Houston Cop Exonerated in Laundromat Taser Incident

In a world gone awry, one would think picking up one’s laundry would be a relatively safe and simple affair. Not so for either the customers trying to pick up clothing without a claim ticker or for owners of the Laundromat in Houston, Texas. The unhappy customer called authorities to help sort out the situation. That’s when Officer Troy Triplett answered the call and walked into a weird buzz saw.

Van Chau, aged 72, and his wife Do got into it with Triplett. Unfortunately, while the officer tried to sort out the problem, the situation escalated into a physical struggle with Chau who is 5-feet-4-inches tall.

Witness statements provided by Michael Nguyen, the family’s lawyer, said the store’s glass door shattered and Chau wound up lying, face down, in the glass and his own blood. Triplett attempted to restrain Chau while keeping a knee on his back. Later, it would take 28 stitches to put Chau’s wounds together.

Meanwhile, according to Aaron Greenlee, a witness who is also a customer, “His wife ran outside screaming ‘Nooo, Noooo,’ seeing her husband bleeding and rolling in the glass as the officer continued to manhandle him.”

At some point the officer told Do to back away. When she continued forward, the officer used his Taser on her.

Do was charged with misdemeanor resisting arrest. Chau was charged with felony assault of a public servant. Subsequently, Do’s case was dismissed and a grand jury decided not to indict Chau.

To no one’s surprise, the couple filed a formal complaint with the internal affairs division of HPD, but Triplett was neither admonished nor disciplined.

The couple’s 29 year old daughter, Linh Chau, said, “It makes me wonder whether they really looked at what happened. If they had, how could they do nothing?”