HOUSTON -- A civil rights groups said Houston police officers are shooting too many civilians without justification and that the city is trying to cover up the size of the issue.
"Since January 1 of 2004, city of Houston police officers have shot and wounded, or shot and killed, 163 citizens,” said Civil rights attorney Randall Kallinen.
Civilians Down said the 2009 shooting of John Barnes at an apartment in northeast Houston is just one example of why an outside investigation of the department is needed.
Barnes's autopsy, which was not released until last Thursday, shows he was shot once in the chest and six times in the back.
"I recently made a request for 14 autopsy reports of the fatal shootings last year's police shootings. Of those 14 I'm allowed to have three. All the rest are going to be withheld," said Arlene Kelly, the co-founder of Civilians Down.
KHOU 11 News asked the Houston Police Department for its response and was still waiting to hear back from the department on Monday evening.
