Emotions ran high in a Houston courtroom as former Harris County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Garrett Hardin was found not guilty of murder in connection with the 2022 shooting death of Roderick Brooks. Reports from KHOU reveal a scene of tears, shouts, and applause that was quickly subdued by the judge's call for order. The jury reached its verdict after approximately three-and-a-half hours of deliberation, which followed the closing arguments made earlier that day
The incident at the heart of the trial occurred on July 8, 2022, when Hardin responded to a shoplifting call that escalated after a confrontation caught on body camera footage; Hardin claimed self-defense, stating Brooks gained control of his Taser during a physical struggle, prompting the shooting, this sequence of events is corroborated by Click2Houston's report on the trial. Hardin’s attorney, Justin Keiter, emotionally stated after the verdict, “Thank goodness police can do their job safely in a dangerous area and have a jury back them up and tell them, 'We understand how dangerous the streets of Harris County are, we understand you did something you didn't want to do,'” as noted in the KHOU article. The defense also highlighted Brooks' criminal history, asserting its relevance to the case.
Furthermore, the prosecution maintained that Brooks’ past was not pertinent to the incident at hand and contested the assertion that the use of force by Hardin was reasonable, an argument that Brooks' family plans to carry forth into a civil lawsuit, with attorney Justin Moore stating "We have contended from the jump that Officer Hardin was not reasonable in his use of force and we have all the evidence that we gleaned from this trial that we’re going to use in our civil case." Brooks' family, having previously called the shooting an execution after viewing the bodycam footage, continues to express their devastation, with Brooks' sister Demetria Brooks-Glaze articulating to the press, "Shoplifting does not warrant to kill a man," echoing the sentiment that the punishment did not fit the crime, according to KHOU.
Analysis of the body camera video shows a tense pursuit that ended tragically – Brooks, suspected of shoplifting shampoo, was seen running from Hardin, who deployed his Taser, a chase that went through a gas station parking lot culminating in a struggle that saw Brooks momentarily gaining control of the Taser; Hardin responded to this by drawing his gun and subsequently shooting Brooks, who died at the scene, the aftermath of the shooting captured as Hardin radioed in "Shots fired" and called for EMS, as detailed in the coverage from KHOU. Since the indictment, Hardin has been relieved of his duties with the sheriff's office, a conclusion reached roughly a year ago.
