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A Warrant to Kill by Kathryn Casey

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Imagine not being able to trust those people you were always told were safe. Kathryn Casey’s book takes a long, hard look at an aggressive, mean cop named Kent McGowen.

The author is a journalist, and the writing is quick and clean. Her research took her from a sultry Houston night in August 1992 through a 1994 court trial and beyond. The story focuses on the life and untimely death of Susan White, a single mom, who was stalked and finally gunned down in her home by one of those entrusted to serve and protect us. It’s a scary thought and when you get into the book and see how a truly bad man is able to secure a police job after accruing a rather ugly record with other agencies, you might not look at the boys in blue quite the same.

Susan isn’t an altogether sympathetic victim, which makes the story more compelling, in my opinion. The woman makes mistakes and acts a little crazy at times. She is too lenient with her son and refuses to recognize his behavior problems. But she certainly doesn’t deserve to become the target of Deputy McGowen, the rogue cop.

Even other cops didn’t like him. Yet they allowed him to become the next guy’s problem without much comment or warning. McGowen started out trying to join the Houston Police Department in 1984 but was rejected because of a polygraph test that revealed he had used marijuana within the past year. McGowen wanted to be a cop, though, so he instead became an unpaid reserve officer with the Waller County Sheriff’s Department while he waited out the time until he was eligible to try for HPD again.

In 1986, 21-year-old Kent McGowen became a Houston police officer. But he made waves, bragging and lying to his coworkers, and they developed a distrust and dislike for the rookie one officer called a “John Wayne-type.” He lasted less than three years before he resigned, claiming lack of leadership and opportunities. In truth, McGowen exhibited poor performance, a bad attitude, and treated other officers with contempt. This, however, wasn’t passed on officially to the Tomball PD, though the acting chief of police received a call from a detective who knew the brash young policeman’s record.

McGowen was let go after nine months.

He tried to get back on with HPD, was denied, appealed, and was rejected again. On February 6, 1990, he returned to his position of unpaid reserve deputy, this time with Precinct Four in the small community of Cypresswood. On March 27 he was discharged for assaulting a civilian. On October 4, McGowen joined the Harris County Sheriff’s Department as a jail deputy. Things may have been fine if he’d stayed there, but in April 1992 McGowen was transferred to patrol. And on August 25, Susan White, terrified and begging the 911 operator to send someone – anyone but McGowen - was shot.

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