I’m a big fan of the police.
One of my closest childhood friend’s dad was a police chief. I worked with the NH State Police for a few years and learned that they are a great example of how negative thinking can be applied for positive results. They never assume innocence, they are usually suspicious and often hard to convince. Which comes in handy when dealing with sneaky, underhanded criminal types that often lie.
But the Houston cops made a wee bit of a mistake this morning because they assumed. They assumed the house they surrounded had a suspect in it. In fact…it was empty. From the Houston Chronicle:
Police SWAT officers spent more than three hours outside a northeast Houston home in which a homicide suspect was thought to be inside, but a search turned up no one.
The standoff began about 9:30 p.m. Sunday when police tried to serve an arrest warrant after police were alerted that the man, Francisco Lopez, 45, had locked himself in the home in the 8800 block of Chatwood.
SWAT was called about 3 a.m. and officers went into the house shortly after dawn. No one was found in the living area or the attic.
There never was any contact with anyone inside even though police said they saw movement overnight.
Lopez is wanted in connection with the slaying of his niece’s husband last Thursday, police said. Another man was wounded in the attack.
Neighbor Rick Garcia, 45, said he woke early this morning to police loudspeakers asking Lopez to surrender, or at least contact them by phone. He said Lopez, a drywall hanger and painter who has a wife and three children, has been a good neighbor and family man.
Lopez’s nieces and nephews and other family members often visit, and he hadn’t noticed an trouble signs recently, Garcia said.
DOH!!
