Houston – A Houston police officer shot and killed a man Sunday afternoon in the Kashmere Gardens area.
Officers were called just after 2 p.m. to reports of a suspicious person with a weapon near a home on Wayne Street in northeast Houston.
Recommended Videos
According to Assistant Chief James Skelton, officers arrived to find a man, Larry Menifee Jr., armed with a weapon near two churches as parishioners were leaving services.
Police said officers set a perimeter and repeatedly ordered the man to drop the weapon. Skelton says the man raised the weapon, prompting one officer to fire. The man was pronounced dead at the scene.
The father of the 29-year-old man says his son should not be remembered as a suspect, but as a loving son struggling with mental illness.
Larry Menifee said his son struggled with bipolar disorder and couldn’t afford medication at times.
“Unfortunately, he did suffer from some mental issues, and that led up to the events,” said Menifee. “But as far as him being a criminal or a suspect or any of that, he was not. He was a very loving son — very compassionate. He loved his mother. He loved his sisters. He was a protector. He was not a criminal.”
Just hours before the shooting, Menifee said his son had shared hopeful news. He had recently started a new job and was excited about a fresh beginning.
“I told him God was blessing him,” his father said. “That was just this morning.”
The family says they wish mental health professionals had been involved before police arrived.
“They need medical professionals with these officers,” Menifee said. “They’re not trained to deal with these types of situations the way they should be. If someone had the right training and knew the right things to say, a lot of these situations would turn out differently.”
Skelton said the man had threatened family members inside a nearby home and attempted to enter the residence before officers arrived.
Police have not released details about whether the weapon was pointed directly at officers, saying that information will be addressed during the ongoing investigation.
One officer, a three-year veteran of the Houston Police Department’s Northeast Division, fired his weapon. Police say three separate investigations are now underway — by HPD’s Special Investigations Unit, Internal Affairs Division, and the Harris County District Attorney’s Office. Body-worn camera video is expected to be released within 30 days.