| Paper: Houston Chronicle Date: Wed 04/30/2008 Section: A
Page: 1 Edition: 3 STAR R.O.
http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=2008_4559159
1. MYSTERY SURROUNDS POLICE SHOOTING VICTIM / Man known to
his friends as a federal intelligence officer killed after a high-speed
chase
By MIKE TOLSON, LINDSAY WISE, MIKE GLENN, CINDY GEORGE
Staff BACK
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Mystery continues to envelop a man shot and killed by
Houston police Tuesday morning after a high-speed chase that ended near
the Galleria.
The victim was identified by friends as Roland Vincent
Carnaby, 52, of Houston. But who he really was - or more precisely, what
he was - is something police are still trying to piece together.
Carnaby held himself out as a federal intelligence agent
but was sometimes cagey about his precise job and employer. At times he
mentioned the Central Intelligence Agency or the Department of Homeland
Security. He was the president of the local chapter of the Association for
Intelligence Officers, a legitimate national organization whose board
contains luminaries such as former President George H.W. Bush. Friends
said they have seen him in the company socially of local law enforcement
officials and high-level CIA bureaucrats.
The CIA told KHOU that Carnaby was not an employee of
the intelligence agency.
Car dealer Alan Helfman met Carnaby more than a decade
ago when "a mutual friend high in law enforcement" brought him
by the dealership. "He bought eight or nine cars from me over the
years," Helfman said.
Carnaby told Helfman he was a federal officer who worked
in intelligence. The two men struck up a close friendship.
"He was always teasing me about being a reserve
constable," said Helfman, who volunteers for Harris County Precinct
7.
Friends insist Carnaby was very much who he said he was,
even if he was less than specific about his duties. One recalled a recent
party in Washington that they both attended for retired intelligence
agents.
`A blank page'
"Most of what he does is so classified that regular
homicide (detectives) will come up with a blank page and then a question
about why you are asking," said Fred Platt, the vice president of the
local chapter of intelligence agents. "He's here because of homeland
security. The port and the airport. He knows everybody on the command
staff of every agency."
Local law enforcement officials, however, say they don't
know him, including Houston Police Chief Harold Hurtt and Harris County
Sheriff Tommy Thomas. The local FBI office also claims to have no
knowledge of him.
Hurtt said he'd attended a function held by the
Association last year and may have met Carnaby there. He said he did not
remember him well, though the two were photographed together.
"I don't know the gentleman," he said.
Carnaby traveled frequently for work, Helfman said, but
whenever he was in Houston, he visited the dealership on a daily basis.
Helfman said Carnaby spoke seven languages and always carried an arsenal
of weapons, including several guns and a knife.
"He was always showing me his knife tricks,"
he said. "He was real good at karate, too."
Carnaby was tight-lipped about his work and his private
life, and Helfman said he didn't question him.
"His entire life has always been clandestine. His
girlfriends didn't even know what he was doing," Helfman said.
Even mundane details of Carnaby's life were tinged with
mystery. His address listed with the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles is
a private mailbox at a UPS Store near downtown. The address at which he
registered his Jeep Commander was a different UPS Store in Pearland.
Whatever his real story, Carnaby's life came to an end
about 11 a.m. after police forced his vehicle to a stop. He didn't
acknowledge the officers who encircled him with guns drawn. And he
"refused to put his hands where the officers could see him,"
said Houston Police Sgt. John Chomiak.
"The driver refused to comply, talk or roll down
the window," Chomiak said.
He opened the driver's side door only after one of the
officers smashed the passenger-side window, police said.
"He stepped out of his vehicle, turned around and
reached under the seat," Chomiak said.
When he did, two officers each fired one time,
authorities said. The officers were identified by police officials as HPD
Sgt. A.J. Washington and Officer C.A. Foster. Carnaby was later pronounced
dead at Ben Taub Hospital.
The incident lasted most of an hour. It began with a
routine traffic stop when Carnaby was pulled over for speeding along Texas
288 near Orem. Carnaby raced away after the officers learned he had a
license to carry a concealed weapon, police said.
120-mph chase
With the officers in close pursuit, the Jeep raced north
along the South Freeway, with speeds reaching 120 mph toward downtown
Houston before heading west on the Katy Freeway. Carnaby then headed south
along the West Loop, exiting at Woodway where the chase finally came to an
end.
Harris County medical examiners said the autopsy will
probably be performed today.
Washington, a 22-year HPD veteran, and Foster, who has
been on the force for about 15 years, later told investigators they fired
because they were in fear for their safety, police said.
Police said the shooting was apparently captured by the
dashboard cameras of the HPD patrol cars.
Carnaby slumped to the ground after the officers began
firing. He was motionless when they placed him in handcuffs.
`This doesn't smell right'
Although an initial examination revealed no weapons
inside the man's car, that changed once it was taken into custody for a
more detailed search.
"We have located three weapons inside the vehicle -
two pistols and a shotgun," said HPD spokesman John Cannon. "At
least one of them was within reach of the suspect."
The frontage road was closed for several hours Tuesday
as investigators questioned the officers behind long lines of crime scene
tape.
"What's going on?" a passing motorist shouted
out as he crawled along the clogged West Loop.
That's the question his friends want answered. They say
Carnaby had no reason to run or disobey police. Platt said he had dined
with Carnaby both Saturday and Sunday and nothing seemed out of the
ordinary. Carnaby was engaged to be married, he said, and led a happy
life.
"I can't fathom any reason why he would be running
from the police because he is the police," Platt said. "This
doesn't make any sense. I can't understand him running or why they opened
up on him. This doesn't smell right."
Paper: Houston Chronicle Date: Wed 04/30/2008 Section: A
Page: 1 Edition: 3 STAR R.O.
2. WEAPONS FOUND
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http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=2008_4559136 Staff
Police initially found no weapons in the Jeep SUV driven
by Roland Vincent Carnaby. When it was taken into custody for a more
detailed search, they discovered two pistols and a shotgun.
3.
FINAL MOMENTS OF THE MAN CIA WON'T CLAIM / Carnaby, set to be
held as possible impersonator, made calls to FBI, HPD as he fled
Paper: Houston Chronicle Date: Fri 05/02/2008 Section: A Page: 1
Edition: 3 STAR R.O.
By LINDSAY WISE, DALE LEZON Staff
The patrol officer who stopped Roland Carnaby for speeding
Tuesday morning was about to detain him as a possible CIA agent impersonator
when he took off in his SUV, Houston police said Thursday.
Two days after officers shot Carnaby to death at the
conclusion of a high-speed chase, more details emerged about the bizarre
chain of events, including phone calls Carnaby made after he was pulled
over.
First Carnaby called an acquaintance in Houston Police
Department's internal affairs division, trying to get someone to vouch for
him to the patrolman. Later, as he raced away from pursuing officers at
speeds up to 120 mph, the man who had for years projected the persona of a
federal intelligence officer apparently called a contact he knew in the FBI.
Carnaby initially had thought that by showing an ID card
bearing the seal of the Central Intelligence Agency he could be on his way.
But the officer who stopped him along Texas 288 near West Orem, already
suspicious because of Carnaby's nervous behavior, did not recognize the ID
card and told Carnaby he would check it out, HPD homicide Capt. Steve Jett
said.
"The officer went back and checked the guy, and when he
checked the license, the handgun permit came up and he was like, `Why does a
federal agent need a concealed handgun permit?' " Jett said.
Increasingly suspicious, the officer asked Carnaby for
proof of his connection with the CIA.
"He asked him questions like who's your supervisor? Do you
have a contact number you can call and verify? And the answers weren't very
good," Jett said.
That was when Carnaby called someone he knew at HPD's
internal affairs division. The officer asked the acquaintance if Carnaby
really worked for the CIA.
"The answer was `possibly yes,' " Jett said. "But the
officer was obviously not inclined to just let him go. He was being very
thorough and probably was going to write him a ticket, if not put him in
jail for something, probably for not presenting a concealed handgun permit
when he was stopped."
State law requires holders of concealed carry permits to
present them when stopped by police if they have weapons in the car.
Doubts about Carnaby's true identity were compounded by
conflicting information, Jett said. The officer also had contacted HPD's
criminal intelligence and major offenders divisions to ask them to check
Carnaby's credentials, he said.
"They told him `No, we think he's a fraud,' " Jett said.
"Something apparently triggered on his name, but again nobody was sure.
Nobody's still sure. They'd heard his name before and they thought no, he's
not (CIA)."
The officer was told to "find something to arrest him on;
you can't arrest him for speeding," Jett said.
Carnaby had not shown his concealed weapon permit, which
was sufficient violation to hold him. But when he was asked to step out of
his SUV, Carnaby sped away, Jett said.
As HPD patrol cars began their pursuit, Carnaby called a
friend on his cell phone. The friend, described by Jett as "possible FBI,"
urged Carnaby to pull over and obey police.
HPD investigators are still trying to get in touch with
the friend to talk to him, Jett said. Local FBI spokeswoman Shauna Dunlap
declined to comment, saying it is inappropriate for the FBI to discuss an
ongoing HPD investigation.
Autopsy video refused
Carnaby's lawyer, Kenneth Brooten, said the fatal
shooting, which occurred after Carnaby exited his car at the end of the
chase, did not appear necessary.
"All of this has a smell factor," Brooten said. "What was
the justification for the use of deadly force? Was this man a felon that was
fleeing the scene of an armed robbery? Had he pulled a gun on them
previously? That's a public policy issue. That affects every person who
drives around Houston or lives there."
Brooten said he sent a letter to the Harris County Medical
Examiner's office asking that Carnaby's autopsy be videotaped, but county
attorney Barbara Callistien wrote him back to say HCME does not videotape
autopsies.
Brooten also wants the Texas Rangers to examine the case
and the FBI to look at whether evidence has been tampered with.
A former chief counsel of the U.S. House Select Committee
on Assassinations, Brooten met Carnaby several years ago and served as an
attorney for the Houston branch of the Association of Former Intelligence
Officers, which Carnaby headed. He said he attended an annual symposium for
the AFIO at the CIA headquarters at Langley with Carnaby, who seemed
well-known there, albeit under the pseudonym of "Tony."
"I recall people coming out recognizing him, `Hey Tony,
how are you?' This is what I saw. Did I know those people personally? No.
Was I introduced by Tony? Yes."
One of Carnaby's most obvious signs of legitimacy came
through the AFIO. Carnaby had led the revival of a dormant Houston chapter,
which periodically hosted banquets that featured speakers well known in the
intelligence community and were well attended by local law enforcement
officials.
The executive director of the AFIO, Elizabeth Bancroft,
said she met Carnaby several years ago at the group's functions held near
McLean, Va.
The organization, which is open to U.S. citizens, holds an
annual symposium and monthly luncheons.
Bancroft said Carnaby never mentioned being a former CIA
employee, and the stories about his connection to the agency shocked her.
"Is this genuine or is this a very overactive fantasy life?" she said.
Carnaby was a very eager, enthusiastic AFIO member,
Bancroft said. When she told him that the group's Houston chapter had been
inactive for years, he volunteered to get it going again.
She said he was an excellent organizer and boosted chapter
membership to about 200 members. He also had extensive contacts with law
enforcement, which helped him book speakers for the chapter's meetings.
HPD defends officers
Carnaby asked the national headquarters if he could name
the Houston chapter after CIA agent William Francis Buckley, who was
kidnapped, tortured and killed in Lebanon in 1985.
"He talked about Buckley, how much he admired him and the
bravery it must have taken to endure that type of torture that ends your
life," she said.
For a person who was so supportive of law enforcement,
Carnaby's final agony angers lawyer Brooten, who criticized the officers
present for handcuffing him instead of administering medical care.
"All of this other stuff (about Carnaby's mysterious life)
is all very interesting, but it is of no consequence when you consider a man
is dead and he died handcuffed and nobody tried to stop the bleeding or
anything," Brooten said. "You know what you call that? You call that an
assassination."
Jett defended the officers at the scene, saying they are
not trained to assist people with serious gunshot wounds.
"We would handcuff people and try to get them comfortable,
but we're not paramedics, and most officers don't know about giving first
aid like that other than CPR, and you don't want to give CPR to a gunshot
victim," he said.
Investigators later found three weapons in Carnaby's car,
police said. One pistol was under the passenger-side floormat. A second was
between the seats. On the back seat floorboard lay a pistol-grip shotgun
with a round in the chamber and the safety off.
Brooten said he has no idea why his friend and client ran
from police, but he has a difficult time believing HPD's account.
"Maybe he thought he was being set up. That's speculation
only," he said. "The answer is no, I don't know. But there are multiple
reasons why an experienced professional would feel threatened. And given the
actions after the shooting, maybe his instinct was correct."
CIA repeats its denial
The CIA on Thursday reiterated its denial that Carnaby had
no connection with the intelligence agency.
"This individual was not a CIA officer, and I have seen no
indication whatsoever that he had a contract with the CIA," said agency
spokesman George Little.
True or not - his friends claim disavowing any affiliation
is standard procedure in clandestine intelligence work - Carnaby had
certainly been successful at constructing the appearance of a longtime
intelligence officer and a well-connected guy.
His Pearland home contains several photos of him taken
with local dignitaries, including former U.S. Secretary of State James A.
Baker III and Houston Police Chief Harold Hurtt. Both insist they do not
know him.
4. CHASING THE TRUTH / The police pursuit that ended in
ROLAND CARNABY’S death left behind a puzzle - how to tell the facts of
his life from fiction / Was it a spy in the SUV, or a would-be secret
agent?
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http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=2008_4559725
By LINDSAY WISE, DALE LEZON, MIKE TOLSON, MIKE GLENN,
STEWART M. POWELL, MATT STILES STAFF
Much about Roland Carnaby's life speaks to a long career
as a devoted intelligence officer - from his effort to build a local
chapter of the professional association to his personal friendships with
current and former members of the intelligence community to his respect
and affection for law enforcement and its dignitaries.
His home in Pearland is filled with pieces of his
patriotic past. Plaques honor his years of service to the Central
Intelligence Agency. A book written by former CIA Director George Tenet is
inscribed with a warm and playful message. Photos of him at CIA
headquarters, in front of military aircraft and with various dignitaries
are prominently displayed.
A small room off the front foyer was Carnaby's study.
There's an American flag on the wall and a "CIA" coffee mug on
the desk.
Now, in the wake of his strange death Tuesday at the
conclusion of a high-speed police chase, doubts have been raised about his
oft-projected persona as a CIA operative by the agency itself. It bluntly
disavowed employing him. Might the denial be little more than standard
operating procedure, as his wife suggests? Or could it be that he spent
years constructing an elaborate fraud, with a home filled more with
artifice than artifacts?
When his wife, Susan, was asked if she now thinks it
possible her husband could have been lying to her for more than a decade,
she hesitated.
"How would you know?" she replied quietly.
"How would you know if what anybody told you was true?"
As family and friends gathered to mourn his loss, her
wavering confidence loomed large. A day after police shot him as he made
an ill-advised move upon exiting his SUV, the Carnaby that so many thought
they knew had become a shadowy figure, one who apparently concealed from
his wife his true whereabouts and from his friends many of the pertinent
details of his private life. Even some who stand by him admit they never
got to know him really well.
"He never really wanted to talk about his personal
life," said one friend who asked not to be named. "Obviously
there are some missing pieces."
This friend, and others, remain loyal, both to the warm
and engaging man they knew and to the intelligence agent he claimed to be.
They insist his bona fides were too solid and his recognition by former
intelligence personnel too genuine for him to be a fake. A caller
identifying himself only as "Chuck" and responding to an inquiry
sent to chapters of the Association for Intelligence Officers insisted
Carnaby worked with the CIA in the 1980s in its Soviet Union unit.
The CIA disputes this, which if true means that the
agency identification he carried with him at the time of his death and
which he occasionally flashed to friends and law enforcement officers
would have been bogus.
"While we do not as a rule publicly deny or confirm
employment, I will tell you in this case that Mr. Carnaby was not an
employee of the Central Intelligence Agency," CIA spokesman Paul
Gimigliano said. "He was never a CIA officer."
Wife doubts CIA denial
Of course, the denial doesn't prove that the agency
never used him as a contractor. Carnaby was fluent in many languages,
family and friends say, including Arabic and French, and could have been
useful in the Mideast, especially in the waning days of the Cold War.
Susan Carnaby does not put much stock in the CIA denial.
"No, because why would they even admit it?"
she said. "How many cases could that blow? I think that's not their
policy to make comments on that type of thing. Roland always told me that
if anything ever happened to him don't expect anyone to stand up and say
that's what he did for a living. They keep these things undercover for a
reason."
A former wife, however, is less convinced. Sha'rie
Burch, who lives in Willis, said much about her ex-husband struck her as
odd when they were married. He told her he worked with the CIA and even
had a small badge, but never explained what he did. If she asked for more
details, she said, he'd get defensive and not answer.
"He had very big, tall stories that were hard to
believe," Burch said. "It was kind of a suspicious thing."
Port Authority connection
On the other hand, he was friends with local federal
agents and they often came to the couple's Spring home for dinner, Burch
said. The couple had private dinners with the head of the Houston Port
Authority, she said, and Carnaby also was close friends with former Harris
County Sheriff Johnny Klevenhagen, who she said was best man at their
wedding in 1986. Klevenhagen died in 1999.
The Port Authority connection could make sense for a
strictly commercial reason. Carnaby's family, which used the different
spelling of Karnabe, was involved in the shipping industry, which was the
apparent source of his considerable but undetermined income. He paid cash
for his cars.
Burch said she first met him when she was about 19.
Friends introduced them. He was 10 years older, drove a Ferrari and
boasted about his family homes in New York and Geneva.
He was the son of a wealthy Lebanese family that owns a
shipping business, she said. She said he told her that he was born and
raised in New York City.
His father, Vincent Said Carnaby, was a Lebanese
ambassador to several countries, she said, and son Roland worked for the
family business and often traveled for business.
He and Burch divorced in 1993. Part of the reason, she
said, was his hot temper.
By the time of their divorce, Carnaby already had
another romance brewing. A petite woman with curly brown hair and glasses,
Susan Carnaby teaches eighth grade in Northshore. The 56-year-old met her
husband about 17 years ago when she worked as the manager of a men's store
in the Galleria.
She described him as a gentleman, worldly and traveled.
"He's one of those people who's very unique, very
vibrant, the life of the party, knows everybody," she said. "He
likes to be around people. He's a people person."
He told her he was a CIA agent and she had no reason to
doubt him, she said.
After dating for about five years, the couple married in
Las Vegas on Nov. 10, 1997. "He planned the whole thing," she
said.
Susan Carnaby said her husband often traveled overseas,
leaving for months at a time. If he was in Washington, he would tell her,
but most of the time she had no idea where he had gone, she said. It was
top secret, he told her.
The last time she saw her husband was in March, she
said.
The news that he was in town when he was supposedly
traveling, and the mention of a supposed fiancee, stunned her when she
learned it after his death. She said she and her husband were not
separated.
"Not as far as I know," she said, adding that
the couple just moved into their new house in Pearland last June.
"All his things are here."
Police Wednesday were still trying to fit together the
series of events that ended when Carnaby was shot by officers who
surrounded his vehicle after a chase that ended near the Galleria.
During the chase, Carnaby called a friend on his cell
phone. The friend, whom police have not identified, was supposed to have
lunch with Carnaby that day.
"The guy was telling him, `You need to pull over.
You need to do what the officers are telling you,' " said Capt. Steve
Jett, commander of HPD's homicide division. "His answer was, `I
can't.' "
Tapes back HPD's account
Police don't know why Carnaby felt unable to comply with
the officers' demands. He appeared shaky and nervous when pulled over for
speeding on Texas 288 near West Orem. He presented a card identifying
himself as a CIA employee.
The card was laminated and bore the seal of the
espionage agency.
Police said they are waiting for federal officials to
determine if the document was legitimate or a fabrication.
Investigators said the three weapons discovered in his
car appeared to be Carnaby's and were legally owned. One pistol was under
the passenger-side floor mat while a second was between the seats. A
pistol-grip shotgun was on the floor board of the back seat. Jett said a
round was in the shotgun and the safety was off.
"All he would have to do was reach over the console
and pick it up," Jett said.
The officers told investigators they feared for their
safety when he reached back into the Jeep for what turned out to be a
"shiny" personal assistant-cellular phone.
Jett said there is video and audio that backs up the
officers' contention that Carnaby acted "erratically," before
making a "very quick overt move" toward an officer.
He said the HPD would probably seek to prevent release
of the audio and video until the investigation concludes.
"We have no idea why he ran. We are investigating
that," he said. "He was very nervous. The officer said that he
was shaking, and the officer didn't understand because most law
enforcement would have been friendly."
A review of public records showed that Carnaby had a
clean record save for two speeding tickets, including one last summer in
Fairfax, Va.
Paper: Houston Chronicle Date: Sat 05/03/2008 Section: B
Page: 5 Edition: 3 STAR R.O.
5. Wife of man who claimed CIA link sues / Federal case
says HPD officers who shot, killed Carnaby violated his civil rights
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By DALE LEZON, LINDSEY WISE Staff
The wife of a man fatally shot by Houston police and who
claimed to be a CIA agent filed a federal lawsuit Friday against the city,
accusing the officers of violating his civil rights.
Roland Vincent Carnaby, 52, was killed after he led
police on a high-speed chase after a traffic stop Tuesday morning. The CIA
has denied that Carnaby was connected to the agency.
The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Houston, also
names Houston Police Department Sgt. Andrew J. Washington and Officer
Charles Foster. Both fired at Carnaby.
It states that the officers violated Carnaby's right to
protection from unreasonable search and seizure and his right to due
process.
Police actions defended
The shooting was unjustified, Randall Kallinen, the
attorney for Susan Carnaby, said in a news conference after filing the
suit.
HPD spokesman Victor Senties said the department does
not comment on pending litigation and directed questions to the city
attorney's office.
"I think (the officers) operated the way they
should have according to proper police procedures and according to
constitutional requirements," said Arturo Michel, Houston city
attorney.
Police officials said Washington and Foster fired
because they were in fear for their safety.
Excessive force alleged
After the chase ended, Carnaby stopped and was getting
out out of his Jeep Commander but refused officers' commands to put his
hands in plain sight, officials said. Carnaby then reached under the
driver seat and grabbed an object as he began to get out of his car,
police said. That's when the officers fired.
"When a person has their back to you, the officer
cannot be in reasonable, objective fear for his life," Kallinen said.
Kallinen said Susan Carnaby hopes the suit will make the
city change its methods about use of excessive force on suspects. She is
also asking for unspecified monetary damages.
Police said the chase started after Carnaby was stopped
for speeding along Texas 288.
Hard to verify
The officer who stopped him became suspicious when
Carnaby appeared nervous and claimed to be connected to the CIA. Police
were trying to determine if Carnaby's claim was true when he sped off.
Officers chased the Jeep north along the South Freeway,
with speeds reaching 120 mph, toward downtown Houston and then west on the
Katy Freeway. Carnaby then headed south along the West Loop, exiting at
Woodway, where the chase ended.
Police said officers would find three weapons in
Carnaby's SUV, including two pistols and a pistol-grip shotgun.
Dozens of blog posts refer to Carnaby as a noted
intelligence service veteran. The blog posts have been difficult to
verify.
Kallinen said that questions surrounding Carnaby's life
do not justify his death.
Discipline problems
He also said that the officers who shot him have had
several disciplinary problems at the department.
Foster, who has been on the force for about 28 years,
has been reprimanded twice for rules violations, according to city
records.
City records show that Washington, on the force for
about 22 years, has been suspended once for five days for striking a
suspect and once for one day for speeding.
He also was suspended for three days for insubordination
and violating department rules. That suspension was reduced to one day in
arbitration.
Paper: Houston Chronicle Date: Sat 05/10/2008 Section: B
Page: 3 Edition: 3 STAR R.O.
6. Police review first-aid training / Fatal shooting of man
who claimed to work for CIA prompts new look
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By LINDSAY WISE Staff
Houston Police Department officials said Friday it is
too early to draw any conclusions in their investigation into the death
last week of Roland Carnaby, a man who claimed to be a CIA agent before
leading officers on a high-speed chase.
However, the department will be looking into whether its
officers could do more to aid shooting victims while waiting for
paramedics to arrive, said Asst. Chief Michael Dirden of HPD's criminal
investigations command.
Officers fatally shot Carnaby, 52, at the end of the
120-mph chase when he stepped out of his SUV and reached back under the
seat for a shiny object that turned out to be a personal assistant
cellular device.
Carnaby, bleeding from a gunshot wound to the lower
back, lay handcuffed on the pavement for 12 minutes after the shooting. He
was later pronounced dead at Ben Taub General Hospital.
"We recognize that we can do a better job in trying
to ensure first aid is administered swiftly," Dirden said.
Dirden said it is HPD policy for officers to get medical
attention for the wounded, but officers are trained only in basic first
aid and are not equipped to treat serious gunshot injuries.
He added that the officers involved were traumatized and
"may not have been in a situation emotionally" to administer aid
to Carnaby immediately.
Carnaby's wife, Susan, has filed a federal lawsuit
against the city, accusing the officers of violating her husband's civil
rights.
`Nobody shot at them'
Her attorney, Randall Kallinen, said he found Dirden's
comments about the emotional state of the officers in the aftermath of the
shooting "to be an extremely odd statement."
"Nobody shot at them," he said. "That's
not even credible."
The bizarre chain of events began when Carnaby was
stopped for speeding on Texas 288 on April 29.
The officer became suspicious when Carnaby appeared
nervous and claimed to be connected to the CIA. Police were trying to
determine if Carnaby's claim was true when he sped off. The CIA has since
denied he ever worked for the agency.
Officers pursued Carnaby's Jeep to the West Loop feeder
road near Woodway, where the chase ended as Carnaby slowed to a stop in
traffic.
After the shooting, officers found three weapons in
Carnaby's SUV, including two pistols and a pistol-grip shotgun. Police
said Friday that investigators have determined Carnaby bought both pistols
at a local sporting goods store. They have not determined where he
obtained the shotgun, they said.
The HPD's homicide and internal affairs divisions, the
Harris County District Attorney's Office and the medical examiner's office
are investigating the shooting.
"HPD regrets the loss of life and it's paramount
that ... we do a thorough investigation to try to understand all the
factors involved," Dirden said.
Both veteran officers who fired at Carnaby, Sgt. Andrew
J. Washington and Officer Charles Foster, are back on duty.
| go
to Timeline |
 See
Roland Carnaby in Secret Service detail waiting for the
President. |
7. Blogs, `CIA brother' spin zest into
Carnaby mystery / Friend's ex-wife calls claims about
spy work hogwash
By MIKE TOLSON Staff Paper: Houston Chronicle
Date: Sun 05/11/2008 Section: B Page: 1 MetFront Edition: 3 STAR R.O.
When it comes to Roland Carnaby, the truth is out there -
way out there. So far out that you reach the blogosphere before finding
anything that publicly connects him to his beloved Central Intelligence
Agency, which he claimed to still patriotically serve when Houston police
shot him down at t he end of a crosstown chase on April 29.
But even that obscure, blog-world confirmation is not what
it seems to be, which is pretty much what you get with Carnaby, the curious
52-year-old son of Lebanese parents who spent much of his time in bars and
restaurants dropping broad hints that he was somebody, or something, else.
The "proof" of his tie to the CIA - denied repeatedly by
the agency itself - comes indirectly through a Houston man, Alan Premel, who
supposedly served with him and who has been linked to him on numerous
Internet sites. If one believes the various posts about him, Premelis a
former CIA wunderkind who won the agency's highest award for valor before a
nasty separation and lawsuit that netted him a multimillion dollar
settlement.
Those posts are made on obscure blogs that ceased shortly
after posting articles about Premelor in the reader comment sections of
better-known, ongoing blogs. A few appear in comment sections of legitimate
stories posted on mainstream news media sites.
Taken together they give a whiff of credibility to the
assertions of Carnaby's friends that he was the agent he claimed to be,
especially considering they were made long before Carnaby was killed.
One of them, at the short-lived papparazzipress.com,
refers to Carnaby as one of "CIA's most experienced, talented and
high-profile clandestine officers." Another mentions Premel as a "battle
hardened and battle tested CIA war hero" who was "the youngest supervisor to
ever head a task force."
Shortly after Carnaby's death, Premel's
personal page on
MySpace.com displayed a photo of him with Carnaby - or "Tony" as he was
known to most of his friends - pasted in front of a CIA seal along with the
words: "We lost Tony. RIP my great brother. I will see you soon."
Plenty impressive. But is any of it true?
Premel's former wife spent years enmeshed in his claims of
being a spook and his sly mentions of CIA intrigue that was too sensitive to
divulge. She is familiar with many of the references to Premel
and Carnaby
in cyberspace, all made through anonymous bloggers or pseudonymous blog
readers. She has a simple description for it all.
"A bunch of hogwash," she said.
Amy Carter was married to Premelfrom 2001 to 2006 and
confirmed that he was indeed a friend of Carnaby, whom she recalled meeting
at least a dozen times. But not for a minute did she buy into their claims
of a secret life of government service. At least with respect to her
husband, the entire notion was literally incredible.
A fantasy world
"He brought lying to a new level," Carter said in an
interview. "He lives in a fantasy world. As long as everybody follows along
with that, he's OK. But when you challenge it, he falls apart."
As for Carnaby, she claimed to know little. But she
doubted much.
"I didn't like him," she said. "If for no other reason, he
was perpetuating what I knew to be a lie."
At the time Carter was hopeful of saving her marriage. She
said she wanted Premel to own up to the CIA fantasy and pushed counseling
sessions in the hope of moving past it.
"He never once admitted to the lie," she said. "I have no
idea where it originated."
Premel , 32, lives in Atascocita. He would not agree to an
interview. But through messages sent in response to queries to his MySpace
page, he still vouches for Carnaby's CIA work, at least up until recent
months when he said they drifted apart.
"Not only is he what he says he is but he is deeply
connected," Premel wrote. "There is a smear campaign out there. CIA is
misunderstood as an intelligence agency. What it really is is a covert
action agency. Even through death CIA will deny not only officers but
professional civilian contractors."
Premel said Carnaby was in Houston because of "shipping
stuff" and "port security." He added that the truth about Carnaby's life
would be "one of the greatest stories ever told, (but) no one will be
hearing it anytime soon."
Conspiracy blogs are not bothering to wait. Carnaby's odd
death, combined with Internet references linking him to Premel
and top
positions at the CIA and an already ingrained suspicion of government and
law enforcement, have been more than enough to keep Carnaby alive
indefinitely as another piece of an ever-enlarging puzzle.
Among the more interesting claims: He was chasing a
suitcase nuclear bomb that had arrived in the U.S. from Israel when he was
killed; or he was murdered because he had infiltrated a local Mossad ring.
Carnaby had no shortage of friends in Houston standing up
for him in the days following his death. They said he knew too many local
law enforcement officials to be a fraud. And he seemed to be too devoted to
spycraft and the mission behind it for it to have been a casual interest.
"I mean he lived and ate and slept it, and he could never
really get his mind off it," said his brother-in-law, Rob Kouts. "Took his
work with him wherever he went, family holidays or whatever. He was just
obsessed with his work and his country."
Kouts said he understood why the CIA might have disavowed
him, but it nonetheless pained him and his sister, Carnaby's wife Susan.
That rejection made it seem as if they had no clue about what sort of person
he really was.
" `We don't know him.' Yeah, right. Then why did they give
them this plaque and several like it?" Kouts said, gesturing at a tabletop
crowded with CIA mementoes."We always knew that if something happened to
him, nobody was going to come forward, at least not with any details. At the
end of the day, I don't think they're going to deny it forever."
Not even good fakes
For the agency to say anything at all is unusual. It did
not respond to queries about Premel. In Carnaby's case, however, it took the
unusual step of denying any current or former association with him. Those of
conspiracy bent saw a hidden significance to the quick denial. After all,
they say, surely all the plaques of recognition speak louder than official
statements to the press.
To Robert Baer, longtime CIA agent turned bestselling
author and technical adviser for the Hollywood film Syriana, the plaques in
question mean nothing. Shown photos of them via e-mail, Baer said they were
fakes, and not even good ones. And for the record, he said he has never
heard of Carnaby or Premel, even though the latter's name had been dropped
by someone into Baer's Wikipedia biography.
To Sha'rie Burch, one of Carnaby's ex-wives, his life was
a case of a fantasy running amok. She never bought his claim to a CIA
connection or saw any evidence beyond his assertions. She said whenever she
challenged him he would get angry and defensive.
To Carter, Premel's
ex, the obsession with spy work and
the accumulated props sound all too familiar. She said her ex-husband also
had plaques and identification badges.
Premel did not have the money to disappear for long
periods of time as Carnaby apparently did, which may explain why Carnaby's
wife thought he was out of the country when he actually was in Houston
hanging out with friends and reportedly carrying on a romance with another
woman.
The Premel of Internet lore - created entirely by
anonymous Web postings - is not unlike the vaguely romantic and exciting
figure that Carnaby was to his friends. Not only was Premel a CIA hero, but
he was writing a book to be titled Way of the Ghost, consulting on Hollywood
scripts along with Baer and dating Paris Hilton, actress Rachel McAdams and
a former Houston adult movie performer.
He was such a fascinating figure that CNN National
Security Correspondent David Ensor did a lengthy interview with him. Never
mind that Ensor had left the network at the time the interview supposedly
took place.
The porn connection
At least there was some truth to dating a one-time porn
actress. Her screen identity, borrowed without permission from an old high
school friend, was Syvette Wimberley. Her actual name is Laura Madden, and
she met Premel through friends. They went out a few times before she cut off
the relationship, said Madden's attorney, Kent Schaffer.
He said he had to send a threatening letter to Premel to
stop him from bothering her.
"He boasted about being a government agent, and he was
able to disappear people and all that sort of stuff," Schaffer said. "He
scared her. She believed him. I sent him a cease and desist letter, and she
never heard from him again."
Where all the postings about Premel
came from is a
mystery. Carter figures she has a pretty good idea.
"In reality, he's a 32-year-old guy who lives at home with
his parents," she said. "He has no money. He has a lot of time. The fantasy
world in his head is a lot better than the world he lives in."
Premel does have one connection to the government. He has
been charged in county court with misdemeanor theft. He was accused of
stealing Apple iPods while a FedEx driver this year and has a court date
next week.
Paper: Houston Chronicle Date: Fri 05/23/2008 Section: B
Page: 2 Edition: 3 STAR R.O.
8. Suit says HPD violated policy in fatal pursuit of `CIA
agent' / Widow's lawyer says the case will prove Roland Carnaby's ties to
national security BACK
TOP
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By MIKE GLENN Staff
Archive is the same as the
original article
The lawyer representing Roland Carnaby's widow in her
lawsuit against the city said the Houston Police Department violated its
own policies when officers pursued the man who claimed to be a CIA agent
on a crosstown chase that turned deadly.
The policy, which came into effect about two weeks
before the April 29 high-speed chase, mandates that officers must
"reasonably believe" that immediately apprehending the suspect
outweighs any possible risk to the public.
One of the factors to be considered, the policy states,
is whether police can gather sufficient information about the person to
file an arrest warrant. If so, officers "will be expected to
discontinue the pursuit," the policy states.
"They knew exactly who he was and where he
lived," said attorney Randall Kallinen. "They knew his criminal
record. He had never been arrested for a crime."
Another factor, according to the policy, is the
seriousness of the original offense.
Carnaby, 52, was stopped for speeding along Texas 288
near West Orem. He fled after showing the officer an identification card
that he claimed came from the CIA.
On Thursday, Police Chief Harold Hurtt said the
department is continuing to investigate.
Police said Carnaby failed to present his permit to
carry a concealed weapon when officers pulled him over. They later found
three weapons inside his Jeep SUV - including a pistol and a shotgun.
Kallinen also criticized the officers' decision to
surround Carnaby's vehicle once the chase ended on the southbound 610 West
Loop feeder road near Woodway.
"You must get verbal communication once a pursuit
has been ended and there is a person in the car (but) they did not,"
Kallinen said. "They attacked the car with batons."
Carnaby was fatally shot after stepping out of the
vehicle, turning around and reaching under the seat for a shiny object
that turned out to be a cell phone.
Although the CIA maintains that Carnaby had no
connection with the organization, Kallinen said Carnaby's past assignments
for them and law enforcement agencies such as the FBI will come to light
during the upcoming lawsuit.
"We will prove that Mr. Carnaby worked for the
security interests of the federal government and was paid for it,"
Kallinen said.
Hurtt said he was told by the FBI that Carnaby "may
have" been an informant at one time for them but had no other details
about the relationship.
On Thursday, Houston FBI spokeswoman Shauna Dunlap said
the agency "cannot confirm nor deny the names of people who provide
us with information."
Paper: Houston Chronicle Date: Sat 05/24/2008 Section: B
Page: 2 Edition: 3 STAR R.O.
9. Judge issues orders to city in Carnaby suit / He says
evidence normally discarded must be preserved
By CINDY GEORGE Staff BACK
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A federal judge on Friday ordered the city of Houston to
preserve all evidence related to the fatal shooting last month of a man
who claimed be a CIA agent and led officers on a high-speed chase.
Randall Kallinen, the lawyer representing Roland
Carnaby's widow in a federal suit accusing the officers of violating her
husband's civil rights, asked U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison to force
the city to retain items, including 911 tapes and data transmissions that
the department normally discards after a few months.
"The condition of the guns are very, very critical
to the case," he said.
Annie Teehan, a senior assistant city attorney, said she
didn't know if the guns had been discharged since the April 29 fatal
shooting.
"I doubt it has been discharged by the
officer," she said, though it "may have been in the homicide's
investigation."
Carnaby, 52, was stopped for speeding along Texas 288.
He showed the officer an identification card that he claimed came from the
CIA, but fled after police learned he had a license to carry a concealed
weapon.
The CIA maintains Carnaby was not connected to it.
Houston Police Chief Harold Hurtt said this week that
the department is continuing to investigate.
The lawsuit alleges that police used excessive force on
Carnaby and submitted him to unreasonable search and seizure. Susan
Carnaby seeks HPD policy changes as well as unspecified monetary damages.
During a hearing Friday morning, Teehan confirmed that
the Secret Service is looking at Carnaby's laptop.
The judge also declined Teehan's request for a gag
order.
"I think counsel is trying his case in the media
already," she said, referencing Kallinen's news conference Thursday
about HPD policies. "He's doing it now and when we get closer to
trial, I just feel it will be even worse and poison the potential jury
pool."
Kallinen said he's just exercising his First Amendment
right.
"The city of Houston has come out with several
press conferences about how they do things correctly," Kallinen said.
"I am merely responding to those."
Also, Kallinen filed an amended complaint that provides
the correct name of both officers accused who discharged their guns. They
are Andrew J. Washington and Cecil Foster - not Charles Foster, who is
retired.
Paper: Houston Chronicle Date: Fri 07/25/2008 Section: B
Page: 3 Edition: 3 STAR R.O.
10. No indictments in death of man claiming CIA ties / 2
officers shot driver after chase; civil suit continues
By BRIAN ROGERS, MIKE GLENN Staff BACK
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A Harris County grand jury Thursday declined to indict
two Houston police officers in the shooting death of a man who claimed to
be a CIA agent.
Roland Carnaby was fatally wounded on April 29 after
fleeing from a traffic stop and leading police on a high-speed chase
through the city.
Carnaby was killed after stepping out of his vehicle on
a feeder road off Loop 610 West, turning around and reaching under the
seat for a shiny object that turned out to be a cell phone.
The grand jury declined to indict Sgt. Andrew Washington
and officer Cecil Foster, said Donna Hawkins, a spokeswoman for the Harris
County District Attorney's Office.
"Fatal shootings involving law enforcement are
referred directly to a grand jury," Hawkins said. "After careful
consideration, the grand jury chose not to indict the two officers
involved."
Initially placed on administrative leave, both officers
returned to duty days after the shooting.
Carnaby, 52, of Pearland, was stopped for speeding on
Texas 288. He showed the officer an identification card that he claimed
was issued by the Central Intelligence Agency but fled after police
learned he had a license to carry a concealed weapon.
The CIA insisted that Carnaby was not connected to the
agency. His widow, Susan Carnaby, has maintained that Carnaby was a
longtime CIA employee who frequently left the country on assignments.
Houston Police Chief Harold Hurtt has said he was told
by the FBI that Carnaby "may have" been an informant at one time
for them but had no other details about the relationship. At the time, a
Houston FBI spokeswoman said the agency "cannot confirm nor deny the
names of people who provide us with information."
Susan Carnaby has filed a lawsuit against the city
saying HPD violated its own policies when officers pursued him.
Her attorney, Randall Kallinen, said it was unfortunate
the two officers were not indicted, but the no-bill does not preclude the
city from liability.
If the officers were acting in the scope of their
duties, their employer would be liable for the death instead of the
officers individually, Kallinen said.
Kallinen also said Carnaby was an independent contractor
for the CIA, the FBI and the Secret Service. He said Carnaby's ability to
speak seven languages enabled him to do in-depth background checks for the
federal agencies.
He also said HPD's chase policy is "highly
flawed." Hurtt said the department is reviewing the policy.
"Anytime we have an incident like that, we go back
and look at training policy and procedures. If there are changes that need
to be made or training that needs to be improved, we do that," Hurtt
said. "It appears that they (the officers) did a pretty fair job of
following what our policy states and what the law was."
11. Carnaby shooting
lawsuit on hold / Judge awaits details in city's plea
for secrecy Paper:
Houston Chronicle Date: Thu 08/07/2008 Section: B Page: 1 MetFront
Edition: 3 STAR R.O. By MARY FLOOD Staff
BACK
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The city of Houston wants a federal judge to order a widow
to keep secret her husband's homicide report and the internal investigation
of the police who shot him.
The request was made in the federal civil lawsuit filed by
Susan Carnaby, the widow of 52-year-old Roland Carnaby, a man who claimed to
be a CIA agent and was shot in April after leading police on a high-speed
chase. The widow asks for damages but also seeks changes in police customs
and practices.
"Susan Carnaby does not want other people to suffer as she
did through the death of her husband," said her attorney Randall Kallinen.
"Only public outcry will change the policy so other people won't be put in
danger. The documents will show what they did and whether there is some
excuse for what they did."
U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison heard arguments on
Wednesday from both sides and gave the lawyers two weeks to find precedent
to support their arguments. Two Texas media law experts said it seems likely
the reports will be made public.
Roland Carnaby was fatally wounded after fleeing from a
traffic stop and leading police on a chase. He was killed after stepping out
of his vehicle on a Loop 610 feeder road, turning around and reaching under
the seat for a shiny object that turned out to be a cell phone.
Susan Carnaby sued the city and Houston Police Department
Sgt. Andrew Washington and officer Cecil Foster, who each fired at her
husband. A Harris County grand jury declined to indict Washington and Foster
in late July.
Annie Teehan, a senior assistant city attorney, argued
that because Texas open records laws would keep the city from publicly
disclosing investigatory reports on an incident that did not result in a
conviction, a federal judge should not allow the reports, 911 calls and the
dispatch tapes to be made public in this case.
She said internal documents, like the internal affairs
division report on the shooting, would also be kept private under the Texas
records laws.
Teehan said the city is willing to provide this material
to the widow and her lawyers but "my concern is with the dissemination of
the information."
"There is no legitimate reason for (Susan Carnaby's)
alleged need to disclose this information to the public. Public disclosure
of the information and documentation produced in this case could affect the
ability of the parties to have a fair trial and the ability to seat a fair
and impartial jury," Teehan wrote in court papers.
But Kallinen said his client filed a lawsuit in part to
make sure the public is aware of HPD actions, policies and procedures, and
she wants to bring light to police shootings.
"I believe the public has a right to know the details of
the investigation, especially when the police department is investigating
itself," Susan Carnaby said in an affidavit to the court. "I am sure my
husband would have wanted as many of the actual circumstances as possible
regarding his shooting by the Houston Police, as well as the investigation
by the Houston Police, to be open and not hidden."
Her attorneys agreed that they will not disseminate
personal information such as phone numbers, Social Security numbers or
information that would harm a particular witness.
Two media lawyers who work with the state open records
laws and lawsuit discovery said the law may be on the widow's side.
"The public information act doesn't apply to case
discovery and protective orders. And if you look at this in terms of the
larger issue, the information is relevant to public health and safety," said
Houston lawyer Joe Larsen, who has handled cases for the Houston Chronicle
and other local media.
Larsen said the city needs to better explain what
government interest could trump the public interest in this case.
Pete Kennedy, a media lawyer in Austin, said a federal
judge could consider the Texas open record laws but would not be bound by
them.
Both Larsen and Kennedy said the government's concern
about a biased jury pool can be addressed in other less restrictive ways
like questioning potential jurors.
"There are other ways to get a fair trial rather than
suppressing government information," said Kennedy.
12. Shootings: More light, fewer suits
Paper: Houston Chronicle Date: Sun 08/10/2008 Section: B
Page: 1 MetFront Edition: 3 STAR R.O.
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By RICK CASEY Staff
The city of Houston doesn't want you to see the report of
its investigation of the police shooting of Roland Carnaby, the
self-described CIA agent.
Such secrecy is a long-standing tradition in the way Texas
cities tend to handle police shootings.
Police investigate their own officers. The district
attorney presents the findings to a grand jury in secret sessions. The grand
jury declines to indict.
The only way much information comes out tends to be
through lawsuits.
Lived in the shadows
There's a better way, which I will describe below.
Carnaby's life is clouded in mystery, since the CIA denies
that he was an agent, though his widow and some friends maintain that he
was.
He was shot and killed by police officers after leading
them on a high-speed chase last April.
Now the city seeks to make sure his death is also shrouded
in as much secrecy as possible.
Susan Carnaby, his widow, has filed a federal civil rights
lawsuit that forces the city to give her copies of the Police Department's
investigation report together with some other material.
But as my colleague Mary Flood reported last week, the
city attorney's office has asked U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison to order
her and her lawyers to keep the information from the public.
Seattle's better way
Their argument is that public disclosure "could affect the
ability of the parties to have a fair trial and the ability to seat a fair
and impartial jury."
That sounds noble, but doesn't explain why the city is
also asking the judge to require Carnaby and her lawyers to return all the
materials when the lawsuit is concluded and to mandate that the order "will
remain in effect permanently, regardless of the outcome of this case, unless
modified or dissolved by the Court."
In King County, Wash., which includes Seattle, they have a
better way. It was instituted in 1982 after they, like many cities,
experienced heated public protests involving shootings of minority citizens
by police officers.
The traditional "trust us" approach still followed by
Texas did not help, so they decided to try something new.
Every death at police hands or in the custody of law
enforcement officials (including jailers), led to a public proceeding called
an inquest.
It took place in the equivalent of state district court.
An assistant prosecuting attorney would collect and present evidence,
including the police investigative file, and question witnesses under oath.
After the prosecutor finished, the witnesses would face
questioning by attorneys for both the family of the deceased and the police
officers.
At the end of the inquest there would be no closing
arguments. The jury of six would retire to consider a number of questions
presented by the judge designed to determine whether jurors believed the
evidence to show the officers had sufficient reason to use deadly force.
The jury's finding was purely advisory, the proceeding
having no purpose other than to help the prosecuting attorney decide whether
to seek an indictment and to give the public confidence that the death was
fairly investigated.
It wasn't a gun
As it happens, I covered the first such inquest.
It was a sad case involving a mentally ill man under a
street light who pulled from his pocket what police thought to be a gun.
When they searched his body it turned out to be a can opener. The jury voted
4-2 that the police did not act inappropriately.
In the 26 years since, dozens of inquests have been held.
Not one has led to a jury finding that the officers involved were at fault.
And not one officer has been indicted for actions in the course of duty.
Some activists criticize the procedure, partly because of
this startling statistic. They also note that police have the benefit of
experienced, publicly paid attorneys, while the families of the deceased,
usually poor, get spotty representation.
The police still don't like the proceedings either, says
King County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Satterberg.
"The cops feel like they're on trial," he said.
But the police also face fewer lawsuits where they
actually are on trial.
"Our experience is that many times the suits don't
materialize because the family's attorney gets to see the circumstances of
the death and the contributions of the deceased to the situation," he said.
When families do file suits, they more often are settled
without trial.
"They usually end up settling because both sides have had
a chance to assess the evidence through the inquest process," he said. "They
can better predict what a subsequent jury may find."
In addition, the inquests "clear up a lot of rumors and
untrue suspicions" by the public, Satterberg said.
"We give officers tremendous license to use force," he
said. "I don't think it's too much to ask that when someone dies that we
bring some sunshine to the matter."
More sunshine, fewer lawsuits. Sounds good to me.
13. Filling in the blanks / Public should have access to
details of the investigation of a controversial police shooting.
Paper: Houston Chronicle Date: Sun 08/17/2008 Section:
Outlook Page: 2 Edition: 3 STAR
Staff BACK
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THE facts and fictions surrounding a high-speed police
chase that led to the fatal shooting of self-proclaimed intelligence agent
Roland Carnaby in May make it one of the most puzzling incidents in HPD
history.
Now that his family has filed suit in federal court,
city of Houston lawyers have asked Judge Keith Ellison to keep the offense
report and internal affairs investigation of Carnaby's death confidential.
The judge will decide the issue.
Given the numerous questions surrounding Carnaby's
background and conduct, and the tactics of his police pursuers, sealing
the record would be a mistake. All official documents that can cast light
on this troubling incident should be made available to the public and the
subject of testimony in open court.
The incident began with a routine stop of Carnaby's
speeding Jeep by officers on Highway 288, but swiftly entered a
law-and-order twilight zone. When Carnaby produced an ID card supposedly
issued by the CIA, the officer held him while checking out its validity
with superiors. Carnaby called a contact in HPD Internal Affairs and tried
to get someone to vouch for him.
When asked to step out of his vehicle, Carnaby then
drove away and led police on a chase with speeds reaching 120 mph. During
the chase he apparently called a contact in the Houston office of the FBI
and asked for help. When he was finally stopped again on the West Loop,
officers approached and smashed a window when Carnaby ignored orders to
step out of the jeep. He exited the vehicle, then reached back to grab a
cell phone under a seat.
Officers said they thought the device was a weapon and
opened fire. They handcuffed the dying Carnaby, and he lay on the pavement
for more than 10 minutes before receiving medical attention. He was
pronounced dead on arrival at Ben Taub Hospital. Two pistols and a shotgun
were recovered from Carnaby's vehicle.
Although a Harris County grand jury declined to indict
the two officers who shot Carnaby, the lawyer for his widow, Susan,
questions whether the high-speed chase was necessary and in line with HPD
regulations.
The lawyer, Randall Kallinen, contends that in pursuing
Carnaby, officers violated a newly instituted department rule designed to
cut down on the number of innocent bystanders killed or injured in
high-speed chases.
The policy requires officers to weigh whether the risk
to the public of a hot pursuit is justified. If a suspect poses no
immediate danger and enough information is available to issue an arrest
warrant, officers are expected to discontinue the pursuit. In Carnaby's
case, that did not happen.
The death of Roland Carnaby was a tragedy brought on by
his own irresponsible actions coupled with questionable police responses:
Why did HPD officers ignore a policy that had been
designed to reduce the collateral damage from high-speed chases? With the
suspect in contact with law enforcement officers who knew him, why was no
attempt made to negotiate with him? Why was a man who had been shot
multiple times handcuffed and allowed to bleed on the pavement for 10
minutes?
The city's position that release of investigation
reports would bias a civil trial jury is unconvincing. Cases with far more
pre-trial publicity than this one have been tried by impartial juries
selected without difficulty.
It is more important that the public find out what led
to the death of Roland Carnaby, how HPD is enforcing its hot pursuit
policy and whether it will alter police behavior that has contributed to
the needless deaths of innocent motorists and bystanders.
14. Carnaby had no drugs, alcohol in his system / Man who
claimed to be CIA agent shot after fleeing police
Paper: Houston Chronicle Date: Fri 08/22/2008 Section: B
Page: 3 Edition: 3 STAR R.O.
By MIKE TOLSON Staff BACK
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A man who held himself out as a CIA agent and led
Houston police on a lengthy chase before being shot when he exited his
vehicle had no traces of alcohol or drugs in his system, according to
autopsy results released Thursday.
Roland Vincent Carnaby, 52, was killed by a single
gunshot to the back that pierced his spine and caused massive internal
damage. Police said at the time that two officers fired at Carnaby after
he a made a move to retrieve something from his SUV, which turned out to
be a cell phone. Medical examiners found only one wound.
A Harris County grand jury declined to indict HPD Sgt.
A.J. Washington and officer C.A. Foster of any wrongdoing in the April 29
incident, which began as a routine traffic stop. Police said the two fired
because they feared for their safety.
After the chase ended, Carnaby stopped and was getting
out out of his Jeep Commander but refused officers' commands to put his
hands in plain sight, officials said. He then reached under the driver
seat and grabbed an object as he began to get out of his car. That's when
the officers fired.
Carnaby's widow, Susan, has filed a wrongful death
lawsuit against the city.
The CIA denied any connection to Carnaby. His widow,
family and some of his friends insist he did work for the agency. His
death has become a subject of interest to conspiracy theorists who suspect
he was killed because of his activities as a covert intelligence officer.
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Officers disciplined in Carnaby shooting
By DALE LEZON Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle Nov. 18, 2008, 10:05PM
The Houston police officers involved in the
shooting death of a man who claimed to have ties to federal law
enforcement were disciplined for not trying to talk to the man before they
approached his car after a high-speed chase earlier this year, according
to the department's investigation of the case.
However, the investigation concluded that the officers
were justified in shooting Roland Carnaby last April 29.
Randall Kallinen, attorney for Carnaby's widow, who has
filed a federal wrongful death lawsuit against the officers and the city,
said the outcome of the investigation shows the officers are liable for
Carnaby's death because they violated department policy.
Kallinen also said that in sworn testimony in
depositions the officers said they had acted as they had been trained.
In letters to the officers dated Nov. 5, the
department's internal affairs division found that Sgt. Andrew J.
Washington and Officer Cecil A.T. Foster did not use sound judgment and
did not follow department policy in the incident.
Failure to follow policy Disciplinary records filed with
the Civil Service Commission state that Washington and Foster did not
follow department policy when they left their positions of cover and
approached Carnaby's vehicle without trying to talk with him first. The
records also state that Washington did not properly supervise Foster.
Chief Harold Hurtt suspended Washington for one day and
gave Foster a written reprimand. Washington has appealed his suspension
while Foster has filed a grievance.
The department referred questions about the case to the
Houston Police Officer's Union.
"The guys do the best they can in dangerous
situations," said Chad Hoffman, a union attorney who is representing
the officers. "The department should not second-guess every single
split-second decision officers must make."
High-speed chase The shooting occurred after Carnaby
flashed what appeared to be a CIA identification badge during a traffic
stop on Texas 288 near Orem. The officer who stopped him became suspicious
and asked him to step out of his Jeep.
Carnaby, 52, drove away and led police on a chase with
speeds reaching 120 mph. He eventually ran out of gas and rolled to a stop
on the southbound 610 West Loop feeder road near Woodway.
Video shot from two patrol cars shows Carnaby getting
out of his SUV on the driver's side as an officer bashes in the passenger
side window with a baton. Carnaby then reaches back into the car for a
"shiny object" that turned out to be a cell phone, police said.
Thinking Carnaby had a weapon, Washington and Foster
fired. Carnaby was hit once in the back.
A grand jury declined to indict the officers in July.
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(bottom of page 11) 
Roland Carnaby and Alan Premel
enlarge
enlarge
(left)
is Alan Premel with family and friends, ... he was a CIA
official and Roland Carnaby's business partner in
Houston. They were intelligence contractors.
Premel is probably the most knowledgeable person there is
about Roland Carnaby. 
killed in the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center.
WMR has now learned from a knowledgeable source in Houston
that Roland 
We constructed this pic to support the no porn pic. The
first two are widely circulated on the net. The third is
not. They are all Laura Madden.
AFIO pres.
page 1
and 
Carnaby had close
relationship with James Baker III
Carnaby had close relationship with James Baker
III
