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A Houston cop who shot to death a patron while off-duty at a River Oaks bar has been suspended for 30 days after an Internal Affairs investigation, HPD says.
Gets 30-day suspension for parking-lot shooting.
HPD spokesperson Jodi Silva tells Hair Balls that Jose Coronado is currently serving the suspension, which was handed down recently.
Coronado, a six-year vet, killed Omar Ventura in the parking lot of Sherlock's Pub in the 1900 block of West Gray about 2:20 a.m. February 19 of last year.
He had gotten into an altercation with Ventura. Some witnesses claim Coronado seemed drunk; HPD later said he was tested and passed, although critics said the test wasn't taken until hours after the incident.
(Further info on the reasons from the suspension must come from the City of Houston; we have a call in to them and will update if there's more.)
Ventura's widow, Rosa Rodriguez, and her three minor children have filed suit against Coronado, the city and the owner of the bar, claiming the officer was intoxicated and that Ventura had been trying to protect a female bar patron from an assault when Coronado intervened.
The suit paints a vivid, if naturally one-sided, version of events surrounding the shooting of Ventura and his brother Rolando, who was injured:
The woman accompanying Officer Coronado from the bar begged him to put away his gun and go home. He, having had numerous drinks, was either oblivious to her pleas or ignored her purposefully. Omar and Rolando began to back away. Officer Coronado, presumably realizing he would miss an opportunity to shoot someone, fired at Omar hitting him in the stomach at almost point blank range. Rolando, seeing his brother shot and fall to the ground, experienced shock and remained standing in place. Officer Coronado then tried to shoot Rolando in the face twice.
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