VIDEO: Man Shoots Firefighter Who Saved His Life; Footage, Details Released
On the evening of May 15, Ruben Houston, 47, was riding on a Lamers transit bus when it stopped at a Valley Transit Center in Appleton, Wisconsin. "Passengers noticed 47-year-old Ruben Houston of Wausau was asleep and snoring oddly," WBAY reported. "When the bus arrived in Appleton, he didn't get up as the other passengers did, and one passenger said Houston appeared to be having a seizure.”
According to Outagamie County District Attorney Melinda Tempelis, when paramedics arrived they determined Houston showed evidence of an opiate overdose, as his eyes were severely dilated and his breathing was inconsistent. They gave Houston Narcan to stave off an overdose.
When he awakened, Houston informed the paramedics that he took his wife’s morphine for difficulty he was having with his legs. The paramedics, concerned that the morphine inside Houston would trigger an overdose when the Narcan they had administered wore off, told Houston that they suggested he go to a hospital. Firefighter Mitch Lundgaard brought a cot for Houston so he could lie down.
As ABC7 Chicago reported, once Houston was off the bus, where police officers and paramedics attempted to get him getting medical help, police sergeant Christopher Biese asked Houston, "Do you have any weapons on you?"
"No, sir," Houston answered. When Biese noted that there was a "bulge on your right side," Houston replied, "That's my phone."
"Don't reach for anything. Can I pat you down real quick?" asked Biese.
"No, look man, I have a problem with officers touching me. I get nervous and stuff," Houston responded.
Moments later, Houston pulled out a .380 semi-automatic weapon and fired, mortally wounding firefighter Mitch Lundgaard and wounding police officer Paul Christensen.
Biese and Christensen fired back, wounding Houston, who later died at a hospital. WBAY reported, "Authorities believe Brittany Schowalter, who was used by Houston as a human shield was struck by the officer's gunfire." Tempelis said Schowalter suffered a traumatic brain injury.
"Sgt. Biese and Officer Christensen acted heroically, moving and repeatedly engaging the suspect as he fired," said Police Chief Todd Thomas. "Even after Officer Christensen was hit, and clearly in extreme pain, he battled on because people’s lives were still in danger. They were both guardians and caregivers – and when needed they were true warriors – vividly demonstrating the strength of the thin blue line."
Tempelis said last week that the officers were justified and acted in a reasonable manner and no criminal charges would be filed against them. Tamatha Houston, Ruben Houston’s widow, acknowledged, “For a while I was mad because I thought they maliciously killed my husband. I really did, but when I seen the body cam and I seen everything that happened, I was at peace with it. I was at peace with it. They did their job.” She added, “He used drugs, I'm not ashamed to say it. He used drugs, but that didn't make him a bad person. He still was a beautiful person inside and out.” She concluded, “That wasn't my husband. I don't know who that was out there that day. It wasn't my husband.”
Video below (warning: graphic):
