Firearm and cell phone admitted via inevitable discovery
Facts In 2020, Officers Donovan Polk and Rolando Foster were patrolling a high-crime area in Houston, Texas. They saw a Nissan Altima hesitantly pulling out of a parking lot that was known for narcotics activity. The officers ran the Nissan’s license plates. Associated with that license were municipal warrants for traffic violations by Jesse Walker. Their […]
Officer did not use excessive force when arresting four people outside home
Facts In 2016, Officer Martin received a call dispatching him to a disturbance in the South Division of Fort Worth. The initial 9-1-1 call came from a middle-aged male, stating that several people were on his property arguing, had refused to leave, and were intentionally throwing trash in his yard. A subsequent 9-1-1 call came […]
Police did not deliberately use statements improperly obtained to get confession
Facts In 2020, while driving to the Odessa Police Department (“OPD”), Luis Fernandez called 911 claiming that he was armed and being chased by multiple people. Corporal Ian Kapets and Detective Donny Rocha ran from inside the OPD building to the parking lot, where they observed Fernandez pulling halfway into a parking space while holding […]
Photo lineup was reliable and not impermissibly suggestive
Facts: In 2013 Danzel Williams was working on his car at his brother’s house in Durant when he received a text message from Crystal Pernell asking him to come “chill.” Pernell and Danzel had been frequently meeting and having sex with one another for more than a year. For these meetings, Danzel would usually drive […]
Qualified immunity denied for officers accused of beating an unresisting subject to death after car stop
Facts Ronald Greene was driving on U.S. Highway 80 in Monroe, Louisiana around 12 a.m. on May 10, 2019. Trooper Dakota DeMoss attempted to stop Mr. Greene for an unspecified violation. Mr. Greene sped away, and a pursuit ensued. He eventually crashed into a wooded area. Mr. Greene’s vehicle was only moderately damaged, and he […]
Pretrial detainee who is unrestrained, uncooperative, and had recently attacked guards denied §1983 when he is forcefully taken down
Facts In 2018, Zachariah Holm initiated a violent altercation with correctional officers as a pretrial detainee held in the Comal County Jail. The incident was captured on video. Holm and several other pretrial detainees had flooded their cell block, and officers responded in riot gear to deescalate the scene. Disobeying direct orders to face the […]