Relatives of a man fatally shot by a Houston police officer in 2009 are asking a federal court to order the city not to withhold or delay autopsy results in police-shooting deaths, reports the Houston Chronicle. The request is in a lawsuit by relatives of John T. Barnes Sr., who was shot by officer Ryan Gardiner, a security guard at an apartment house wearing his police uniform.
Barnes’ autopsy report was completed Nov. 3, 2009, but not released until April 19. It states Barnes was shot four times in the back, once in the left torso, once in the left buttock, once in the chest, and once in the left arm. “The city had suppressed the autopsy until now,” attorney David W. Hodges said. Hodges said the city should release autopsy results in police shootings either as soon as the investigation is complete or after a year, whichever comes first.