HPD chief testifies in fired officer's trial

HOUSTON -- Houston's top cop took the stand Tuesday to talk about the controversial beating and arrest of teen burglary suspect, Chad Holley, two years ago.

Former officer Andrew Blomberg is accused of misdemeanor official oppression. On Tuesday, Houston Police Chief Charles McClelland talked about what happened during that videotaped arrest.

The police chief told the jury when he saw that video, it appeared to him the suspect had already surrendered before officers began kicking him repeatedly. But defense lawyers say the tape doesn't tell the whole story.

You could see Blomberg listening closely as his former boss, Chief McClelland, analyzed this controversial video before the jury.

"Former officer Blomberg acted inappropriately against policy, training and in violation of state law," Chief McClelland said.

The police chief and investigators identified Blomberg as the officer you see in the video running toward the burglary suspect, who was then 15-year-old Chad Holley.

McClelland pointed out Blomberg never had his gun drawn as he grabbed the fence and began stomping Holley a few times before running off.

"Officers have special training, and they are taught to constantly assess and reassess. And if you can't do that, then you are not cut out to do this type of work," Chief McClelland said.

He told the jury Blomberg violated safety protocol.

Blomberg has told the jury he's not guilty of the official oppression charges he's facing.

His defense lawyer, Dick Deguerin, grilled the police chief on a legal issue, where the Supreme Court determined reasonable use of force must be judged from the perspective of the officer on the scene, not from 20/20 hindsight.

We asked the chief about the issue moments after he testified.

"I'm an experienced police officer, have more experience than Blomberg, been on the streets longer than Blomberg, so I think that I'm in a good position to certainly make a judgment call on a reasonable officer standard," Chief McClelland said.

Blomberg's defense team also called its witnesses on Tuesday afternoon. They included officers of the gang task force unit who were present during the time of Holley's beating arrest.

Blomberg's charged with a Class A misdemeanor. If convicted, he faces up to one year in jail or a $4,000 fine. His defense team will continue calling its witnesses beginning Wednesday morning.

(Copyright ©2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

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DA Lykos testifies before grand jury in BAT vans case

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- For months, a Harris County Grand Jury has been looking for crimes inside the District Attorney's Office. On Tuesday, that grand jury finally put Pat Lykos, the DA herself, under oath.

We were hoping to talk to the DA, but she stayed out of the public eye. Using a private entrance available only to district attorneys, the publicly elected DA avoided having her picture taken. But she couldn't hide from the questions.

It seems Harris Co. DA Pat Lykos would like nothing better than for us to forget about the investigation into possible criminal activity inside her office.

"Have you done anything wrong?" we asked Lykos back in October when the grand jury started.

"Of course not," she replied at the time.

But since then, we know BAT van technicians, DWI prosecutors and county commissioners have all testified. And we know one of Lykos' supervising prosecutors refused to answer grand jury questions out of concern she would incriminate herself.

"Why did you take the Fifth?" we had asked Asst. District Attorney Rachel Palmer.

"You know that's not an appropriate question," she replied.

All of it cleared the way for the woman at the top, the elected DA, to take her turn in the uncomfortable seat. But last week, after she'd been subpoenaed to testify and was just days away from being put under oath, she told Eyewitness News Reporter Miya Shay, "I don't know what you're talking about."

But she did, and so did we. The grand jury might be secret, but the fact she was called to answer questions in front of grand jurors wasn't to us.

On Tuesday, we were there waiting for the DA to walk in, but she didn't. Instead, she used a back door available only to district attorneys.

"A witness testified, questions were asked, questions were answered," special prosecutor Stephen St. Martin said.

In other words, Lykos talked. She didn't take the Fifth inside, but we don't know exactly what the questions were.

On Tuesday afternoon, she emailed us saying, "The Harris County District Attorney's Office continues to respect the secrecy of the grand jury process."

We don't know exactly what the questions were. We do know there are at least two areas of concern -- whether the DA or her staff sat on the knowledge that BAT van DWI evidence may have been sketchy, and if the office retaliated against the technician who blew the whistle in the case.

The DA's assistants deny both claims. Our numerous requests for comment from the DA herself have gone unanswered.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

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