Houston, Texas (December 13, 2023) - Houston Partner Norman Ray Giles and Houston and Salt Lake City Partner Bill Helfand on Tuesday obtained summary judgment in favor of a police officer in a lawsuit stemming from a fatal officer-involved shooting.

The lawsuit arose from a May 2019 incident that occurred while Lewis Brisbois' client, an officer for the City of Baytown Police Department, was on duty at an apartment complex in which he also lived. The officer encountered a suspect who was yelling while standing in a parking lot. The officer confirmed the suspect had outstanding warrants for arrest based on other offenses and approached the suspect. Instead of submitting to arrest, the suspect fought the officer and gained control of the officer's taser. The suspect used the taser against the officer, who drew his handgun and fired, fatally wounding the suspect. The decedent's family sued the officer and the City of Baytown in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

In his motion for summary judgment, the officer contended he used reasonable force that was necessary under the circumstances and that he was entitled to qualified immunity.

U.S. District Judge George C. Hanks Jr. agreed with the officer, finding the officer's actions were objectively reasonable under the circumstances. The officer, the judge wrote, "did not have the luxury in that moment to negotiate with the individual holding his taser who up to this point had been struggling with him and was consistently nonresponsive to his verbal commands."

Furthermore, Judge Hanks found, the plaintiffs failed to identify "any clearly established law 'that would place beyond doubt the constitutional question in this case,' i.e., whether it is unreasonable for an officer to tase a person who is actively resisting arrest and presents at least some threat to the officer and whether it is unreasonable for an officer to use deadly force when he has been tased, the taser's wires are attached to him, and the person who has been actively resisting arrest is attempting to rise from the ground with his taser in hand."

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