Texas Deputy Constable Fatally Shot; Suspect Sought

BAYTOWN, Texas -- A local law enforcement leader with nearly three decades of experience - including a stint as a prosecutor - died Monday morning after he was shot behind a Harris County annex in Baytown about 7 a.m., police said.

A manhunt is underway for the shooter, who remained at large early afternoon despite police saying they had several leads. Dozens of law enforcement vehicles filled the annex's parking lot, in the 700 block of West Baker Road. Still more swarmed the surrounding neighborhoods.

Clint Greenwood, assistant chief deputy with the Harris County Precinct 3 Constable's Office, was arriving to work when someone opened fire on him, said Lt. Steve Dorris with the Baytown Police Department.

Greenwood died from a single gunshot wound, Dorris said. The shooting was not random, but police have not yet identified a motive.

"Whether or not he was specifically targeted, or whether this was because of the uniform he was wearing or the place he pulled up to in the morning, we just don't know that right now," Dorris said, adding that police have no reason to believe the shooter will target area residents.

At least a dozen police and sheriff's office cars arrived at the courthouse in Baytown on Monday morning after the shooting.

Nearby Sterling High School in Goose Creek CISD was on lockdown Monday morning due to the activity in the area, said district spokeswoman Susan Passmore. The lockdown was lifted mid-morning. Students will remain indoors all day at Sterling as a precaution.

LifeFlight transported Greenwood to Memorial Hermann Hospital in the Texas Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead soon after arriving.

Outside the hospital, officers greeted each other with hugs and handshakes. Police escorted a young man, possibly a relative, into the hospital as he cried and held his head in his hands.

Houston police spokesman Kese Smith confirmed that family members had arrived. HPD motorcycle units escorted Greenwood's body to the medical examiner's office, Smith said.

"He was an incredible human being, a cop's cop," Precinct 1 Constable Alan Rosen said, minutes after Greenwood's body was escorted to the medical examiner's office local law enforcement. At least a dozen police motorcycles, lights flashing, flanked the white minivan carrying Greenwood's body as the car pulled east on Cambridge Street away from the hospital.

Representatives from at least three constable precincts, the sheriff's office, the district attorney's office and the Houston Police Department came to Memorial Hermann Monday, Rosen said.

Greenwood's death sparked attention statewide.

"Texas is taking action to strengthen penalties for those brazen enough to commit crimes against law enforcement, and we will send a message that such vile acts will not be tolerated in the Lone Star State," Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement. "I am confident that the perpetrator of this swift and despicable act will be apprehended and that murder will be met with swift justice."

Attorney General Ken Paxton added: "This is a reminder to pray for and support all law enforcement officials in our state, especially at this time of grief."

Brian Benken, Greenwood's former law partner who also worked with him at the Harris County District Attorney's Office, was shaken by the news.

Benken said he and Greenwood ran a law practice together for several years before they both went back into investigations. Benken is now working as a private investigator.

"We both just liked the investigative side better," he said Monday.

At a morning news conference in Baytown, police officials began to mourn the loss.

"This morning, the Harris County Precinct 3 Constable's Office has suffered a great loss," said Precinct 3 Constable Sherman Eagleton. "I just want to send my condolences out to the family. And also the deputy's brothers and sisters in law enforcement that worked with Chief Greenwood."

Helicopters from the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Houston Police Department circled the neighborhoods surrounding the courthouse Monday morning. Law enforcement was searching for the suspect in nearby residential areas. The streets were reopened and helicopters no longer visible from the courthouse by 10:30 a.m.

The Baytown Police Department is leading the investigation into the shooting. The Harris County Sheriff's Office, Texas Rangers, the Precinct 3 Constable's Office and the Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Task Force are all assisting in the investigation.

Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo tweeted that the department's officers "stand with the men & women of Precinct 3. Our thoughts & prayers are with all of their friends, families & colleagues."

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the Precinct 3 Constable's Office and with the deputy constable's family," said Joseph Gamaldi, vice president of the Houston Police Officers Union.

"Sadly we offer condolences and prayers to law enforcement yet again," tweeted Kim Ogg, Harris County's recently installed district attorney. "Harris Co. law enforcement is working to find the shooter."

Greenwood's slaying was one of at least five high-profile shooting attacks on officers in Harris County in the last two years.

In August of 2015, Harris County Sheriff's Deputy Darren Goforth was shot and killed at a northwest Harris County gas station. Precinct 7 Deputy Constable Alden Clopton was shot in an ambush attack late at night while helping a colleague with a traffic stop. He survived. In February, two Houston police officers were shot and wounded while conducting anti-burglary operations on the city's southwest side.

"I am sickened and profoundly saddened by the brutal killing of Deputy Greenwood this morning," Harris County Judge Ed Emmett said in a statement. "My thoughts and prayers go out to his family, of course, and to all the men and women who surround us and protect us from similar acts of lawlessness and brutality."

Greenwood had previously worked at the Harris County Sheriff's Office.

He had nearly three decades of experience in law enforcement both as a peace officer and a prosecutor. At the time of his death he was assistant chief deputy at the Harris County Precinct 3 Constable’s Office.

Montgomery County Sheriff's Lt. Tim Cannon first met Greenwood in high school, in the 1970s.

They raced motorcycles and went shooting together. Cannon bought his motorcycle - a Honda Elsinore 125, from Greenwood, in 1974.

"Whenever I had a problem with my motorcycle - he'd come over and help me," he said. "Clint was always the go-to guy. If something needed service, he knew how to work on it. And he knew how to get something fixed."

Greenwood also loved shooting, he said.

"He was an expert shot," Cannon said. "He built pistols, he built rifles. He did it for people - if someone couldn't afford it, he'd do it for free - it was just his way."

He and others were struggling to comprehend why Greenwood had been shot.

"Clint was absolutely a target, for whatever reason. We don't know," he said. "But he didn't need to be a target. Clint was there to help. And whoever this person was, Clint probably would have reached out to help him as well."

Greenwood, a Rice University graduate who studied law at South Texas College of Law Houston, recently served several years as a top leader in the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, where he oversaw the Internal Affairs Division.

From 2009 to 2013 he led the Harris County district attorney’s unit responsible for investigating police officers and presenting the cases to grand juries, including allegations that Houston officers beat 17-year-old Chad Holley, a case that sparked widespread protests.

Before that, he spent over nearly 20 years as a reserve deputy with the Harris County Precinct 4 Constable’s Office.

"He was one of the best guys you'd ever want to work around," said Ron Hickman, former Harris County Sheriff and Precinct 4 Constable.

While he was at the sheriff's office, Greenwood oversaw security for soccer games at Houston's BBVA Compass Stadium. Haley Carter, a former Houston Dash player with family in law enforcement, said she remembered Greenwood for his professionalism and commitment.

"He was jovial when the time called for it, but serious and focused," Carter said. "He was the epitome of professional."

"He really set an example that I think should be emulated," she added. "His sense of duty was unparalleled."

Greenwood first obtained his peace officer’s license in 1988, three years after graduating from law school. Over his decades in law enforcement he took 4200 hours of education classes as well as 1600 hours of additional training, obtaining a master peace officer certification in 2012.

"We ask the entire community to please stand by us," Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzales said Monday morning. "We're going to do everything we can to track down whoever was responsible for this."

Keri Blakinger contributed to this report.

Tribune News Service