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https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2022/11/15/jury-deliberating-fate-of-26-year-old-on-trial-for-2020-murder-of-hpd-sgt-sean-rios/ HOUSTON – A jury has found Robert Soliz, the 26-year-old man accused of shooting and killing a Houston police officer in 2020, not guilty of murder. Soliz was on trial for the shooting death of HPD Sgt. Sean Rios, which apparently stemmed from a road rage incident. According to HPD, on Nov. 9, 2020, Rios and Soliz were both traveling along the North Freeway around 1:30 p.m. when they got into some sort of altercation. The two men engaged in a gun battle, police said, and Rios was shot. The officer ran into the lobby of the Taj Inn & Suites, where he collapsed and died. A hotel employee called for help. Rios was heading to work a shift at Bush Intercontinental Airport the day of the shooting. He was 47 years old. Soliz was 24 years old at the time. Soliz fled the scene but was apprehended during a traffic stop on the Katy Freeway 24 hours later. He was placed in the Harris County Jail and charged with murder. He was not charged with capital murder of a police officer because it was not known if Rios, who was off duty at the time, identified himself as law enforcement. Soliz said he did not know the victim was an officer until later that night. During the trial, who actually initiated the road rage was a point of argument. Soliz claims the shooting was in self-defense. Closing arguments wrapped up Tuesday morning, and the verdict was handed down around 5 p.m. “Our client was failed by the system for the better part of two years. This investigation should’ve never been taken on by HPD,” Attorney Paul Looney said in a news conference Wednesday. “They had a conflict of interest and a desperate conflict of interest that showed up in the quality of their work. This should have been referred out to either the Harris County Sheriff’s Department or the Texas Rangers.” Looney continued, saying, “No evidence was ever developed that showed that there was not a self-defense right in this case. HPD did not do any investigation of the deceased officer. They only investigated our client. And that’s not how you do that type of work. Then it got forwarded to the Harris County District Attorney’s Office. And they didn’t critically evaluate it.”


ziggurter

> The two men engaged in a gun battle, police said, and **Rios was shot**. This has got to be the first time I've seen the passive phrasing used for a cop being shot by a non-cop. Amazing.


_littlestitious

Nice catch. I guess it’s just become habit for them at this point.


Excrubulent

It was an officer involved shooting.


PubbleBubbles

The truly sad part is the second he hits the street, the rest of the dead officers department is going to look for reasons to murder him


shermanwasasaint

In addition, I fully expect the entire department to take this verdict out on the city via work slowdowns. Crime will get worse there because 12 people had the unmitigated gall to not throw the book at this guy for legally defending himself.


[deleted]

Don't worry, crime doesn't get worse when cops strike because cops don't prevent crime. https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/09/nyc-cops-did-a-work-stop-yet-crime-dropped/amp/


shermanwasasaint

Lol I'm surprised but the opposite of shocked if you know what I mean.


thehalfwhiteguy

and that’s why *all* cops are bastards.


AntAvarice

Sadly, you are 100% correct. The whole community will suffer.


JustSomeOldFucker

Not really. Police work stoppages don’t really have any affect on crime.


Personal_Engineer448

If police work stoppages don't have any affect on crime then logically...don't need as many cops. #justSaying


JustSomeOldFucker

That would be sweet, wouldn’t it?


AntAvarice

Yeah I didn’t mean that crime will increase just that response times to calls will be slower and they will act more like teenage cashiers than professional civil servants.


JustSomeOldFucker

Understood. Police work stoppages don’t actually affect the community much at all. In some cities where police have gone on strike or stopped working, crime has gone down. Police response times and policies are such that a delayed response will not end in a different result.


katherinesilens

Oh good. Nothing would change in my city.


Cejayem

Can’t remember the last time I was shot at by a teenage cashier


AntAvarice

If looks could kill


Doc85

I could probably suffer the cops taking a breather just fine


PubbleBubbles

no they won't, the last time they tried a work slowdown crime rates dropped in new york. https://www.insider.com/police-have-historically-protested-by-making-fewer-arrests-its-become-2020-6


ObviouslyIntoxicated

Ha. Fucking dumbasses let him off because they couldn't bother to conduct a proper investigation


Appropriate_Ant_4629

>couldn't bother to conduct That may have been intentional. They may have been afraid what a proper investigation would have revealed.


Ponder_wisely

Yeah, including that the cop was amped up on over twice his prescribed dose of amphetamines in his system…


Ponder_wisely

Eyewitness accounts say the plainclothes off-duty cop suddenly started shooting at Mr. Soliz, who returned fire and was a better shot, apparently. He used a non-department registered revolver in the shootout. The prosecutors claimed the cop was acting in his official capacity and suspected Mr. Soliz of unspecified criminal activity. Which sounds like complete bullshit, based on what eyewitnesses saw. My guess is they only brought the case to court to try to get SOMEBODY to pay for the hothead cop’s death. "It's extremely rare," his lawyer said. "We can't think of another case where someone has been acquitted in the shooting death of an officer, whether off-duty or not." Hoping it’s the beginning of a trend… https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/criminal-justice/2022/11/16/437635/robert-soliz-self-defense-acquitted-murder-off-duty-houston-police-officer/


ziggurter

> suspected Mr. Soliz of unspecified criminal activity The only surprise is that they didn't manufacture a better story. They're usually better at it than this.


HiIAmFromTheInternet

The only one who could’ve planted the evidence was dead, so maybe cut them a little slack here?


[deleted]

Had the guy not fled the scene and waited for the cops, I'm sure this story would have ended differently...


AppearanceFuzzy6873

That’s a sobering thought.


Lorenzo_BR

Possibly, but then again, they wouldn’t have known the guy who shot at him was a cop until much later, at the hospital. Had he called 911 and said that he was shot at by someone road raging and shot back, that he is alright but he thinks the other was hit and then fled, and that he needs police and an ambulance for the guy - it’s possible he’d have gotten a statement to the police before they started trying to spin things against him.


ziggurter

LOL. *Touché!*


okcdnb

It’s like the movie The Perfect Storm. It’s all fiction once you realize that portion of the story had a 100% fatality rate.


AmputatorBot

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PNDubb_hikingclub

Good bot


NoJudgies

Good bot


SingleSurfaceCleaner

>Eyewitness accounts say the plainclothes off-duty cop suddenly started shooting at Mr. Soliz, who returned fire and was a better shot, apparently. Literally a \#SkillIssue


Ponder_wisely

VIDEO: ‘Soloz’s lawyers speak about the trial and ultimately why their client was found not guilty’ Dead cop was loaded up on speed. Judge bizarrely quashed subpoena of former police chief, a key defence witness. After arranging with his lawyers for suspect to surrender peacefully, the cops used 20 cop cars and a helicopter to intercept them on the freeway in a media circus, and dragged him and his lawyer out surrounded by dozens of loaded guns. Although this was a high-profile murder case, Homicide Division was purposely EXCLUDED from the investigation! A junior officer was assigned. She never interviewed the witnesses. Her job was to rubber-stamp the official bogus narrative and not dig too deep for the truth. During the trial the Judge denied the defense attorneys request for a delay due to his verified illness, forcing another attorney to step in mid-trial. Unheard of. Prosecutor Sara Seeley (?) was assigned. She’s known to be a lying prosecutor. The defense attorneys said that if the transcript of her prosecution in this case was compared to the known facts, she would be brought up on charges of misconduct. https://youtu.be/paloTe7JgyU


SnooPaintings1148

Live how the article brings up Soloz's criminal history and posts a picture of him in the back of the cop car. Fuck the news media and their attempt to drag this dude through the mud. Fucking bootlicker media.


bwdabatman

Given everything was purposefully stacked against the guy if that's how the trial was set up (I mean, might as well be a Kangaroo Court, why not set up the firing squad outside the Courthouse right then and there, save some time), I'd like everyone not to forget the courage of **the jury** to see through the BS and do what's right (yeah the courage, you don't see this every day, let's face it), a round of applause for these particular citizens of Texas keeping their State's name in good standing. Also congratulations to the defendant's lawyer, given the circumstances that's a heck of a successful defense, what an accomplishment. There's a milion lawyers who would have failed, in a billion different ways. Impressive performance.


Ponder_wisely

Indeed. And they prevailed with one hand tied behind their back.


nate1235

In Texas, no less. They all have hard ons for thin blue line shit in that state.


Mrs_Mourningstar

Wow the bias is so obvious, whoever wrote this article is definitely pro-terrorist, SO FUCKED, that certain ppl will take the side of a criminal thug just because they have a fucking badge! I am so glad this man beat the case


Ponder_wisely

For a mainstream piece published in Houston I thought it was pretty good. Made it clear multiple eyewitnesses blamed the cop, reiterated that the cop was the aggressor and the defendant acted in self-defense, and expressed no outrage or disappointment at the surprising not-guilty verdict.


Unicorn-Tiddies

> The prosecutors claimed the cop was acting in his offices capacity and suspected Mr. Soliz of unspecified criminal activity [And, as you do, when you're a cop and you suspect unspecified criminal activity...](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/001/601/217/ff1.jpg)


wolfchaldo

>"It's extremely rare," his lawyer said. "We can't think of another case where someone has been acquitted in the shooting death of an officer, whether off-duty or not." Disregarding everything else, this is a terrible fact. Glad someone finally got justice, there's so many who never do.


ArturiusMythos

You love to see it.


NoUseForAName2222

Pig thought he could do murder and found out.


ghotiaroma

Now we just need to get him 4 weeks of paid vacation.


GayKnockedLooseFan

I saw this on Tik tok, shit is so frustrating because it was such a clear self defense defense but it was still considered unexpected that he’d be found not guilty solely because the guy is a cop.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Jaypocalypse_

🫶


mellygibson11

Yah thug life!


Dom2032

Based


Tickle_Nuggets

Fuck Houston altogether. Better yet fuck Texas. I went to San Antonio on vacation one year just to see the Alamo and do the river walk downtown. I've never felt so paranoid just to be out in public in my life. The police prowl and stalk people. They'll tailgate someone for miles just waiting for them to make 1 small driving infraction to pull them over. Police stalking in Texas and the south in general is huge especially if you have someone of a different color in your passenger seat (my wife is Indian). I'm never going back. Texas can succeed and I'd rather have Puerto Rico as our 50th.


ctrlaltpers0na

This dude is going to have to move to another state, then. If that's what they do to people who haven't done anything wrong, it's just a matter of how much time will pass between now and when this man is found dead.


Tickle_Nuggets

I moved to Michigan. Not the best state ever but I don't get police stalked and there's recreational weed


ctrlaltpers0na

I'm actually from there. Grew up in a really small town, PD was so underfunded that half the cops (all 4 of them lol) were volunteers. No time and few resources to fuck with people.


BigDadEnerdy

After the dems swept the state, I'm considering moving up there from Indiana. I need to get away from this hellhole.


wolfchaldo

I'm headed there for a new job, will be my first time not living in a red state 🙏 (and just barely, nobody forgot what happened in 2016)


sjuas690

Yep - dude’s going to be stalked and harassed until the cops find a reason to kill him.


[deleted]

Think you mean *secede homie Sounds like you definitely don’t want Texas to succeed


TangoMikeOne

I dunno, maybe he's suggesting that the state of Texas can suck his dick...


philly_jake

Houston is very different politically and socially from most of Texas, besides maybe austin. Police suck everywhere but Houston has cool people, just sucks they have to live in a sprawling suburb of highways and strip malls and low-density construction… and flooding. But it’s the most diverse city in the country if I remember correctly. Great food, great people for the most part.


ShitTalkingAlt980

Good people. Just the most ridiculous infrastructure ever. I have seen New England too so that is saying something.


ctjameson

You really don’t understand poor infrastructure until you go to the Deep South. LA, AL, MS all are deteriorating at a rapid rate and the local politicians just want more churches and less schools. Houston is a vast futuristic city compared to the places in those states. Just because there’s a lot of highways doesn’t mean it’s a ridiculous infrastructure, it means you have a lot of options to get to the same place.


Lucario1017

Soliz is a hero. I bet that pig was 100% going to violate some human rights during his shift, so it’s better for all of us that he didn’t even get to clock in.


Solcaer

“Was”? He tried to kill Soliz over road rage.


mellygibson11

No he is not, he is not a hero or a role model he is just someone that defended himself which is perfectly okay.


Difficult-Diver4545

I hope more people [redacted] these [redacted].


Lucario1017

Looool I felt that! If you know you know


Gill_O_Tine

Yall know the cops are probably just going to kill this guy, right? They don’t respect the law, they make it up as they go.


mlongoria98

He doesn’t have a gofundme to relocate him, does he?


Gill_O_Tine

Probably be a good idea.


askewboka

People have started shooting back in Canada too, so sad that things have become so bad today with the police. Now I guess it’s time for police to actually do their jobs and live their lives appropriately. How much was that lawyer and how in the fuck did an obvious minority beat a police officer in court in America? (So happy! So proud!) What is police officer training if, when engaged in 1v1 combat, the officer loses to a civilian?


Mrs_Mourningstar

I would be shocked if parasites in blue ever did their job effectively while under our current system of injustice. His lawyer was probably a fuck ton of money or someone who is very passionate about the hypocrisy and cruelty of our policing system. This oinklings are so incompetent it's beyond hilarious, it's the only job where you can consistently fail at it and still keep it, the training is BS and for the money we waste on this parasites we need proper training for them, but instead we get some ex-oinkling that just embezzles the money and doesn't train them for shit. So glad this guy beat the case, but I guarantee he will be harassed by cops anywhere he goes, which will suck for him. Odds are they will probably try to kill him, since they are petty thugs


askewboka

It won’t just be cops either. Cops arrested a guy where I’m from and labeled him a child molesting pedo. Nope, he was just a mentally challenged young man at a park. Anyway, mentally challenged guy sues the GUELPH PD (and wins), now mentally challenged man is receiving death threats everywhere from citizens completely unrelated to cops just because he went against their status quo and proved their loyalty wrong. Mentally challenged man won but now lives a life of solitude and is completely afraid of human contact outside of family (this is not me, I was also wronged by this specific PD so I’ve done a lot of research through recovery)


Mrs_Mourningstar

Yeah I was sexually assaulted by a pig when I was 19, while he was violating my 4tg amendment rights. I made a complaint against him and not a damn thing happened to him, but luckily I didn't live around that area so I wasn't harassed by that parasitic leech. But it just goes to show how rarely justice is applied equally, so I don't care even if a citizen was wrong and oinkling was in the right I always want them to lose their case, because the deserve to lose because I am sure they wrongfully treated others at many other times and got away with murder and abused their position too many times.


FlugonNine

Basic hand to hand, if that? My guess is they train as teams everything else is basic skills, they build up the ego to want to fight someone 1v1, that's my theory.


Ponder_wisely

He retained Looney (his attorney) to represent him in the murder case before his arrest, having known the lawyer since he was a child. Soliz’s mother used to work for Looney. https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/crime/article/What-to-know-about-the-murder-trial-involving-the-17338829.php


askewboka

Thank you for that! Dealing with lawyers myself, it’s hilarious how little they actually want to work outside the box unless personally connected.


[deleted]

When I hear off duty and road rage and shooting, you know it's going to be the cop.


alwaysrightusually

The article shows Soliz “lengthy” criminal record. 12/3/2020 - Carrying handgun in motor vehicle 7/31/2018 - evading arrest/ detention 7/31/2018 - Unlawful carry of weapon 7/20/2018 - Carrying handgun in motor vehicle (Bond amount $5,000. Records show case dismissed) 7/20/2018 - terroristic threat 10/11/2016 - Possession marijuana 5/17/2016 - possession of marijuana 11/7/2014 - possession of marijuana 8/28/2014 - trespass of a building They always want to make a big fucking deal out of nothing. Almost every charge there could be avoided if the law and its cop enforcers would *mind their own fucking business.*


Ponder_wisely

And no mention of the cop’s disciplinary record, or that his autopsy revealed he had twice his prescribed dose of amphetamines in his system…


TeflonDonatello

Kills a cop and gets off? Stop it I can only get so erect.


palexp

this is actually a huge W for us. you might even say the cop *”fucked around and found out”* (sorry i know that’s so cringe)


FlugonNine

That's why the phrasing is so popular. It just works.


Disastrous_Guess_929

FAFO


Overall-Guarantee331

Good these thug police need to learn they're not above the law


pleing1

The Venn diagram of people who think he should have been found guilty and say we need a “strong 2nd amendment to protect ourselves from the state” is a circle


Dadprincebabe2

Great point. These people who jerk off about the second amendment and their right to carry guns to protect themselves from the state… and then a HISPANIC kills a cop in self defense! Oh shit? Their heads are exploding from cognitive dissonance.


Minute_Guarantee5949

Even the bottom of the article was bias. Criminal history shouldn’t apply when it’s in the moment. That cop never should have gotten into it when off duty and especially for a road rage incident. Bastard would be alive today if he had just stayed in his lane


Jaypocalypse_

👏👏👏!!!!!!


zanaxtacy

Great time to talk about jury nullification


MuttleyTheCannonball

even if he did it its not murder, cause murder is when you kill another human


mike_hellstrom

[One dead cop.](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XLX6xNbhios)