Fifth Circuit Reinstates Claims Against Harris County Deputy Constables Alleging They Unlawfully Entered the Wrong Family’s Home with Guns Drawn

New Orleans, Louisiana – On May 4, 2026, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated Mr. Tyler Harrington’s claims of unlawful entry, search, and seizure against three Harris County, Texas, Deputy Constables, and dismissed Mr. Harrington’s excessive force claim on qualified immunity grounds. The lawsuit alleges that officers James Lancaster, Nathaniel Cano, and Jared Lindsay conducted a warrantless no-knock entry into Mr. Harrington’s home in the middle of the night and held him at gunpoint, despite questioning aloud whether they were at the wrong house. 

According to the complaint, the officers responded to a 911 call for a “knock” on a back door, but arrived at Mr. Harrington’s house, which they knew or should have known was the wrong house. The complaint alleges that the defendants then barged into Mr. Harrington’s house with guns drawn and found him and his wife sleeping. At that point, according to the complaint, the officers questioned aloud whether they were at the right address, but nevertheless exited and re-entered the house without confirming the address. The complaint alleges that the defendants held Mr. Harrington at gunpoint, in his boxers, until they verified that he lived in his home, thereby subjecting Mr. Harrington to agonizing emotional pain, fear, and severe ongoing emotional and psychological injuries.

This is not the first time one of the defendants has been accused of violating a person’s constitutional rights. In 2020, defendant Jared Lindsay, then an employee of Precinct 7, was sued for allegedly strangling and tasing a man following a traffic stop. The Fifth Circuit also denied him qualified immunity in that case. Mr. Harrington is also not the first Harris County resident to experience police officers raiding the wrong home. In 2020, former Houston Police Department officer Louis Rodriguez filed an internal affairs complaint against the Harris County Sheriff’s Department for allegedly attempting to serve a warrant at the wrong address, breaking down his door, and pulling him and his son outside. In 2019, Houston Police Department officers killed 2 innocent people in a botched raid that began with a neighbor fraudulently calling the police. 

Ale Clark-Ansani, an attorney at Civil Rights Corps, said, “We’re glad to see that the Fifth Circuit recognized the unconstitutionality of the officers’ alleged conduct, specifically when they re-entered Mr. Harrington’s home and seized him at gunpoint after realizing they were likely at the incorrect house. Even so, the Fifth Circuit’s affirmance of the dismissal of Mr. Harrington’s excessive force claim—for holding him at gunpoint while he stood unarmed in his underwear—underscores how qualified immunity continues to shield police from accountability. We are eager to continue litigating the case and ensuring that Mr. Harrington receives at least some measure of justice for the trauma that he has suffered.” 

Pure Justice CoFounder & Organizing Director RoShawn C. Evans stated, “Just as law enforcement is often quick to hold communities of color and poor communities accountable for social conditions, hardship, or reactions created by government failures, they must be just as quick to hold their own officers accountable. The law should never be used as a shield for misconduct, abuse of power, or unconstitutional behavior. The officers must be held accountable for the warrantless no-knock entry into Mr. Harrington’s home in the middle of the night and for holding him at gunpoint. The same justice this system claims to stand for is the same justice Mr. Harrington deserves to receive.” 

The lawsuit is seeking a declaration that the defendants violated Mr. Harrington’s constitutional rights, damages, and attorneys’ fees.

Learn more about the case and find relevant documents HERE.

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Civil Rights Corps challenges systemic injustice in the U.S. 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 legal system. Our work is guided by a commitment to the people and communities harmed by policing, surveillance, incarceration, discrimination, and the criminalization of poverty. 

Pure Justice is a Black-led, membership-based organization transforming our criminal legal system, removing economic barriers for formerly-incarcerated people and fighting for racial justice. Founded by Sasha Legette and RoShawn Evans in 2017, we use grassroots organizing, civic engagement and policy advocacy to enact meaningful change in Harris County.