GALVESTON, Texas — Galveston Police Chief Doug Balli has been placed on paid administrative leave for no more than 10 days, according to The Daily News.


What You Need To Know

  • City leaders were blindsided by a SWAT raid at the wrong house, frightening the family and causing about $5,000 in damages

  • In an attempt to execute an arrest warrant on 17-year-old Cameron Vargas, the SWAT team raided a residence at the 5300 block of Avenue O

  • The home, belonging to Erika Rios, sustained damages including shattered windows, a bashed-in door and a broken fence and garage door, among other things

  • Assistant Chief Andre Mitchell will serve as the interim chief

According to City Manager Brian Maxwell, city leaders were blindsided by a SWAT raid at the wrong house, frightening the family and causing about $5,000 in damages. Maxwell said the decision to place the chief on leave was related to the miscommunication or lack thereof regarding the situation, and not about the raid itself.

Just before 2 a.m. on Jan. 22, in an attempt to execute an arrest warrant on 17-year-old Cameron Vargas, the SWAT team raided a residence at the 5300 block of Avenue O. The city was unaware the raid took place until nearly five days later when they read about it in the newspaper on Friday.

The home, belonging to Erika Rios, sustained damages including shattered windows, a bashed-in door and a broken fence and garage door, among other things.

Rios’ daughter, son and a visiting friend were injured and Rios was dragged out of the home by officers, according to Rios. 

The police were searching for Vargas, who they thought were involved in the fatal shooting of Malik Dunn on Jan. 20. Vargas had left the Rios residence about two hours before the raid took place. He surrendered to authorities on Monday, but charges were dropped after an eyewitness statement turned out to be false, according to The Daily News.

While Balli is out, Assistant Chief Andre Mitchell will serve as the interim chief. Maxwell said that Rios would have to reach out to the city to reimbursed for the damages to her home, and that the city’s insurance would cover the cost.