Bob Booth
Special to the Star-Telegram
Attorney Lee Merritt said he will decide by the end of the week if he will file a civil rights lawsuit against the city of Hurst over concerns that an arrest made during a traffic stop violated Teneisha Thompson’s civil rights.
Merritt, who has represented clients including the family of Atatiana Jefferson, discussed the possibility of a lawsuit during a press conference in front of the Hurst City Hall on Tuesday.
Merritt also spoke during Tuesday’s council meeting.
During the press conference, Merritt said the police department criticized him for releasing edited video that Thompson took using her cell phone when she was pulled over for speeding on Jan. 16.
“We were fortunate that last week, the Hurst Police Department released the body camera video,” Merritt said. “They released it with criticism that the video that Miss Thompson released was edited…”
Merritt encouraged the Hurst Police Department to make it a routine to release body camera footage to the public.
Thompson attended the press conference with her son, who was in the car when she was arrested. Her son is a minor.
Thompson did not take any questions from the media, but she read from a prepared statement which said in part: “I was pulled from my car in a brutal, unprovoked attack. I had simply tossed a ticket — one that was thrown at me — out of the window. Without warning, the officer grabbed me, and when I instinctively tried to pull back, the violence escalated. I suffered a black eye, a busted lip needing stitches, and severe bruises all over my body.”
An excessive force complaint was filed on Jan. 20, according to the Hurst Police Department. The investigation was closed after authorities determined the woman’s claims were unfounded, the department said.
Thompson said that this is all about de-escalation and to make sure that other citizens won’t experience what she did.
A video that got millions of views on social media showed the officer pulling Thompson out of the car when she refused to get out of the vehicle.
The dashcam video shows the officer telling Thompson that she was littering when she threw her traffic citation out of the car window.
The officer grabbed Thompson’s arm, and she told the officer to let go and that he was holding her arm too tightly.
The officer tells the woman she is under arrest and asks her to get out of the car. She says she won’t get out until his supervisor arrives. About a minute later, the officer reaches in the vehicle, pulls the woman out and takes her to the ground.
Her 15-year-old son can be heard in the background pleading with his mom and the officer to stop.
During the public comment portion of the council meeting Merritt said, that he doesn’t make it a habit to badmouth police officers, and that he encourages his clients not to litigate cases on the side of the road.
“I want to thank the city of Hurst and the police department for not killing Teneisha Thompson and for not harming her son.”
Merritt referred to incidents when police officers killed people they had arrested.
“But I can’t thank the police department for making an arrest for a minor offense and for snatching the door open and taking her (Thompson) to the ground.”
“It was an abuse of discretion,” he said.
Several residents spoke in support of Thompson, including Kathleen Kearney, who said, “I watched the video and the officer could have broken her neck.”
After the meeting, Mayor Henry Wilson said he could not comment on the advice of his attorney, but said “our police officers are top notch.”
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
With my guide dog Freddie, I keep tabs on growth, economic development and other issues in Northeast Tarrant cities and other communities near Fort Worth. I’ve been a reporter at the Star-Telegram for 34 years.