HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Newly launched physique digicam footage from officers who arrested a suspect accused of sexually assaulting a lady at knifepoint gives new perception into what College of Houston Police Division officers knew the night time he was first booked and later launched previous to assault fees being filed.
Regardless of the college attempting to withhold the video, the Texas Legal professional Normal’s Workplace sided with 13 Investigates, and the physique digicam footage we requested the night time the suspect was first arrested needed to be launched.
The 13 Investigates group watched hours of physique digicam footage from a dozen officers. At one level or one other, every of the officers talked about they have been conscious that the person they arrested on Feb. 7 was the suspect within the alleged sexual assault that occurred on campus six hours earlier.
Nonetheless, the suspect, Eric Brown, 40, was launched the following day with no fees for the alleged sexual assault of the then-21-year-old UH pupil. Court docket paperwork say the sufferer was sexually assaulted at knifepoint in a UH parking storage whereas she was preparing for a sorority occasion.
RELATED: Solely on 13: Video exhibits second UH rape suspect Eric Brown was noticed, arrested at METRORail
ABC13 has obtained the video displaying when the College of Houston rape suspect was noticed by authorities after which taken down.
Brown was charged with sexual assault days later, however he wasn’t positioned and in custody once more till 10 days after his first arrest.
13 Investigates continues to look into the place the breakdown occurred that allowed the suspect to initially stroll free.
Via physique digicam footage, it is clear UH cops instantly seen the person they arrested on Feb. 7 because the sexual assault suspect.
“Yup, that is him. That is him,” one officer mentioned after the arrest. “We bought him.”
One other officer informed first responders with the hearth division that they captured “an aggravated sexual assault suspect.”
Based on the officers within the video, they labored off an outline given by the sufferer and surveillance video that confirmed Brown leaving the parking storage to determine him.
“As quickly as I seen them shorts, I used to be like, ‘That is him,'” one officer mentioned after the arrest. “I pulled up on him. Blocked him. He was strolling this manner. I used to be like, ‘Do not transfer right here,’ and simply form of held him at taser level as a result of he had a knife.”
The primary two officers who arrived mentioned they made certain Brown did not flee on a close-by prepare whereas they waited for backup earlier than finally tasing the suspect.
Earlier than he was tased, Brown was yelling on the officers, saying issues like “I’m God.”
“Pop me. Pop me. You gone should,” Brown mentioned. “Whenever you step by means of that line, you grew to become my enemy.”
The officers yelled instructions for Brown to get on the bottom, however he refused.
Minutes later, an officer tases Brown, restrains him, and searches him for weapons.
On the physique digicam footage, one officer says the knife they confiscated from Brown is “roughly” the identical as the outline of the knife the sufferer mentioned was used in the course of the assault.
One officer calls an assistant chief who’s on his solution to the scene and says, “It will be him. We bought him.”
Physique digicam video exhibits that across the time the suspect was arrested, which was six hours after the sexual assault, the sufferer had not but positively recognized the person that they had in custody.
Based on a number of officers within the video, the sufferer was nonetheless on the hospital when he was arrested. Officers on the scene mentioned they might work to get the sufferer to ID the suspect in a photograph lineup.
Brown did not have any identification on him and sat at the back of a UHPD automotive for at the least half-hour whereas officers recognized him.
READ MORE: 13 Investigates: Newly launched texts, emails reveal little about UH rape suspect’s launch
13 Investigates acquired texts and emails from College of Houston police within the days after a “vicious” rape on campus, however they do not reveal a lot.
Sooner or later that night time, a UHPD officer known as the district lawyer’s workplace’s consumption division to report the crime.
The officer is liable for offering the DA’s workplace with data associated to the crime to find out if they will settle for fees or not.
Brown was initially charged with resisting arrest and assaulting a peace officer. The physique digicam footage we reviewed exhibits an officer acquired a reduce on his hand in the course of the arrest.
The DA’s workplace informed 13 Investigates on Wednesday that the officer who known as to current the resisting arrest and assault of a peace officer fees mentioned Brown was a intercourse assault suspect.
The DA’s workplace mentioned they requested that officer if he wished to current the intercourse assault cost, however that he mentioned one other officer was persevering with to analyze that a part of it, and he would current the case.
UHPD mentioned the DA’s workplace filed fees a number of days after being alerted a couple of pupil being raped within the Scholar Welcome Middle parking storage.
The DA’s workplace claims they by no means heard from that officer and that somebody from their workplace adopted up with UHPD when he noticed the case on the information.
On the time, UH mentioned they did not know why intercourse assault fees weren’t accepted.
Brown was launched from jail hours after his arrest as a result of the resisting and assault of a peace officer fees have been dropped.
Brown was launched on a Saturday, charged within the intercourse assault on the next Tuesday, and arrested per week later.
ABC13 despatched the College of Houston questions, together with asking in the event that they believed that they had a number of issues that linked Brown to the crime, why he wasn’t charged with sexual assault instantly.
“It’s not unusual in felony instances for fees to be filed in levels, primarily based on the proof obtainable at a given cut-off date. We won’t touch upon any particular proof on this case,” the college mentioned in a press release.
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