Holding Harris County Deputies Accountable for Alleged Brutal K9 Attack of Unarmed Black Man
Thomas v. Bruss et al. (previously Thomas v. Johnson et al.)
In February 2023, Civil Rights Corps Attorney Shirley LaVarco and Deputy Director Brittany Francis brought suit on behalf of Kerry Lee Thomas against three then-deputies of the Harris County Constables’ Office, Precinct 1.
The lawsuit alleges that Defendants subjected Mr. Thomas to a brutal K-9 attack while he lay prone on the ground with his arms outstretched. Shortly thereafter, the K-9’s handler, then-Sergeant Robert Johnson cracked gruesome jokes about the attack, namely that his dog was “full” and “satisfied” after tearing the flesh from Mr. Thomas’s right arm. Mr. Thomas further alleges that deputies Eric M. Bruss and Wayne Schultz not only failed to intervene, but also helped cover up the attack by falsifying records and reports.
In addition, Mr. Thomas’s lawsuit cites important historical evidence that modern day police K-9 units have their roots in chattel slavery and anti-Black terror. That evidence is summarized as follows: Mr. Thomas is far from the first Black man to be brutalized in this way. Even before the proliferation of modern “K-9 units,” dogs have long been used to terrorize Black people. Throughout the United States, and especially in the South, dogs were bred and groomed to maul enslaved Black people for running away or otherwise angering their enslavers. Historians have drawn a straight line from this gruesome antebellum practice to the modern use of attack dogs by policing agencies like the Harris County Constable.
On August 15, 2023 U.S. District Court Judge Lee H. Rosenthal denied Defendants’ motion to dismiss. In a powerful opinion, the Court underscored its concern about the misconduct alleged here: “The court does not understand the reason for commanding a police dog to bite and severely injure a suspect, the subject of a noise complaint, who had been compliant, prone, and visibly unarmed for four minutes.”
The court also denied the bystander officers’ claim of qualified immunity, finding that Mr. Thomas plausibly alleged that Bruss and Schultz had sufficient notice of the constitutional violations underfoot but nonetheless failed to intervene, despite ample opportunity.
Media Coverage:
Bodycam footage shows Harris County deputy releasing police dog on unarmed Black man in 2021 | Houston Chronicle | Mar 14, 2023
Filings:
Surreply in Opposition to Defendants' Motion to Dismiss (Jun 28, 23)
Response in Opposition to Defendants' Motion to Dismiss (Jun 9, 2023)
Complaint (Feb 22, 2023)
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