HOUSTON – When the suspect in the death of Nassau Bay police Sgt. Kaila Sullivan was briefly given $150,000 bail last week, it sparked outrage from local law enforcement officials including the Harris County sheriff, the Houston police chief and the president of the Houston Police Officer’s Union. As a result, the Harris County Commissioners Court is mulling action Tuesday against the magistrate judge who heard the case.
Background
Sullivan was killed during a traffic stop last week when a suspect she was trying to arrest escaped and ran her over with his vehicle. Officials said the suspect was 21-year-old Tavores Henderson and after a two-day manhunt spanning multiple counties, he was caught Thursday. That night, Magistrate Judge Colin Amann set his bond at $150,000 on the charge of felony murder that Henderson faced.
There was an immediate flood of indignant reactions from law enforcement officials. Houston police Chief Art Acevedo tweeted that “bail decisions need to (be) made on the basis of risk to public safety and of flight." Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez tweeted that the bail “just doesn’t make sense.” Joe Gamaldi with the Houston police union demanded that Amann resign.
RELATED READ: Houston lawyer breaks down how judges set bail
The next day, Henderson’s bail was revoked after his charge was upgraded to capital murder.
Harris County prosecutor Sean Teare explained that Henderson would never have been able to leave custody on the $150,000 bond because his bail on a previous felony charge had been revoked. However, the outrage continued.
“For the judge to allow any sort of bond, especially one this low, is imbecilic,” Gamaldi said in a statement. He demanded action be taken against Amann.
Tuesday in Commissioners Court
Harris County Precinct 4 Commissioner R. Jack Cagle introduced an agenda item Tuesday “for discussion and possible action regarding replacing or dismissing magistrates in light of the bond decision in the case of Tavores Henderson.”