HPD after termination of officer who allegedly shot wife in face: 'We ask the community to pray for her and her family'

The Houston Police Department (HPD) terminated an officer on Tuesday who is alleged to have shot his wife in the face, according to reports from Houston-based media outlets. 

Authorities arrested and accuse 31-year-old Galib Chowdhury of aggravated assault following an incident that injured Sadaf Iqbal.

“The criminal case is in the hands of the court and criminal justice system,” HPD said in a tweet after it fired Chowdhury. “Our hearts remain with the victim … We ask the community to pray for her and her family.”

According to a report from Houston ABC affiliate KTRK, police said Chowdhury purportedly shot Iqbal with an AR-15 at the couple’s residence on Clay Road.

KTRK reported the suspect told 911 he was reacting to a break-in at the home only for his wife to get in the way of the gunfire, which investigators believe is a cover-up.

Per the station, Iqbal’s injuries rendered her blind in one eye for which she’ll need a prosthetic.

She told KTRK she loves Chowdhury and it was hard to speak out against him.

The station reported that he has since been released from jail on a $125,000 bond.

Houston NPR affiliate Houston Public Media (HPM) reported that Chowdhury is slated to go before a judge in August.

He joined the department in March 2021 and was assigned to the Northwest Patrol Division. Iqbal’s family said in a statement obtained by KTRK that Chowdhury didn’t honor the motto affixed across the badge he wore, or “Nemo me impune lacessit,” meaning “No one injures me with impunity” when he harmed his spouse.

“The facts will be clear, and the law will be just in the end,” the statement read. “We are happy that justice has taken its first steps forward in the way that it should, and that HPD can move on without the stain of this incident on its future.

“Sadaf and our family are grateful for HPDs support during this difficult time,” the family added.