Houston Area Cop Shoots Man, Sues Surviving Family for Negligence

Houston Area Cop Shoots Man, Sues Surviving Family for Negligence

A police officer from the Houston area is suing a family for negligence after he shot their father to death, according to an article in the Houston Chronicle.

The incident took place on December 30th, 2012 in Katy, Texas. According to the article, Kemal Yazar, a 43-year-old father of 3 had been exhibiting strange behavior, his wife told the Houston Chronicle. She claims he had spent the past few days rambling about the apocalypse and saying that Obama is the anti-Christ. He was not eating or sleeping and his family was concerned by his abnormal behavior. 

At around noon of that day his wife, Marlene Yazar, became so concerned for his well-being that she decided to call him an ambulance. During the call to 911 she told the operator that her husband was not armed with a weapon.

A short time later a paramedic arrived on the scene, but he did not stay long. Apparently Kemal was too hostile to deal with and he even threw a Bible at the paramedic, so the man left.   

A few minutes later, Harris County Deputy Brady Pullen arrived at the house. This is where the series of events starts to get confusing–thanks to conflicting stories from the family and police.

10 minutes after the deputy arrived at the home, Kemal received multiple gunshot wounds from the arriving officer. When he got to the Katy Hospital he was pronounced dead on arrival. 

Mrs. Yazar later informed investigators that he was using a hallucinogenic drug known as “DMT” that was commonly used for shamanic rituals in the Amazon. He would often mix the drug with tea and sometimes marijuana, according to his wife.

Deputy Pullen filed a negligence lawsuit against the family for failing to inform him of the violent danger that Kemal posed to the officer’s life. The officer claims he suffered from a broken nose, a concussion and “superficial damages” according to an investigator’s report noted in the Houston Chronicle. The incident also required Deputy Pullen to receive surgery which caused him to miss work. 

The attorney for the family is Houston area lawyer Dean Blumrosen, who is handling the case pro bono. Pullen’s lawyer is Austin-based attorney Mark W. Long, according to local reports.

Image Courtesy of the Yazar Family

Ken Webster Jr. is the executive producer of Walton & Johnson and a contributing producer to The Michael Berry Show. Follow him on Twitter @ProducerKen

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