Houston deputy constable shot in ambush, expected to recover

By Jon Herskovitz

(Reuters) - A Houston deputy constable was shot at least four times in the chest and abdomen in an ambush attack while he was talking to a colleague through a patrol car window and is expected to recover fully, officials said on Thursday.

Alden Clopton, 48, who has been on the force 11 years, underwent several hours of surgery on Thursday morning after the attack that took place around midnight, said Pamela Greenwood, a spokeswoman for the Harris County Constable Precinct 7 office.

"Our officer was ambushed," Precinct 7 Constable May Walker told a news conference in Houston.

"We are excited that he is progressing. We have faith to believe that he will soon recover and he will be back to work."

Texas constables are local law enforcement officers separate from police. The motive for the shooting was not clear.

Dr. Joseph Love, the attending trauma surgeon for Clopton at Memorial Hermann Texas Trauma Institute in Houston, said he expects Clopton to make a full recovery.

Clopton suffered wounds to both sides of his torso and in his chest cavity, Love said at the same news conference.Houston police are questioning a person of interest matching the suspect's description but so far no arrests have been made, Houston Police spokesman Kese Smith said.

The shooting occurred after a traffic stop made by another deputy constable. Clopton arrived as a backup and was speaking to the other deputy constable after the motorist pulled over had left. As they were talking, Clopton was hit by gunfire, spokesman Smith said. The other deputy constable returned fire, Smith said, but it was unclear if the suspect was hit.

(Reporting by and Jon Herskovitz in Austin, Texas and Victoria Cavaliere in New York; Editing by Diane Craft and Grant McCool)