Austin, Texas

The researchers noted that the negative impact on police-community relationships and trust of the police is “incalculable.” As of July 2023, dozens more lawsuits involving the Austin Police Department were still in progress, including lawsuits from people injured by police during the 2020 racial justice protests.

Austin Police officers allegedly hit Alexander, who was pregnant at the time, with “less-lethal” gunfire once in the stomach and once in the back. As of May 2023, Austin had agreed to pay more than $18.9 million in settlements to fifteen people injured by Austin Police officers during the 2020 protests. The lawsuits alleged that police officers used excessive force.

Two Austin Police officers, Richard Egal and Maxwell Johnson, shot and killed Nobles in May 2017. The civil lawsuit was tried in federal court before a jury, which recommended a total of $67 million in damages. Following judicial intervention and further negotiations, the City and the family settled the case for $3.3 million.

When the officer shot Herrera, a veteran, with a “less-lethal” round, it caused lasting nerve damage and triggered post-traumatic stress related to his military service in Iraq. The lawsuit was one of several that argued that the APD’s use of force was unnecessary and that the “less-lethal” ammunition—including shotgun shells filled with lead pellet bags and foam bullets—was dangerous to protesters. The APD said it would no longer use the ammunition to control crowds.

Surrounding officers ignored Drake’s request for help after she was shot. The lawsuit asserted that the officers’ actions violated her First Amendment right to protected speech and to peaceful assembly, and her Fourth Amendment right to be free from excessive force. The City of Austin agreed to pay an $850,000 settlement to Drake, bringing the City’s total settlements with demonstrators against police misconduct to $13.95 million as of May 2022, all paid by taxpayers.

Howell and Evans each sustained serious injuries from beanbag rounds shot by police during the demonstrations. Howell, who suffered brain damage, received $8 million, which at the time was the highest amount ever awarded in an excessive force case involving an Austin police officer. Evans received $2 million. The immense backlash to the violent police response to the demonstrations resulted in the indictment of at least nineteen officers accused of excessive force, and it led the Austin Police Department to stop using less-lethal weapons such as beanbag rounds.

In December 2018, Yeager was visiting his girlfriend in Austin when they were robbed. When police officers arrived, the lawsuit alleges that officer Dusty Jester slammed Yeager to the ground and used a stun gun on him and then falsely arrested him. Yeager sustained several injuries, including a concussion, broken nose, and separated shoulder. He filed a lawsuit for wrongful arrest and excessive force against the city in 2019. Two years later, city officials decided to settle the case for $99,000.

The lawsuit alleged that Harvel fatally shot Roque in September 2017 when responding to a 911 call where Roque was having a mental health crisis. The Austin City Council reached a settlement of $2.25 million with the Roque family after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5^th Circuit affirmed Harvel did not qualify for immunity for the second and third shot he fired at Roque.

According to an analysis of data provided by the Austin City Law Department, between 2013 and 2015, Austin paid an average of $1.1 million annually in settlement payouts, including for police misconduct.