On June 23, 2009, 42-year-old Houston Police Officer Henry Canales was working undercover while assigned to an operation targeting a group of individuals trafficking in stolen merchandise.
ODMP reported:
He and another officer were meeting with a group of suspects in a drug store parking lot. As money was exchanged one of the suspects opened fire, fatally wounding Officer Canales. Another officer returned fire, killing the suspect. The three other suspects fled but were apprehended a short time later.
The illegal alien, who shot Officer Canales to death, was later identified as Roberto Carrillo.
Carrillo was deported in 1999 and had actually been ticketed four times since 2002, but was never reported to federal immigration authorities, due to Houston’s 'sanctuary policy.'
On June 26, 2009, then-Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX) made a speech on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives about Officer Canales, what follows is a portion of those remarks:
Chief of Police Harold Hurtt said Canales “was not only an outstanding officer but an outstanding individual." He cared a great deal about his family, the people he worked with and, of course, the City of Houston that he served.
Madam Chair, I spent 30 years at the courthouse in Houston, Texas, as a prosecutor and as a judge. I have known hundreds of Houston police officers. They are the finest caliber and strongest of character, and Officer Canales was a rare breed in our culture who wore the badge to defend and protect the rest of us.
Officer Canales died during surgery at the hospital where he and his family and hundreds of other officers had gathered. He was 42 years of age. This is a photograph of Officer Canales. He leaves behind his wife, Amor, a 15-year-old son and a 17-year-old daughter.
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All Americans should recognize the profound debt of gratitude we owe our law enforcement officers and also the gratitude we owe their families. These officers put themselves into harm’s way to guard our safety because they care about our communities and the people they serve. They are the ones standing between us and the bad guys every single day.
Officer Canales was a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, and served with the Houston Police Department for 16 years. He left behind a wife, a son, and a daughter.
