Houston domestic violence victim thanks officer who she says ‘saved my life’

Houston woman thanks officer who rescued her

A Houston woman who was being shot at is getting a chance to thank the man who saved her life. FOX 26's Damali Keith explains more and gets a chance to witness the reunion.

HOUSTON - A woman who was being shot at is getting a chance to thank the man who saved her life and our cameras were rolling for the reunion.

What an emotional reunion it was. Back in June 2023 when Cassie was literally running for her life on Houston's East End on Navigation Street, everyone just passed right by, except one man, a Houston police officer.

We were there four months later when Cassie saw HPD Officer Rogers again.

"Thank you so much for everything that you did that day," Cassie says choking back tears. "Oh, no problem," Officer Rogers answers and Cassie adds. "If you weren't there I don't know where I would be today. You saved my life."

Often after a domestic violence attack, especially one involving a gun, the victim doesn't live to tell about it.

"He shot at me like that. (Just from point-blank range?) Yeah, like that," Cassie demonstrates while standing just about three feet away.

In June, a day before her boyfriend was due in court on charges of choking her, Cassie says he attacked again.

"He hit me, and he pulled out the gun, and he shot at me twice. I was telling him ‘Why are you doing this?’ We were talking while he was shooting, and I made it out of the house and I ran for help. I ran for my life," Cassie explains and Officer Rogers adds.

"She was wearing a sundress. So, I was like that's kind of peculiar she's running with a sundress on. (So you knew she wasn't working out?) Exactly I knew she wasn't working out and then when she turned around she was crying."

Houston domestic violence deaths double in three years

October marks Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and a recent report from the University of Houston reveals a troubling doubling of domestic violence deaths in Houston and Harris County from 2019 to 2022.

Houston Police Officer Rogers immediately drove to her.

"And I was scared. I told him can he help me. I had actually managed to pick up two bullets after my boyfriend shot at me and I gave them to the officer," Cassie explains.

"I couldn't believe she had the two bullet casings. That's the rare part of it. As officers, we're rarely there when it happens live. Normally we get a call for service, someone calls 911, and then we go," explains Officer Rogers who says he then spotted Cassie's boyfriend driving away. The officer followed him, along with backup, to a nearby convenience store.

"Where is he? He's got a gun. He has a gun pointed at himself. Hold on. Hold on. He's got a gun at his head. Put it down. Get down." Officers are heard and seen saying in police body cam video. Then you see the officers get customers out of the store safely, and they continue trying to coax the man into surrendering.

"Put it down now. He's trying to shoot himself. He squeezed the trigger. Put the gun down. We want to help you," officers say to the man and he answers.

"No. I'm going to shoot myself bro." Seconds later he shot and killed himself.

If not for Officer Rogers, "I think we would be looking at a murder-suicide. I'm sad it ended in his suicide. I wish it would have ended differently. I'm not the same since this happened. It's hard. I can't sleep at night. I have PTSD because of gunshots. I'm scared. I don't trust men. I am grateful to be alive. It's like Officer Rogers is my big hero," Cassie says.

"She's the hero. She's the person that escaped the situation she was in. It takes a lot of courage to do that," says Officer Rogers.

"I'm happy to be here today to talk to y'all about domestic violence. If you're going through it then leave. Leave, it's not worth it," says Cassie.

HPD Officer Rogers actually just accepted becoming a reserve officer in the U.S. Army JAG Corp and this busy man also runs the Adrian Thomas Rogers Law Firm because he's a licensed attorney.

DOWNLOAD THE FOX 26 HOUSTON APP BY CLICKING HERE

Adding one more accolade. Rogers is now named Patrol Officer of the Year by the Afro-American Police Officers League.

He has a lot of titles, but Cassie calls him Heaven Sent.

"I thank God he was there. It's like an angel that happened to be at the right place at the right time," says Cassie.

No wings or halo, but a badge and a gun, and he will forever be her angel.

"I thought I was going to die. I was scared. I'm grateful I'm still alive. I'm thankful for him responding the way he did, and he comforted me very much. I'm thankful for him keeping me safe. I'm still alive today thanks to him," Cassie says while wiping tears.

Houston Houston Police Department Crime and Public Safety