A man was shot by a Houston police officer and has been slapped with felony charges after a confrontation at 8435 Tidwell Road, officials said. The incident, which unraveled on Sunday evening, led to suspect Broderick Rax, 39, being charged with unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon and possession of controlled substance, according to the City of Houston News.
Rax, who is currently hospitalized in stable condition with a gunshot wound did not have a booking photo released. The officer involved, identified as G. Chappell of the Northeast Patrol Division, discharged his weapon during the scuffle. Chappell has been on the force since July 2019. The clash came after officers, on a routine patrol, noticed a black Lincoln sedan parked by a marked "No Trespassing" sign at a business, sparking a trespassing investigation.
The report from the HPD Special Investigations Unit detailed the sequence of events: Officers approached the vehicle and engaged with Rax, who was in the driver’s seat and whom they reported was surrounded by the smell of marijuana. When asked to exit for the trespass investigation, Rax refused and resisted, leading to an escalated altercation. Officers deployed Tasers, which proved ineffective as Rax reached for a gun on the floorboard, prompting Chappell to fire his weapon and strike Rax.
Desperate to flee, Rax bolted into the business, but he was soon apprehended by the officers, who also administered first aid until paramedics arrived. The investigation into the shooting involves multiple entities including, the HPD Special Investigations Unit, the Internal Affairs Division, and the Harris County District Attorney's Office – which accepted the felony charges against the suspect.
