HOUSTON — The Houston Police Department has released body camera video from an officer-involved shooting incident that shows two different policemen firing at a man they mistook for a burglar.
The police department is also walking back previous remarks where they claimed the man fired at officers first.
On June 5, HPD officers responded to a burglary call inside the Flats at Tanglewilde complex along Tanglewilde Street just north of Westheimer at South Gessner. In a statement Friday, officials said a resident had called 911 after receiving an alert from her security camera.
The resident had also called family members in the area, which officers did not know at the time they responded according to police.
When officers arrived, HPD said they saw a “male matching the description of one of the burglary suspects.” HPD alleges that the man pointed a weapon at officers, which led to officers J. Simon and S. Salameh discharging their weapons, hitting the man in the leg.
Officers later identified the man they shot as 19-year-old Omar Camacho.
Speaking to us over the phone Friday, Camacho explained that it was hard to rewatch the moments he got shot. He said the police description of events was only part of the story.
Camacho’s sister-in-law confirmed to KHOU 11 that she did call police and her family on June 5 after her Ring camera sent her a video of three men breaking into her apartment. She said her family sent Camacho to check on the unit, but by the time he arrived, the burglars were gone.
In a news conference immediately after the incident, HPD Assistant Chief Yasar Bashir said Camacho discharged a weapon and police had “evidence to back that up.” However, police Friday said an investigation was continuing to find out whether Camacho fired a shot.
As of Friday, the three suspects who initially broke into the apartment have not been identified or apprehended.