Congrats to my brothers and TLC Warriors on their victory in Houston in a civil rights case that pitted Kent Spence and Rafe Foreman against Harris County Sheriff’s Office and its deputies. After just four hours deliberations, the jury awarded the estate of Joel Casy $600,000 and $2.4 million to his mother.  The Houston Chronicle reported:

Casey’s death was ruled a homicide. An autopsy found the 52-year-old man died of psychotic delirium with physical restraint associated with heart disease.

He also suffered fractures to his seventh cervical vertebrae and the left horn of his thyroid cartilage, believed to have occurred when one deputy dropped a knee on Casey’s neck and pulled Casey’s head back, said the dead man’s attorney, Kent Spence.

You can read more about this case here .  Sometimes juries get it right.  Casey had complied with officers who showed up at his house to arrest him on a mental health warrant.  When he complained about the pain one of the handcuffs was causing him, Mr. Casey (a 52 year old man who suffered from schizophrenia) was taken to the ground and an officer put a knee in his back while pulling his head by the hair.  

Look folks – this stuff ain’t rocket science.  Simply treat others like you would expect to be treated. There was no need for Mr. Casey to have died here, and a jury said so.  Police misconduct cases are tough, and I cannot think of any local cases in recent times that have resulted in a favorable verdict, but it can happen (remember Ruby Ridge!).  If you think you have a case – consult an attorney who can help you level the playing field.