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HOUSTON - It seems like there's been one shock after another following the fatal Harding Street raid and Thursday was no different. Something that rarely occurs in court actually happened in former HPD Officer Gerald Goines' murder trial.
What's the bizarre update? Witness Steven Bryant, who's already pleaded guilty to federal charges in connection to the deadly 'No Knock' warrant, gave testimony that caught prosecutors off guard.
Former Houston Police Department (HPD) Narcotics Officer Gerald Goines (Left) and HPD Narcotics Officer Steven Bryant (Right)
SUGGESTED: Trial begins for former Houston Police officer in Harding Street Raid case
The former Houston Police officer said a Sergeant in the narcotics squad was wearing a personal, non-HPD issued, body camera when they stormed into the Harding Street home back on January 28, 2019.
Near the beginning of Bryant's testimony, his words were chilling but accurate. "It sounded like a war in there." Former HPD Narcotics Officer Steven Bryant testified as jurors watched surveillance video of HPD Narcotics Squad 15 piling out of a van on Harding Street and rushing into a home with AR-15's and shotguns in hand.
SUGGESTED: Trial begins for former Houston Police officer in Harding Street Raid case
In seconds, Rhogena Nicholas and Dennis Tuttle's pitbull was shot and killed. Then Bryant, who broke in the door, says there "was a shootout. The raid team was going in there, they they were in reverse...Frank Medina said I'm hit," Bryant testified.
Four HPD officers were shot, including Gerald Goines, in his face. Goines is now on trial for the murders of Harding Street homeowners, Rhogena Nicholas and Dennis Tuttle.
Goines is accused of lying to a judge to secure the search warrant, saying an informant bought drugs from an armed man at the house and Bryant recognized them as heroin.
Bryant testified, "I never witnessed a heroin buy...I wasn't there," because Bryant told jurors there were supposed to be two officers present during a drug buy, but he says he and Goines didn't always follow that rule.
An HPD Sergeant testified Wednesday saying Goines later admitted there was no informant. In fact, prosecutors say Goines never even investigated the house, which was only known to HPD, because a neighbor, Patricia Garcia, called 911 and lied about her daughter being in the house and doing drugs. Garcia has since been sentenced for giving false information.
As Bryant was on the stand explaining how he saw Cedell Living, who's now paralyzed lying motionless, Bryant says he was covered in his colleague's blood and giving Goines first aid, the prosecutor, Tanisha Manning, asks, "At this point are you thinking this was a legitimate search warrant?" and Bryant answers "Yes." Manning then says, "But for Gerald Goines would you have been there that night...and would the other squad members had been there that night?" Bryant answers "No."
CLICK FOR MORE ON THE HARDING STREET RAID
Bryant soon became overcome by emotion. He choked back tears during his testimony and jurors were escorted out of the courtroom as the judge ordered a brief recess.
Bryant was later asked if, after SWAT cleared the scene, nearly and after paramedics tended to or transported the injured officers, if he saw then HPD Chief Art Acevedo on the scene telling officers to turn off their body cameras. Bryant says Acevedo told him he could "stand down."
HPD Officer Rios testified Wednesday that Acevedo told him he could turn off his body camera and go get debriefed.
According to the Houston Police Department's Body Camera Policy General Order #400-28 in the section marked Deactivation of Body Worn Camera, there isn't anything unusual about what Acevedo did. That section states officer's body cameras may be deactivated when all contact with the public on the scene is complete, all arrests have been made and arrestees have been transported, when conferring with an undercover officer assigned to an investigative division about tactical operation or briefing and when approved by a supervisor (such as the police chief).
Jurors were excused from the courtroom for a long recess after Bryant revealed Sgt. Clemente Reyna was wearing a personal, non-HPD issued body camera during the Harding Street raid, which seemed to catch prosecutors off guard. All the attorneys met with Judge Veronica Nelson at her bench to discuss that new information outside the presence of the jury. When asked to clarify, Bryant said he's not sure if Reyna was wearing the personal body cam that day, but he says Reyna had worn it in the past.
Also, in HPD Policy General Order #400-28 in a section marked Integrity of Video Recordings the policy states, "The use of any body worn camera not issued by the department is prohibited unless approved by the Chief of Police." We don't know if Reyna had a personal body worn camera or if it was approved by the Chief.
Defense Attorneys say the narcotics squad announced themselves as they entered the house, and they say the team was wearing tactical uniforms with the word "police" written on the front twice, on the officers' sleeves and on the backs of their ballistic vests. The defense maintains the couple died because they didn't follow commands and Tuttle opened fire on officers and not because of Gerald Goines.
Goines' murder trial is expected to last several weeks.