Law & Crime reports
A former Houston Police Department (HPD) officer was charged with federal crimes on Tuesday after allegedly lying about his participation in the Jan. 6 siege of the U.S. Capitol Complex.
Eighteen-year (HPD) veteran Tam Dinh Pham was placed on administrative leave last week after allegedly participating in the pro-Trump attack. Pham resigned his position after his name was leaked to the press. Now, the newly-former cop is facing the prospect of prison time.
“Pham initially told [federal agents] he was in Washington, D.C. from January 5 – 7, 2021 for business reasons,” a statement of facts obtained by Law&Crime alleges. “He stated that he briefly attended President Trump’s rally on January 6, 2021 but initially denied going to the Capitol building.”
According to the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), Pham made additional efforts to conceal his alleged attendance at the Capitol riots prior to their arrival.
From that charging document:
Agents asked PHAM if they could look at the pictures on PHAM’s cell phone during the time he was in Washington, DC. PHAM agreed to show them the photos on his phone. As PHAM was showing [JTTF agents] the photos, they noticed there were no photos in the album for the dates that PHAM had traveled to Washington, DC. Special Agent Slaughter asked PHAM if she could go to his Deleted photo album. PHAM agreed, and in that album, there were pictures and videos that were readily identifiable as being of the interior of the Capitol building.
After that, the JTTF claims, Pham was advised “that it was unlawful for him to make false statements” and he then went on to admit his participation in some of the events that transpired at the national seat of legislative government.