Women charged after police chase, shooting
7 police officers say they were forced to fire in self-defense
Two women were charged Tuesday in connection with gunfire that happened Monday in the Bellaire area, during which seven Houston police officers said they fired in self-defense.
Katrina Bendslev, 32, faces a felony charge of aggravated assault against a public servant.
Raeanna McFadden, 28, was charged with tampering with evidence, also a felony.
Both women were shot and injured by the officers and taken to Ben Taub Hospital.
Bendslev was being held Wednesday afternoon in the Harris County Jail with a bail of $75,000. McFadden made her bail of $2,500 Wednesday.
A bystander inside her home in the 4500 block of Sunburst also was injured during Monday’s gunfire. She was hit by a stray bullet that entered through the front window, according to a Houston Police Department news release. The bystander was taken to Ben Taub Hospital and had been released by Wednesday morning.
The gunfire began about 11:45 p.m. The women, who were in a Cadillac Escalade, are believed to have refused to stop after Houston Police officers tried to pull them over at U.S. 69 and Bissonnet for a traffic violation.
The pair are accused of leading police on a chase to the intersection of Sunburst and Newcastle. Officers said they threw syringes and a small bag of methamphetamine out of the car window along the way, according to the news release.
When the women reached a dead end in the 4500 block of Sunburst, Bendslev is accused of reversing the Cadillac into two marked patrol cars.
Officers said she then accelerated toward them, prompting gunfire from the seven officers, according to the news release.
The officers involved in the shooting included L. Maldonado, J. Rivera, S. Brannon, K. Smith and C. Dulin.
Maldonado has been on the force for two years, Rivera for 1½ years, Brannon for 3½ years, and Smith for one year, according to the release.
The amount of time Dulin has worked for HPD was not included in the release.
Two undercover officers in HPD’s narcotics division also fired. Their names were not released Wednesday.
Bendslev was sentenced to four years behind bars after pleading guilty in 2014 to the felony charges of possession of less than 1 gram of methamphetamine, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and evading arrest and detention with a vehicle.
She also pleaded guilty in 2013 to prostitution, which is a misdemeanor.
McFadden does not have a criminal record in Harris County.
Per protocol, the case is being investigated by HPD’s homicide division, the agency’s internal affairs division and the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.