Galveston official on botched raid of residence: 'There's an ongoing internal investigation of both the conduct of the chief but also of the overall situation'

The leader of the Galveston Police Department (GPD) is in the midst of administrative leave following the law enforcement agency’s botched raid of a residence last month, Houston-based media outlets reported. 

Galveston City Manager Brian Maxwell placed Police Chief Doug Balli on 10-day administrative leave on Friday as an internal investigation into the purported forced entry of the home on Avenue O near 53rd Street is being conducted, Houston NBC affiliate KPRC reported.

Houston CBS affiliate KHOU reported that officers allegedly barged into the residence during the early morning hours of Sunday, Jan. 22 while looking for an adolescent homicide suspect. 

Per the station, GPD said that its investigators had “credible evidence” the 17-year-old suspect was at the house, but the raid didn’t produce the teen, who was apprehended a day later.

The family that occupied the residence told KPRC what happened more than a week ago was unnecessary. 

“My kids and I were home sleeping … We were awakened by wooden pellets flying through our doors and sounds of the Galveston Police Department [saying] ‘Come out with your hands up,’” Erika Rios recalled to the station. 

According to KHOU, police placed a confused Rios and her son in handcuffs.

Marissa Barnett, the public information officer (PIO) for the City of Galveston, released a statement in which municipal officials said the focus of the investigation is on an alleged miscommunication, Houston Public Media (HPM) reported. 

"There's an ongoing internal investigation of both the conduct of the chief but also of the overall situation," the spokeswoman said, according to HPM. 

The National Public Radio (NPR) affiliate reported that GPD and the Galveston County District Attorney’s (DA) Office discussed the young man’s arrest and determined the murder charge against him should be dropped.

As of press time, the family at the center of the raid plans to pursue legal action. 

KHOU reported that Houston attorney Tony Buzbee will serve as their counsel. 

Buzbee took to social media to decry GPD’s supposed actions and accuse city leaders of not reaching out to the family, whose home, he writes, “is destroyed and must be repaired,” the station reported.