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Over the past five years, at least 17 incidents have occurred in the Brazos Valley in which a police officer has had to fire a weapon while on duty.
Six days ago, it happened again. On Tuesday, a Caldwell police officer returned fire after being shot by a robbery suspect, killing him.
Every move Officer Cougan Hignight made that night will be evaluated by investigators inside and outside of the Caldwell Police Department, and eventually, the case will go before a grand jury to determine whether the shooting was justified.
Though many officers can go their entire careers without firing their weapons in the line of duty, experts say, those who have resorted to deadly force relied on training and instincts.
Bryan officials reported at least four police-related shootings in the past five years, while Burleson and Grimes county officials cited at least three each. Officials in Madison and Robertson counties reported at least two police-related shootings each, and Brazos and Leon counties had at least one each.
On Tuesday, Hignight was chasing 36-year-old Louis William Avrin, who was accused of robbing a grocery store and carjacking a vehicle, officials said. After crashing the stolen vehicle, Avrin shot at Hignight, hitting the officer in his right arm. Hignight returned the gunfire, killing Avrin. Hignight is on paid administrative leave, which is standard procedure after an officer fires a weapon.
All 16 other police shootings in the past five years have been determined as justified by grand juries reviewing the cases.
According to policies at most departments, deadly force can only be used if someone reasonably believes a life is in jeopardy and deadly force is immediately necessary to save it. An officer is not allowed to discharge a weapon as a warning or at a fleeing vehicle unless someone is in immediate danger of death or bodily injury, or in a case involving a misdemeanor unless someone is in immediate danger. Also, the common policies on the use of force consider factors such as the size and weight of the officer and the offender, whether it's a dangerous situation and the number of officers and offenders present.
Within the past five years, 150 incidents in Texas have been reported in which an officer used deadly force, while 118 officers suffered firearm injuries, said Lori Kirk, a statistician at the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Bryan-based Texas Ranger Frank Malinak said all Rangers are trained to assist in investigating officer-involved shootings. Malinak said that while nearly every police academy in the state teaches officer survival skills, many agencies continue that training to keep the skills fresh.
"Most of these deals happen so incredibly fast that a police officer relies on instinct and training," Malinak said of an officer's decision to fire a weapon. "When we as Texas Rangers are called to the scene to investigate a police-involved shooting, our goal is to do basically one thing only -- and that is to do a thorough and complete criminal investigation. We don't decide whether anybody was in the right or the wrong; we simply investigate, and we report the facts to the district attorney and the grand jury. ... It's up to them to decide if there is any wrongdoing."
Leon County Sheriff Mike Price said none of his officers had fired a weapon in the past five years. However, Department of Public Safety officers assisted his deputies on a case a year and a half ago that resulted in an DPS trooper firing his weapon.
Robertson County Sheriff Gerald Yezak said neither suspects or officers were injured in either of the two shooting incidents in that county.
Margo Frasier, who teaches criminal justice at Sam Houston State University, served for two terms as the sheriff in Travis County.
"The vast, vast majority of police officers finish their entire career without ever firing their weapon," she said, noting that most officers have been in situations where they've had their guns ready.
Frasier said she'd talked to officers who've had to decide whether deadly force was necessary who said time seemed to slow down.
"Most officers will often admit they're scared," she said. "The vast majority of officers will tell you they're trying to figure out any other thing they can do besides pull that trigger."
Frasier said most situations in which officers use deadly force involve people with mental health problems.
"The difficulty in dealing with folks with mental health issues is [that] what works with somebody who doesn't have mental issues doesn't always work for them," Frasier said, noting the state requires that officers be trained in crisis intervention, including dealing with people who have mental disabilities.
While most of the local cases did not involve a suspect with a mental health issue, authorities said several did, including one of the Grimes County cases.
In June 2007, College Station resident Christopher Michael Miller, 26, was killed after Grimes County Deputy Jason Smith shot him twice in the chest, according to Eagle archives. Smith said the naked man charged him after Smith yelled repeatedly for Miller to get on the ground, according to reports at the time. Grimes County District Attorney Tuck McLain said at the time that Miller's nudity didn't preclude use of deadly force because an officer could have his own weapon turned on him.
Lt. David Johnson, the Bryan Police Department's support services division commander, conducts training in the department regarding defensive tactics and use of force.
The Bryan department uses a "one plus one theory," he said, which means that at whatever level of force a suspect is using, officers can go one step higher to protect themselves or others.
"The biggest part of our teaching and tactics is getting the officer to recognize what the proper level of force and what force to use, and did it work, and did the officer respond correctly," he said, noting that there are several levels of force, including, psychological intimidation, verbal direction and deadly force.
Johnson said that while training is administered annually for use-of-force tactics, officers incorporate the theories into almost everything they do. For example, he said, if the officers are being trained to handle vehicle chases, the instructors will include how to handle the various situations if a type of force is required.
"Essentially, it boils back down to use of force and how to apply it properly," he said.
• Cassie Smith's e-mail address is cassie.smith@theeagle.com.
