Acevedo tells cadets to ‘emulate’ Knox
Houston’s top cop had a message for a fresh class of police cadets: Be like Officer Jason Knox.
At times raising his voice to a shout, Chief Art Acevedo on Monday told rows of police officer hopefuls at a Houston Police Academy auditorium to “emulate” the eight-year career Knox had with the Houston police force. Knox, who worked in patrol and public affairs before joining the helicopter unit, died Saturday when the police helicopter he was in careened into a Greenspoint apartment complex.
“The man was a caring, thoughtful individual with the highest level of integrity,” Acevedo told the mask-clad cadets.
The 35-year-old officer, whose father is Houston Councilman Mike Knox, endeared himself to history buffs and the law enforcement community for restoring retro police cruisers.
“He built those cars not for himself,” Acevedo said. “He built those cars because his dad, who is our council member, was part of our history and he wanted to honor the history of the department.”
The cadets’ first day arrived as funeral arrangements were still being finalized and as the federal and local investigation continued into the cause of the crash, and whether gunfire that erupted around the same time was a factor.
Acevedo said that his investigators had “not uncovered any evidence of hostile action or gunfire on the aircraft,” and the National Transportation Safety Board mirrored that statement. Should evidence of criminal activity be found, the FBI would enter the investigation, said Eric Weiss, NTSB spokesman. Investigators are waiting to look over maintenance and inspection records.
Weiss said electronic data, such a photos and video, from the crash would be welcomed — including a flight data recorder.
Houston police spokesman Kese Smith was unable to say if the helicopter that crashed was equipped with a flight data recorder, citing the ongoing investigation.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, flight recorders are not required on helicopters. Such a device was absent from the helicopter that crashed in January, killing NBA star Kobe Bryant. NTSB officials at the time said the lack of a video and data recorder hindered their investigation.
Last year, New York lawmakers called on the FAA to require helicopters to carry the so-called black box after a helicopter crashed into a Manhattan skyscraper. A data recorder was not on that aircraft either.
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, NTSB investigators were not dispatched to the HPD crash site and have not yet started a physical inspection of the wreckage, Weiss said. He expects a preliminary report on the crash
to be published within two weeks, while the final report can take up to two years, he said.
The crash happened around 2 a.m. as Knox and his pilot Chase Cormier were searching for a possible body in a bayou. The aircraft spiraled out of control and crashed into the side of an apartment clubhouse, next to the pool.
Cormier, also 35, survived the crash but was injured with a broken back, ribs and a concussion. In a Facebook post, the pilot described the chaotic moments leading up to the crash. The helicopter started spinning and he tried desperately to stabilize the aircraft.
“I could see the ground approaching as well as a building,” Cormier wrote. “I attempted to maneuver away as well as pull aft cyclic (sic) to regain control and (altitude). At that time, we impacted.”
He said gunfire was heard at the time of the crash and after, “when they were loading me up into (the) ambulance.” There was no damage to the tail rotor, Cormier continued.
Cormier has been conscious and talking to investigators about the crash. He asked friends and family to think of Knox’s family, including his wife and two children.
“Jason was my responsibility and I want to make sure his family is always taken care of,” the pilot wrote.
After meeting with cadets, Acevedo was with Knox’s parents, the councilman and his wife, Nancy, as dozens of police officers escorted their son’s body from the Harris County Institute of Forensic Science to the Pat H. Foley & Company Funeral Home on West 34th Street .
Knox’s body arrived in a Cy-Fair EMS ambulance. His wife, Keira, is a Cypress-Fairbanks Fire Department dispatcher.
A handful of passersby gathered across the street from the funeral home to greet the procession and pay their respects. Among them was Tyrone Brimzy, who witnessed the helicopter crash from his work at a nearby convenience store.
“The light from the helicopter got dark,” Brimzy said. “I thought it was make believe at first. I watched the helicopter drop from the sky.”
He said he flagged down two patrol vehicles at the intersection about the crash. Meanwhile, many residents at the apartment complex rushed to help the officers trapped in the wreckage.