Kenneth D. Anderson, et al.v Crystal Estrada, et al.

Houston, Texas personal injury lawyers represented the Plaintiff who sued on a civil rights violation theory.





In the early morning of October 10, 2021, Kenneth Anderson, Jr.,

crashed a sedan in Harris County, Texas. Deputy Crystal Estrada was the

first officer to arrive at the scene around 3:25 A.M. Her body camera shows

Anderson's car against the curb near an intersection and angled toward

oncoming traffic. Anderson was the only person inside the vehicle, where he

was bleeding and initially unresponsive. He became responsive five minutes

later, complied with orders to step out of the vehicle, and was handcuffed

without incident. On-scene emergency medical technicians evaluated him.

Deputies Mercy Garcia, Victor Page, and Mohanad Alobaidi soon arrived at

the scene. At 4:23 A.M., Alobaidi stated that they could take Anderson in for

driving under the influence, and the officers directed Anderson to Estrada's

cruiser. They had some minor difficulty getting Anderson into the cruiser

because he would not pull his own legs inside.



* * *



Anderson died.



Anderson's estate and Kristen Sandoval, individually and as next

friend and trustee of Anderson's two children, sued the officers and Harris

County about a month later. Anderson's parents, Kenneth Anderson, Sr.,

and Evelyn Fay Ayers-Woods, intervened on January 5, 2022. They asserted

numerous claims against both the officers and Harris County. The district

court dismissed all but the excessive force claim against Alobaidi and the

corresponding bystander liability claims against Estrada, Garcia, and Page.

The Plaintiffs do not appeal the claims dismissed, but the Defendants filed

an interlocutory appeal to challenge the district court's denial of qualified

immunity on the excessive force and bystander liability claims. This court

has jurisdiction because "a district court's denial of a claim of qualified

immunity, to the extent that it turns on an issue of law, is an appealable 'final

decision' within the meaning of 28 U.S.C. § 1291 notwithstanding the

absence of a final judgment.” Mitchell v. Forsyth, 472 U.S. 511, 530, 105 S. Ct.

2806, 2817 (1985).

Reversed

Editor's Note: No one is really safe in American when they come into contact with cops.