362:
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and officials in the Obama administration had partial moral responsibility for
Goforth's death. Cruz blamed what he labeled as efforts to "vilify law enforcement" and stated that Obama had remained "silent" on the murder. Cruz's comments brought criticism from commentators in progressive publications
115:
on August 28, 2015. Goforth, who was in uniform at the time, was killed by
Shannon Miles, a repeat offender with a history of mental illness, who shot Goforth repeatedly in the back of the head with a .40 caliber handgun while Goforth was fueling his car. Miles' mother provided an alibi, but the
341:
The investigation into
Goforth's death soon revealed that Goforth, who was married, was with another woman at the time of the shooting. This woman claimed to be Goforth's mistress. Two other Harris County deputies involved in the investigation of Goforth's murder were found to be having romantic
204:
tests to be the same one used to kill
Goforth. Several items were seized from the home by police, including clothes matching the ones said to be worn by the shooter and 34 rounds of ammunition. Authorities do not believe anyone else was involved in the killing. The ongoing investigation has been
245:
in every profession, that does not mean that there should be open warfare declared on law enforcement." Harris County
Sheriff Ron Hickman denounced the shooting as "senseless and cowardly" and stated that while investigators were not aware of a motive at the moment, it appeared that Goforth was
208:
On
February 10, 2016, the Harris County Sheriff's Office fired another deputy, Marc De Leon, involved in the investigation. Harris County Sheriff Ron Hickman said that De Leon was fired for being untruthful to investigators, but some Houston media outlets are reporting that De Leon also had a
169:
in 2011 or 2012. He had an arrest record dating back to 2005, consisting mostly of minor misdemeanor arrests, including resisting arrest, criminal mischief, trespassing, evading detention, and disorderly conduct with a firearm. Two of his arrests involved him using force against the arresting
127:
The murder led to a scandal in the Harris County
Sheriff's Department. The passenger in Goforth's car and witness to the murder was reportedly his mistress, who was also involved with two other officers. They were terminated, as was a third officer, who harassed the woman.
261:
movement, alleging that they were responsible for inspiring the attack. Hickman stated, "We've heard 'black lives matter.' All lives matter. Well, cops' lives matter, too. So why don't we just drop the qualifier and just say 'lives matter,' and take that to the bank."
148:
walked up behind him and shot him repeatedly in the back of the head. The gunman fired a total of fifteen shots, emptying his firearm and killing
Goforth. The attack appeared to be completely unprovoked. The gun used to murder Goforth was described as a large
342:
relationships with this same woman, and were terminated. A third deputy was terminated, though
Goforth's mistress said this was after she reported that deputy for trying to force a relationship with her and for sending inappropriate texts and emails.
205:
marred by police and judicial misconduct. Harris County Deputy Craig
Clopton was fired on October 24, 2015, for inappropriate sexual misconduct toward a witness in the case; Presiding Judge Denise Collins recused herself for undisclosed reasons.
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395:
237:
declared in a statement that "heinous and deliberate crimes against law enforcement" would not be tolerated. Harris County district attorney Devon Anderson said she felt it was time for the
216:
Miles was charged with capital murder and held without bond. On September 13, 2017, in order to avoid the death penalty, Miles pleaded guilty to murdering Goforth and was sentenced to
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for six months, after which a second evaluation found him to be mentally competent. However, the charge was dropped after authorities could not find the assault victim.
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329:. Thousands of mourners were in attendance, including police officers and other law enforcement personnel from various parts of the U.S. Flags in Texas were
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112:
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that it was "sad that some have chosen to politicize this tragedy by falsely attributing the officer's death to a movement seeking to end violence."
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criticized Hickman and Anderson for you "politicizing a death that, I don't know that anyone knows what was in the mind of the shooter." Activist
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153:. Goforth was married to a woman named Kathleen, and he had two children, aged five and twelve at the time of his death at the age of 47.
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Despite the accusations of being "silent" on the murder, President Obama made an official statement to the family and Houston community.
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In 2012, Miles was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in connection to an incident in which he attacked a man at an
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reported on February 10 that a third HCSO deputy is also under investigation for having a sexual relationship with the same witness.
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after investigators linked his car to the one driven by the killer. He was arrested and charged with capital murder after a
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Shannon J. Miles was a native of Cypress, who lived about 0.5 miles (0.8 km) from the crime scene. Miles attended the
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homeless shelter over control of a television remote. He was found mentally incompetent to stand trial and was sent to
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police found the murder weapon in his garage, and he pleaded guilty to avoid the death penalty; he was sentenced to
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144:, a town about 25 miles from downtown Houston. While he was filling up his car with gas, a black male in a red
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978:"Fox Figures Demand Obama Make Remarks Condemning Violence Against Police Days After He Did Just That"
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1040:"Deputy Darren Goforth memorialized at a park bearing his name, a year after his slaying"
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846:"Sheriff's office fires another deputy accused of relationship with Goforth witness"
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530:"Texas Deputy Slaying: Suspect Shannon Miles Charged in Killing of Darren Goforth"
748:"Suspect in deputy's killing found mentally incompetent in 2012, prosecutor says"
613:"Wife of slain Texas deputy describes him as 'blend of toughness and gentility'"
234:
145:
357:
242:
201:
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871:"Deputy terminated after having relationship with mistress of Deputy Goforth"
257:, which occurred the year before. The shooting also brought criticism of the
200:
handgun discovered in a baseball bag in Miles's garage was confirmed through
640:"Darren Goforth Shooting: Mom of Suspect Shannon Miles Gives Shopping Alibi"
330:
896:"Accused killer in deputy Goforth case pleads guilty, avoids death penalty"
311:
287:
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to come out and support law enforcement. She also said, "There are a few
746:
Ellis, Ralph; Lavandera, Ed; McLaughlin, Eliott C. (September 1, 2015).
482:“Thousands mourn Texas sheriff’s deputy who was gunned down at gas pump”
350:
A county park in Northwest Houston was later named in Goforth's memory.
665:"SHANNON J. MILES CHARGED WITH MURDER IN AMBUSH OF HOUSTON AREA DEPUTY"
560:"Suspect arrested in 'execution-style' killing of Texas deputy sheriff"
276:
150:
794:"Search warrants detail how detectives found Goforth's alleged killer"
458:"A final salute for Texas deputy sheriff shot to death at gas station"
325:
On September 4, 2015, a funeral service for Goforth took place at the
1015:"Woman claiming to be Goforth's mistress speaks exclusively to abc13"
121:
921:"Ted Cruz Blames President Obama for Inciting Murder of Texas Cop"
140:
gas station at the intersection of West Road and Telge Road near
820:"New details about man accused of killing Deputy Darren Goforth"
427:"Texas Deputy Killed 'Because He Wore a Uniform,' Sheriff Says"
189:
The next morning, Miles was brought in for questioning as a
396:
List of American police officers killed in the line of duty
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At approximately 8:30 p.m., Goforth pulled into a
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consensual sexual relationship with the witness. The
948:"In Houston, Ted Cruz Faults Obama for Cop Killings"
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American police officers killed in the line of duty
93:
85:
77:
69:
61:
50:
39:
24:
337:Scandal in the Harris County Sheriff's Department
16:2015 murder of a police officer in Houston, Texas
586:"Prosecutor: Gunman shot Texas deputy 15 times"
484:L A Times, Sep 04, 2015; retrieved Apr 25, 2019
695:"Shannon Miles: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know"
8:
775:"Sheriff fires investigator in Goforth case"
451:
449:
391:2016 shooting of Baton Rouge police officers
19:
844:Barned-Smith, St. John (10 February 2016).
107:refers to the shooting death of a ten-year
773:Barned-Smith, St. John (23 October 2015).
18:
671:. WLS-TV. August 29, 2015. Archived from
946:Hooks, Christopher (September 2, 2015).
1094:August 2015 crimes in the United States
406:
386:2016 shooting of Dallas police officers
721:"HCSO: Man charged in death of deputy"
492:
490:
246:targeted "because he wore a uniform."
165:from fall 2003 to spring 2004 and the
997:"Obama calls widow of Darren Goforth"
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310:, while conservative outlets such as
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976:Fernandez, Nick (3 September 2015).
638:Johnson, M. Alex (August 31, 2015).
528:Chuck, Elizabeth (August 29, 2015).
425:Fernandez, Manny (August 29, 2015).
869:Cooper, Nakia (February 12, 2016).
818:Cerota, Andy (September 18, 2015).
456:Karimi, Faith (September 4, 2015).
792:Noll, Scott (September 18, 2015).
498:"Deputy Sheriff Darren H. Goforth"
282:In the aftermath of the shooting,
14:
611:Karimi, Faith (August 30, 2015).
249:The shooting drew comparisons to
995:Wolfgang, Ben (31 August 2015).
558:Sanchez, Ray (August 29, 2015).
360:
1038:Pinkerton, James (2016-08-28).
255:New York City Police Department
163:Prairie View A&M University
919:Oh, Inae (September 2, 2015).
376:2014 killings of NYPD officers
113:Harris County Sheriff's Office
1:
327:Second Baptist Church Houston
43:
1084:Assassinated police officers
894:Rogers, Brian (2017-09-13).
504:. Officer Down Memorial Page
314:expressed support for Cruz.
185:Arrest and legal proceedings
265:Texas State Representative
120:without the possibility of
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1079:Deaths by firearm in Texas
381:Shooting of Jesse Hartnett
336:
179:North Texas State Hospital
1089:Deaths by person in Texas
982:Media Matters for America
253:of two officers with the
28:August 28, 2015
701:. Heavy. August 31, 2015
105:murder of Darren Goforth
20:Murder of Darren Goforth
727:. KHOU. August 30, 2015
286:presidential candidate
167:University of Houston
1099:Harris County, Texas
1001:The Washington Times
954:. The Texas Observer
675:on September 1, 2015
331:flown at half-staff
251:the shooting deaths
124:in September 2017.
21:
432:The New York Times
307:The Texas Observer
259:Black Lives Matter
195:Smith & Wesson
191:person of interest
81:1 (Darren Goforth)
1044:Houston Chronicle
952:texasobserver.org
850:Houston Chronicle
592:. August 31, 2015
211:Houston Chronicle
118:life imprisonment
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73:Shannon J. Miles
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233:Texas Governor
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292:U.S. President
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267:Garnet Coleman
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218:life in prison
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824:KPRC Houston
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758:September 2,
756:. Retrieved
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729:. Retrieved
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677:. Retrieved
673:the original
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467:September 6,
465:. Retrieved
461:
436:. Retrieved
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368:Texas portal
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301:Mother Jones
299:
295:Barack Obama
290:stated that
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104:
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70:Participants
534:nbcnews.com
235:Greg Abbott
198:.40-caliber
146:Ford Ranger
1063:Categories
1049:2023-07-04
1024:2023-07-04
905:2023-07-04
880:2016-02-11
855:2016-02-11
623:August 30,
570:August 29,
540:August 29,
508:August 30,
438:August 29,
402:References
284:Republican
243:bad apples
202:ballistics
170:officers.
32:2015-08-28
699:heavy.com
229:Reactions
224:Aftermath
46:8:20 p.m.
725:khou.com
644:NBC News
590:CBS News
502:odmp.org
354:See also
312:Fox News
298:such as
288:Ted Cruz
132:Shooting
86:Suspects
51:Location
752:CNN.com
617:CNN.com
564:CNN.com
277:tweeted
151:handgun
142:Cypress
138:Chevron
111:of the
94:Charges
30: (
346:Legacy
175:Austin
122:parole
78:Deaths
62:Target
57:, U.S.
900:Chron
779:Chron
754:. CNN
619:. CNN
566:. CNN
536:. NBC
960:2015
933:2015
875:KPRC
831:2015
805:2015
798:KHOU
760:2015
733:2015
707:2015
681:2015
651:2015
625:2015
598:2015
572:2015
542:2015
510:2015
469:2015
440:2015
304:and
103:The
40:Time
25:Date
462:CNN
270:(D)
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