Civil Rights Corps argues for Fifth Circuit to uphold lower court decision that permits lawsuit accusing Houston Police department officers of “hogtying” and “racial profiling” to proceed

The lawsuit claims that officers used a deadly four-point restraint called “hogtying” after racially profiling a Hispanic man and arresting him without probable cause. 

New Orleans, Louisiana – On December 5, 2024, Civil Rights Corps (CRC) completed an oral argument at the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit for a lawsuit on behalf of Alberto Ramos against five Houston Police Department (HPD) officers. The original complaint alleges that in July 2021, HPD officers racially profiled, hogtied, and arrested Mr. Ramos, in violation of constitutional law. In March 2024, federal Judge Keith P. Ellison denied the defendant officers’ motion to dismiss, after which the officers named in the lawsuit, Scott Irwin, Jennifer Gilbreath, Hallie Smith, Fredrick Morrison, and Gino Dago appealed this decision.

Mr. Ramos’ lawsuit raises a Fourth Amendment false arrest claim and two Fourth Amendment excessive force claims against the defendant officers. According to the complaint, on July 11, 2021, a 911 dispatcher alerted defendant Irwin of an alleged assault perpetrator who was only described as “Hispanic” and “male” with no other physical descriptors like height, weight, hair color, tattoos, or clothing. Houston has a large Hispanic population, with 44.5% of Houstonians – or over 1 million people – identifying as Hispanic or Latino. 

Additionally, the complaint alleges that defendants Irwin and Gilbreath grabbed Mr. Ramos’ arm and tackled him to the ground within seconds of approaching him and without asking any investigative questions. The complaint also alleges that defendant officers Dago, Smith, and Morrison secured Mr. Ramos in an HPD vehicle, pulled Mr. Ramos back out of the vehicle, lay him prone on the concrete, and hogtied him. Mr. Ramos had trouble breathing while hogtied and needed to be hospitalized for his injuries, according to the complaint. For 28 years, the Department of Justice has warned police departments that hogtying can be a deadly maneuver when used on vulnerable people. Between 2010 and 2021, 23 people died as a result of being hogtied by police. 

“The Fifth Circuit has held multiple times that it is unconstitutional to engage in the racial profiling and hogtying that Mr. Ramos’ lawsuit alleges. It is unacceptable, especially in a city with such a large Hispanic population, for HPD officers to stop, arrest, and hogtie a person simply because he fits a barebones description of being Hispanic and male,” said Kiah Duggins, the CRC attorney who conducted Thursday’s appellate argument on behalf of Mr. Ramos. “The Court should uphold Judge Ellison’s well-reasoned decision.”

The lawsuit is seeking a declaration that the defendant officers violated Mr. Ramos’ constitutional rights, compensatory damages, and punitive damages. 

“This lawsuit highlights the need for police accountability in Houston, where police data shows that Black and brown residents are disproportionately responded to with force compared to white residents,” said CRC’s Policing Project Director, Brittany Francis. Civil Rights Corps is a member of Houston’s RISE campaign for police accountability, a coalition that includes Pure Justice Houston, Texas Civil Rights Project, and Acres Homes CAG.  

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Civil Rights Corps is a nonprofit organization dedicated to challenging systemic injustice in the United States’ legal system. Through innovative civil rights litigation, advocacy, and public education, we aim to re-sensitize the legal system and our culture to the injustice and brutality that characterizes the contemporary U.S. legal system. We work to shift power to community-led movements, particularly those led by Black, brown and poor people who are most impacted by the unjust legal system, in order to create structural change. Website: civilrightscorps.org

RISE Houston is a grassroots coalition of Houston community members, organizers, civil rights lawyers, and concerned civilians dedicated to Re-Imagining Safety for Everyone (RISE) in Houston. Website: risehouston.org

MEDIA CONTACT: Madhvi Venkatraman | media@civilrightscorps.org