Well, this story keeps getting more and more interesting.
Remember the case from late last month involving four police officers being shot and two suspects killed after a no-knock raid on alleged black-tar heroin dealers in Houston?
As it turns out, the so-called confidential informant from that case did not purchase drugs from suspect Dennis Tuttle, 59, and his wife Regina Nicholas, 58.
This revelation in the story contradicts earlier information that was used by narcotics officers to acquire the no-knock search warrant. A confidential informant claimed to have purchased heroin at the house the day before the drug raid on Jan. 28.
An officer has been suspended over his involvement in the raid.
Earlier today at a press conference Police Chief Art Acevedo said charges could be filed against an investigating officer.
Houston Police Officers' Union President Joe Gamaldi said a narcotics officer was removed because of "ongoing questions."
The two suspects had no previous criminal records and neighborhoods of the two suspects were shocked to learn about the news after the shooting took place.
Dennis Tuttle, a military veteran who took the time to register a fishing license, doesn't seem like the kind of guy who would be trafficking hard drugs.
HPD Chief Acevedo previously said a group of 15 officers arrived at the suspect's home and “immediately came under fire" after kicking down the suspect's door and shooting the homeowner's dog.
Tuttle used a .357 Magnum revolver to hit one of the officers, forcing him to drop his shotgun.
Acevedo said, “That officer was struck in the shoulder. He went down, fell on the sofa in the living room, at which time a female suspect went towards that officer, reached over the officer and started making a move for his shotgun.”
At that moment backup officers shot and killed the female suspect. The exchange of gunfire was not captured on a body camera video.
Like a lot of you, I was incredibly shaken when I heard the news about four Houston police officers being shot and another injured while investigating two now-deceased alleged drug dealers. I also have a lot of questions.
For starters: where's the black tar heroin?
According to the reports, a small baggy of cocaine was found in the suspect's home along with some marijuana. Again, no black tar heroin was found at the scene of the crime.
Are we sure these two suspects were serious drug dealers? Drug dealers generally have other paraphernalia in their homes: scales, baggies, residue left over from past drug deals. Where were those things in this arrest? So far the reports indicate very little information that would suggest a high-scale drug operation was taking place.
This is just one more example of our never-ending war on drugs taking more lives and injuring good officers.