HOUSTON — An off-duty Harris County Sheriff’s deputy working security shot a man in Midtown after the driver pinned him with his car to another vehicle, according to the Houston Police Department.
This happened around 1:30 a.m. Thursday in a parking lot outside of a bar on Main Street near McGowen Street.
Houston police said a 10-year veteran with the sheriff’s office was working security at the bar patrolling the parking when he spotted a suspicious vehicle he thought might be stolen. The vehicle, a burnt orange Dodge Charger, had just been towed.
The deputy tried to approach the driver when the man, who had just left the bar, aggressively tried to drive away, pinning the deputy into another car, police said. The deputy then fired two shots and hit the driver in the left hand.
Police said the driver tried to get away, but hit two parked cars, slammed into a gate, and then spun out. That is when deputies pulled him out of the car and took him into custody.
The driver who had been shot and the injured deputy were both taken to a hospital, police said. The deputy suffered a bruised right leg.
Police said there was another person in the passenger seat of the Charger that ran from the scene. They are not considered a person of interest.
The injured deputy involved in the shooting works with the sheriff’s Auto Theft Division, police said. Three other uniformed officers were working as security but were not involved in the incident.
The sheriff’s office is also reviewing the deputy’s bodycam.