Houston, Texas — The U.S. Justice Department is investigating six cases in which Houston police officers fatally shot or allegedly used excessive force against unarmed individuals, local media reported Wednesday.
Houston Police Chief Charles McClelland said in a statement he is confident the department's policies and procedures follow or exceed the best practices in law enforcement, according to the report by local TV channel ABC13.
One of the cases being investigated by the Justice Department is the fatal shooting of Brian Claunch, a mentally ill double amputee in a wheelchair, according to the report.
Houston police officer Matthew Marin shot and killed one-armed and one-legged Claunch in September inside a group home for the mentally ill when responding to a call that Claunch was causing a disturbance inside the home.
Police said Claunch threatened Marin and was waving an object at the time of the shooting. Marin reportedly told investigators he didn't know the object in Claunch's hand was a writing pen. The shooting death of a mentally-ill wheelchair-bound man by a police officer raised public concerns about how the police deal with the mentally ill and they use their force.