dangerous policy, especially for police officers. This officer was not engaged with the shooter. He was just gassing up his patrol car and now he's dead. Wny would someone set up an environment even more dangerous for law enforcement. Now that's crazy.

BTW, I don't think the shooter had a criminal record. I also think it is very interesting that he turned himself in. And unlike other shooters, I can't find any information on his background. Usually we get that information the next day.

[christx30]

68. Update on the shooter:

HOUSTON, Texas – Authorities in Harris County have identified the alleged killer of a Harris County Sheriff’s Deputy as Shannon Juruary Miles, 31. Breitbart Texas has learned that Miles has an extensive history with law enforcement in Harris County.

Miles is the registered owner of the 2002 red Ford Ranger that law enforcement appeared to search on Friday night outside the home where Miles lives. The Ford was being sought after police obtained security video from the gas station where Deputy Darren Goforth was killed. They also had a description of the vehicle from witnesses.

Miles is being charged with capital murder involving the killing of a police officer.

His criminal history:

02/03/2009 – Harris County – Metro – Resist Arrest/Search – Nolo Contender – 6 days jail
05/12/2007 – Harris County – HCSO – Criminal Trespass – property of Debra Dahlman – Guilty – 10 days jail
05/03/2007 – Harris County – Jersey Village PD – Evading Arrest – Guilty – 10 days jail (credit for some time in)
12/31/2006 – Harris County – HPD – Disorderly Conduct (discharging firearm) – Guilty – 15 days jail
10/02/2005 – Harris County – HCSO – Evading Detention (dismissed and refiled as) Resist Arrest/Search – Guilty – 8 days jail
07/04/2005 – Harris County – HCSO – Criminal Mischief destruction of property $50 – $500 (was originally a Felony but was reduced to a Misdemeanor) (the complainant was Peggy O’Neal who is the registered owner of the house where Miles lives. O’Neal is also listed on Miles Facebook page.) – Guilty – 3 days jail
02/15/2005 – Harris County – U of H PD – Fail to Identify giving False Info – Guilty – 4 days


So he was illegally carrying at the time of the shooting. So what law could have prevented the shooting? Just him touching the gun was illegal. Did that stop him? No. He got his hands on the gun somewhere. I guess we'll find out were that was. But the criminal didn't care about gun laws, or laws against murder. Weird.

[underthematrix]

69. Thank you for getting this. It looks like all of his convictions are for misdemeanors.

Are any of them Class B misdemeanors, which would prevent him from getting a concealed weapons permit but not necessarily from getting a gun. He could have obtained the gun legally from a gun show or over the internet. i don't know what you need to obtain a gun in Texas. Is there a law in Texas that all firearms have to be registered? However he obtained the gun, those who facilitated his access to the gun should also be charged with capital murder. Just by charging the facilitator of the murder, we could probably cut gun violence in half.

[christx30]

70. Checked out the first two:

Resisting arrest/search is a class C misdemeanor. But criminal trespass is class A. Evading arrest is a class B.

So nothing about him having the gun was any where near legal.

[Marthe48]

40. Uniform or not

we all deserve to be safe being. Being safe in our homes, our cars, our schools, our streets, our churches, eating at a restaurant, pumping gas. Randomly killing a person in uniform isn't justice for Trayvon, Tamir, Susie, or Michael. All it does is add another name to the endless and growing list of gun victims.

[cannabis_flower]

45. This is the same police organization

that recently had been in the news for doing a cavity search for marijuana on a young black woman on the side of the road. Coincidence? Maybe not!

[Depaysement]

47. Not good

Another chucklehead like the guy who killed the reporter and cameraman in Virginia and the fool who assassinated two police officers in Bed-Stuy.

[jtuck004]

49. I might be missing something, but why are we hours out without an id on someone in custody?

Am I the only one who thought the shooter looked like he might have been another cop?

[Sunlei]

51. Now police were just on Houston news and they do not have a suspect. guess the person with red truck

was the wrong truck? The family police went after in their home at 2 am, weren't involved.

As of 1PM Houston time, No one in the store video who were witnesses stayed around or even called the police station or 911 to say they were a witness of this crime.

[Gothmog]

52. At press conference, the police are doubling rewards

That is a sign that they do not have a good suspect yet

[SwankyXomb]

53. First phrase that case to mind:

"Reaping the whirlwind."

[CaliforniaPeggy]

64. It's good that the guy was caught.

I am against the death penalty because it is wrong to kill another human being. It smacks of revenge. We are after justice, and there is no justice in killing another person.

[Cali_Democrat]

71. See? We need more gunz. The NRA was right.