2 Officers Go On Trial For Inmate's Death

HOUSTON -- The trial of two police officers accused of killing an inmate got under way in a downtown Houston courtroom Tuesday, KPRC Local 2 reported.

Pasadena police officers J.W. Buckaloo and Christopher Jones are charged with criminally negligent homicide in the death of Pedro Gonzales Jr., 51, after his arrest on July 22.

Gonzales' body was found in the Pasadena jail after the officers arrested him for public drunkenness.

The Gonzales family said the trial is the beginning of what they hope is a long road to justice. Family members said they believe their loved one was murdered.

"Honestly, I can't even look at them. I'm not mad at the entire police force. I'm only mad at two people. Two people took my father from me," said Adrian Gonzales, Pedro Gonzales' son.

"It's been hard. It's been very hard," widow Diana Gonzales said. "He didn't deserve to die like that."

Jurors will decide if the officers used excessive force or did what they had to in order to subdue Gonzales after the arrest.

Buckaloo and Jones said they had to subdue Gonzales when he resisted arrest.

The autopsy showed that Gonzales suffered broken bones, broken teeth and died from a perforated lung.

The trial is expected to last one week.

The officers are relieved of duty, pending the outcome.