HOUSTON – A veteran Houston police officer has been relieved of duty after his arrest by federal agents Tuesday morning.
Federal Bureau of Investigation spokesperson Shauna Dunlap confirms Officer Noe Juarez was arrested by Houston police and turned over to federal agents with the Drug Enforcement Agency and FBI after he arrived for work Tuesday morning at the HPD Central Command. Juarez was arrested on a warrant issued by a federal court in New Orleans.
Neither Dunlap nor Anna Christman, with the federal attorney's office in New Orleans, would discuss the specific charge against Juarez until the indictment is unsealed, but police sources told KPRC 2 News that Juarez was arrested in connection with a federal drug probe.
Juarez became an officer with HPD in 1995, and for most of his career served as a patrolman with the Central Patrol Division. In March, he transferred to he department's motorcycle detail.
In 2009, Juarez was named as one of the Houston Police Officers Union's officers of the year for his work with the Central Division Tactical Unit.
In February 2008, he was one of three officers involved in a shooting at Northwest Mall that left one of the policemen wounded, and a robbery suspect dead. Juarez did not fire the fatal shot.
In 2006, Juarez was named as a defendant in a federal wrongful arrest lawsuit that was settled out of court.
Federal officials said more information will be made available Wednesday, the same day Juarez is scheduled to appear before a federal magistrate in Houston.