HOUSTON — The parents of a 29-year-old man shot and killed by a Houston police officer following a chase want criminal charges brought against him.
Jalen Randle's mom and dad held another news conference with attorney Ben Crump Thursday, just days after HPD released bodycam video of the April 27 shooting.
Crump pointed out that Officer Shane Privett, who shot Randle, was indicted for aggravated assault in 2017 after he was accused of using excessive force on another Black suspect. A booking photo of DeWayne Walker showed him with a black eye and several bruises on his face. A Harris County grand jury later cleared Privett and he was reinstated by HPD following an investigation.
Crump claims an independent autopsy showed Randle was trying to run away when he was shot.
“Common sense tells us that if one of us shot somebody in the back of the neck, we would be charged. Why is he above the law?" Crump asked. “This is not TikTok. We didn’t make this up. Why aren’t police held accountable just as well as normal citizens?”
Nearly 10 minutes of video was released that shows the April 27 shooting death of Jalen Randle. The video may be disturbing to watch and contains violent scenes. You can view the videos on the HPD YouTube page.
A camera worn by Privette shows the officer getting out of the passenger side of his vehicle, giving a command to Randle, but then shooting him before finishing his sentence.
"Let me see your hand- (gunfire) - oh sh**!" Privette can be heard saying on the video.
HPD said Randle was holding a bag and shoe and was shot after he reached back into the vehicle. Police say there was a gun in the bag but Randle never fired a shot.
“I’ve cried all I can cry. Now I need to tell y’all that I am mad and I need to get justice for my child,” Tiffany Rachal said Thursday.
Rachal said she is devastated but will continue fighting for the sake of her son's 5-year-old daughter, who's named after him.
“I don’t want her to grow up not knowing that we fought this fight, that we are fighting,” Rachal said.
Randle's parents are also upset about the way he was moved after the shooting.
“You got innocent men being killed, drug on the street like animals. This wasn’t a deer hunt. You drug my son like a deer, it’s terrible," father Warren Randle said.
Another officer's bodycam showed them being told to move Randle because they were in the crossfire of a second suspect who was driving the vehicle and who hadn't yet surrendered.
The bodycam videos were released as part of a new department policy to release bodycam videos from officer-involved shootings within 30 days of incidents involving a death or injury.
Before the chase and shooting, police were trying to arrest Randle on three felony warrants, including felon in possession of a firearm and aggravated assault.
HPD said the shooting is still being investigated and wouldn't comment further beyond Tuesday's release of the video.
HPOU response
But the police union did release the following statement in response to some of Crump's claims.
"It has come to the attention of the HPOU that Attorney Benjamin Crump has made accusations that are completely untrue regarding Officer Shane Privette. First, Mr. Crump claims that Officer Privette had a history of abuse toward African Americans because he was indicted in 2019 for assault by a public servant. What Mr. Crump fails to say is that Officer Privette was initially cleared by the Department and the Independent Police Oversite Board (made up of civilians) in the incident in question, and was later exonerated by a second grand jury. The initial grand jury that indicted Officer Privette was only given a portion of the case by the D.A.’s Office and heard no testimony (not even giving Officer Privette the opportunity to appear and testify in his own defense). The D.A.’s Office later realized their mistake in failing to present the complete case and took the case to a second grand jury, which no-billed the officer after hearing a thorough presentation of the evidence. The case was subsequently expunged.
The second statement which Mr. Crump makes that is untrue is that Officer Privette made the statement, “He is not going to live to leave this neighborhood.” Mr. Crump’s claim is not true and completely misrepresents Officer Privette’s actual/complete statement, which can be heard clearly on his Body Worn Camera recording. Officer Privette, while hearing the chase of the suspect going around a neighborhood, makes the comment, “He ain’t gonna liv-leave this neighborhood (correcting a word flub)… he’s going to bail at that…” (Officer Privette is then interrupted by other officers on the radio). Approximately 20 seconds later, Officer Privette can be heard finishing his thought saying, “ He’s gonna go back to that house.” This was in reference to the fact that it appeared that the suspect was not going to leave the neighborhood in which he lived, but would instead bail out of the vehicle and run, a common behavior for many suspects.
It is convenient that Mr. Crump leaves out the entire context in which the statement was made, and inaccurately quotes Officer Privette, who NEVER said “live to leave.” Mr. Crump’s claim is just not accurate, and we are calling for Mr. Crump to retract his statement and tell the truth."