Texas Baby Remains in ICU After Being Shot By Houston Police
1-year-old baby boy Legend is still fighting for his life at a pediatric intensive care unit after accidently being shot by police.
According to a report from KHOU, Daisha Smalls, the mother of the infant shot by a Houston Police officer, is planning to sue the department for the life threatening damage her baby is currently suffering.
Smalls was pumping gas in Houston on Wednesday, March 4, when she found herself in the midst of a police chase. A serial robber was attempting to evade police and had crashed at the gas station. The robber attempted to carjack Smalls, but she refused to adhere to his demands to leave the vehicle because her infant son was in the back seat.
The Houston Chronicle reports that the suspect actually climbed in on top of her and was attempting to shift gears in the vehicle. While Daisha was inside the vehicle struggling with the suspect, an officer identified as E. Garza fired multiple shots, killing the suspect and sending a bullet right into baby Legend's head.
The child remained in a pediatric ICU this week. Doctors removed a bullet from the baby's brain, and had to remove part of the baby's skull to alleviate pressure.
Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo released the following statement after the incident in which he said the case is being investigated by the department's Internal Affairs Division and the Harris County District Attorney's Office.
Acevedo had this to say about the shooting:
"[Legend] and his young, 19-year-old mother were innocently getting gas when an armed suspect, fleeing from police, attempted to carjack them. Fearing for the mother's safety, one of our officers discharged his weapon, fatally striking the suspect. Sadly, baby Legend was also struck. Officers at the scene immediately rendered first aid to Legend. Myself and Executive Assistant Chief Tory Finner personally went to the hospital to check on the baby and meet with his mother."
Daisha and her legal team believe that the Houston Police department responded recklessly.
“I was just scared for my son’s life,” Smalls said at a press conference with her lawyers. “Before I know what was happening, they were already shooting at my car and I was just scared for my son’s life. My son has been fighting every day for his life, and he’s struggling on his own to breathe by himself, to move by himself.”
Daisha's attorney, Ben Crump, reported that the press conference was the first time Smalls had left Legend's side since he was hospitalized.
In a recent press release, attorney Ben Crump wrote, “The Houston Police Department continues to dilute the details of the shooting of Legend Smalls to the public to paint their officers as heroic and distract from the fact that they shot a 1-year-old baby in the head. This innocent child who had his whole life ahead of him is fighting for his life in the hospital after HPD had the arrogance to characterize his head injury as a graze."
Crump has accused Houston PD of trying to "twist the narrative in its own favor", and says officers "clearly did not weigh the potential of injury to innocent citizens". He's demanded that the department release surveillance and police body cam footage of the incident.