Off-duty deputy reassigned after pulling gun during family dispute
HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- A Harris County Precinct 1 deputy constable has been reassigned while an internal investigation is underway following an explosive encounter caught on camera.Constable Alan Rosen confirmed the reassignment on Tuesday night, saying the deputy's conduct is being reviewed and that "the public can be assured" that "we will be transparent with the outcome."
The video shows the deputy, who was off-duty according to Rosen, but still in full uniform, pointing her gun at a man in a heated exchange while hurling threats.
"Play with me. Play with me," the deputy yells. "Give me the (expletive) phone."
The man involved, Michael Evans, declined to speak on camera but told ABC13 he was unarmed. At his family's urging, he began recording the incident.
He says the encounter followed a fight with the mother of his child during which he took off with her phone. The woman's sister, identified as the deputy, chased Evans down, he says, in her personal vehicle.
"She could have called the police to get the phone back," said Kesha Ross, Evans' cousin. "Even though he may not have been in the right at the time, it still doesn't make it right for her to take action herself. That's not how things go. You can't take the law into your own hands just because you've got a badge. That's not right."
Ross was on the phone with her cousin during part of the incident. Afterward, she was shocked to see video and the deputy's use of force.
ABC13 has chosen to blur the deputy's face because Precinct 1 has not named her and because she has not been charged with a crime.
"There's nothing to figure out," Ross added. "You know who it is. They need to be knocking on her door like they would knock on anybody else's door. That's assault with a deadly weapon and she's in uniform."
Full statement from Constable Alan Rosen:
"What we understand at this point, is that this was a family dispute that involved our off-duty deputy. She has been reassigned to desk duty pending the outcome of an internal affairs investigation. The public can be assured that an investigation is underway and we will be transparent with the outcome."
Im saying tho!!
