HOUSTON – It was Jan. 28 when Houston police officers forced their way into the home of Dennis Tuttle and Rhogena Nicholas with a warrant based on the word of an informant and a police officer. The problem is that the “informant” did not exist and, according to Houston police Chief Art Acevedo, the officer lied about the informant and the alleged reasons for the no-knock warrant in the first place.
Acevedo is a guest on this week’s "Houston Newsmakers with Khambrel Marshall" and says he sensed something was wrong when he arrived at the scene.
“To be honest with you, I was actually asking for the search warrant and the affidavit at the scene, which really ruffled some feathers,” he said. “But for a police chief that actually knows what he’s doing and is engaged, we wouldn’t be having a conversation about the things that we might have done wrong and did wrong in that raid.”
Acevedo says a wide-ranging investigation continues and its results should be public in about six weeks. He says when it’s complete, it will show a number of important results.
“I believe when people see how this all came about -- how we found it, how this chief asked the tough questions that I can tell you prior chiefs might not have asked -- they’re going to say, 'You know what? It was a tragedy. It was outrageous. What happened was wrong, but the department did right.'”
Watch more of Acevedo's interview in the Newsmakers Extra video below.
Free 'Getting Down to Business' program to help small businesses
Tiffany Taylor-Hicks took part in the 2017 Capitol One Bank “Getting Down to Business” program. She has continued to participate and this year is a strategic partner as the bank seeks to enroll 16 small business owners in its six-month project to help businesses prosper.
The deadline for applying is March 27. The application can be found here. The program that will meet weekly starting April 25.
Watch all these stories during Houston Newsmakers on KPRC at 10 a.m. Sunday.
Newsmakers Extra
More information
Chief Art Acevedo - Houston Police Department
Acevedo's bio
713-884-3131 or 311
Twitter: @ArtAcevedo
Tiffany Taylor-Hicks - Velvet Rope Experience/Capitol One Bank Get Down to Business Program
Program application
832-670-8038
Email: tiffany@velvetropeexperience.com