Death by Cop 2021-2025
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Joseph Higinio Arreaga
Age : 20
Gender : Male
Race : Latino/a/e
Date : 07/27/2023
Location : 6600 block of Hillcroft Ave
City : Houston
County : Harris
State : Texas
Agency : Houston Police Department
Officer(s) :J. George, B. Taveras
Cause of Death : Gunshot
Event : Killed by police after car chase
OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :
On 07/27/2023, Houston Police Department officers attempted to stop a vehicle that had been reported stolen. The driver, later identified as 20-year-old Joseph Higinio Arreaga, continued driving while police pursued him through southwest Houston. The pursuit ended in the 6600 block of Hillcroft Avenue when the vehicle left the roadway and crashed through a fence. Arreaga got out of the vehicle and ran from the scene on foot, with Officers J. George and B. Taveras pursuing him.
According to Houston Police, Arreaga produced a semiautomatic handgun during the foot pursuit and pointed it toward the officers. Officers George and Taveras fired, striking him multiple times. Officers rendered first aid until Houston Fire Department personnel arrived. Arreaga was transported to Ben Taub Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. A handgun was recovered at the scene.
The Houston Police Department Special Investigations Unit, Internal Affairs Division, and the Harris County District Attorney's Office investigated the shooting. Body-worn camera footage was later released by the department. Arreaga's identity was not released immediately after the shooting but was later confirmed through the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences.
