Search Results for: excessive force

Resisting Arrest vs Excessive Force: Lessons from Fort Worth Police BodyCam

Back on a hot summer night this past August, a Fort Worth Police Officer named Sergeant Kenneth Pierce responded to a 911 domestic disturbance call.  He had been on the job for over 20 years.  Family violence calls weren’t new to him. He went to the home with a fellow officer, a rookie named Maria…


Can You Trust the Police? Police Excessive Force and the Dallas D.A. List of Names

Much of the news this week revolves around aspects of the rioting in Baltimore, Maryland, which began on the afternoon of Freddie Gray’s funeral, a man who died while in police custody and whom many believe was another victim of police excessive force. The death of Freddie Gray comes not so long after the Ferguson…


Texas Police Excessive Force: Concern Isn’t Just the Police Officer, It’s the Entire Police Department

For the past two nights, there has been rioting in Ferguson, Missouri, in the aftermath of the grand jury determination not to bring charges against a police officer who used lethal force. That’s Missouri; what about police and lethal force here in Dallas and North Texas? Good question. 1. Dallas Web Site: Police Department’s Lethal…


Police Brutality in Texas? Robert Tolan Wins as 1983 Excessive Force Case Returned to Trial by US Supreme Court

Robert Tolan fights for justice.  How many other Texans have 1983 excessive force cases against police officers that they are afraid to file? Earlier this month, the United States Supreme Court reversed the decision of our own Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals (the federal appellate court that grades the papers of federal criminal trial courts…


Dallas Police Excessive Force: 16 Officer Involved Shootings in 2012 – Over 1 Each Month and 50% Are Fatal

Police officers are trusted by you and me to carry guns, pistols, stun guns, and other weapons on their bodies as they drive the streets and walk alongside us and our kids because they are doing the job of protecting and serving the public.  So when cops decide to use their weapons to harm or…


Texas Cops Shooting Citizens All Over the State This Month: Excessive Force? Overstressed Officers? Three Dead From Police-Issued Bullets.

Texas law enforcement is getting lots of media attention this month, as police officers all across the state have used their officially issued weapons to kill citizens.  Excessive force?  You make the call: Houston Police Officer Shoots Man to Death on Christmas Night – Witnesses Tell Different Story From Official Police Version In Houston, a…


Texas Cops’ Dashboard Cam Videotapes Alleged Excessive Force Against Motorcyclist

The parents of the 26-year-old man diagnosed with bipolar disorder are alleging excessive force by the Rockwall County law enforcement officers, who first chased the guy for 7 miles along Interstate 30 on September 16, 2010, before tackling him off the bike after he had come to a full stop on the side of the road and…


Fort Worth Cops – Excessive Force Caught on Video? Watch and Decide for Yourself.

Carey Cass Hudson admits to being charged with driving drunk and being hauled down to the Fort Worth jail — but he’s not defending against a DWI charge. Nope, Hudson is fighting Fort Worth law enforcement by accusing the cops of using excessive force against him down at the station. And Carey Cass Hudson has it all…


Cop Watch: Galveston Cops Disciplined For Excessive Force On Wedding Guests

One 19-year-old kid, some beer, and 30 Galveston cops … mix well, and get a wedding fiasco and police suspensions. Oh, and the arrest of Houston Astros’ pitcher Brandon Backe…. Galveston Wedding Makes National News Thirteen cops just got suspended for their over-zealous behavior at a Galveston wedding last year, and it’s making the national…


What is Probable Cause for Police to Arrest in Texas?

Constitutional protections demand that probable cause exist before there can be a valid arrest. Probable cause is a term originating in our federal constitution which has been adopted in the Texas constitution.  It is a tough, longstanding constitutional safeguard guaranteed by both our state and federal Bill of Rights. Specifically, both constitutions decree no member…