Cases dismissed against officer accused of friendly-fire shooting

All charges have been dismissed against a former Fort Bend County sheriff’s deputy accused of fatally shooting a fellow officer in May 2020.

Chadwick McRae was facing four felony charges in connection with the May 29, 2020 death of Precinct 4 Constable Caleb Rule.

McRae, who was fired from his job after the shooting, was indicted on two felony charges of criminal negligent homicide, deadly conduct through the discharge of a firearm and aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury.

The shooting occurred when McRae, who was 49 at the time, and Rule responded to a burglary call at a home in the 3900 bock of Chestnut Bend in the Sienna Plantation subdivision in Missouri City at 1:45 a.m. on May 29.

According to reports, a neighbor called and reported that she saw a person running near the home.

The officers entered the home through an unlocked back door. While they were clearing the home, McRae mistook the deputy constable as an intruder and fired his weapon, according to the investigation.

Rule was shot in the chest even though he was wearing his bulletproof vest at the time of the shooting. Rule, 37, was flown to Memorial Hermann Hospital, where he later died. District Attorney Brian Middleton explained why he believed the cases should be dismissed against McRae.

“The case presented an extraordinary tragedy arising from friendly fire during a police operation,” Middleton told The Herald. “The shooting occurred during the course of a police operation involving the clearing of possible intruders from a vacant residence.

“The shooting occurred in the early hours of May 29, 2020. All four charges dealt with the single act of the shooting.” Middleton said Rule’s death was unintentional.

“Deputy McRae stated that he fired his weapon because he believed that Deputy Rule was an intruder,” Middleton explained. “The gunshot was fatal. Evidence revealed that the two peace officers were friends for many years prior to the shooting and had worked together in the past.”

Prosecutors, investigators, and peace officers engaged in an extensive investigation into the matter, Middleton added.

“Many experts were retained to assist in the investigation and trial preparation,” Middleton said. “At the conclusion of the exhaustive investigation, involving hundreds of man-hours, substantial evidence remained supporting that the shooting was accidental. It would have been extremely difficult to prove beyond a reasonable doubt, the highest burden in law, that the incident was not an accidental shooting.”

Middleton said McRae agreed to settle the issue once and for all by surrendering his badge permanently