HOUSTON — Houston police said an investigation into the integrity of fallen HPD Sgt. Chris Brewster's bulletproof vest revealed it was not penetrated by bullets.
After his death, police said it appeared that Brewster's department-issued bulletproof vest may have been penetrated by one or more bullets.
The vest was examined to determine if it performed to the manufacturer's specifications, and according to HPD, it did.
"Sgt. Brewster's vest had a strike at the edge which did not actually penetrate the vest. Moreover, it was determined that other damage to the vest was not a penetration and at least one round was a strike below the vest (between the belt and the bottom of the vest.) Again, the vest performed as expected and there was no vest failure," the department's release said in part.
Brewster was gunned down Sunday during an encounter with Arturo Solis, according to authorities.
Police said they were investigating the vest as well as the ammunition used by the alleged gunman, Solis.
Police said Brewster, 32, was investigating a domestic disturbance report when he was shot by Solis, 25, around 6 p.m. in the 7400 block of Ave L.
Authorities failed to find Solis and the woman who reported the domestic disturbance at a nearby residence, but Solis opened fire on Brewster when the sergeant approached them on the street about three blocks away.
Even though Brewster was fatally wounded, he called and reported the shooting, allowing other officers to contain the area.
Acevedo said Solis ran from the shooting scene and was seen jumping fences. He was apprehended a short time later.
Brewster leaves behind a wife, his parents and sisters. He joined HPD in 2010 and was promoted to sergeant in February.
Authorities said Solis admitted to shooting Brewster in order to avoid going to jail. He also said he would have shot anyone else in his path, according to authorities. According to investigators, Solis admitted to shooting Brewster despite the fact that Brewster was not threatening, did not have his weapon drawn and was waving both of his hands in the air.
Brewster will be laid to rest Thursday morning, following a visitation Wednesday evening, Forest Park Lawndale Funeral Home & Forest Park Lawndale announced Monday. The services will be open to the public.
Solis is charged with capital murder.
Solis’ defense attorneys say their client has a history of mental illness.
“We know our client has a history of mental illness, that is where we are going to start,” the attorney said outside the courtroom. “The obvious question to us becomes, how does a mentally ill person with a prior domestic violence conviction get a handgun, so we’ll be looking at that, OK. That’s really a problem for us and we want to see where there was a breakdown in the system.“