Former Maverick County Tom Bowles Detention Center Prisoner suing County Jail Lieutenant for Excessive Use of Force & Civil Rights Violation
By: Jose G. Landa, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2016
During the February 23, 2016 Maverick County Commissioners Court meeting, Commissioners Court discussed and consulted with Maverick County Legal Counsel Robert Wilson in Executive Session regarding the case status of the pending civil lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, Del Rio Division in Del Rio, Texas, styled Humberto M. Garza vs. Santos Perez, Cause No. 2:14-CV-76-AM-CW.
Plaintiff, Humberto M. Garza, was an inmate at the Maverick County Tom Bowles Detention Center/County Jail when on August 1, 2014 he was physically assaulted by Santos Perez, a Maverick County Sheriff’s Department employee working as a Lieutenant at the County Jail while he was handcuffed and restrained, suffering personal injuries to his body and having his civil rights violated under Section 1983 of the 1965 Civil Rights Act.
Garza alleges that Maverick County Sheriff Department employee Santos Perez violated his U. S. Constitutional eighth amendment rights by using excessive force when assaulting him while being handcuffed, striking him in the face and kicking him in the groin.
Garza’s complaint alleges that on August 1, 2014 while he was an inmate at the Maverick County Jail and being moved from one cell to another cell while handcuffed and restrained, Lieutenant Santos Perez in his official capacity told Garza that he would not be returned his personal property.
Garza’s complaint further alleges that Perez began to argue with Garza and suddenly and unexpectedly Lieutenant Perez rushed into Garza’s jail cell and started kicking Garza in the groin and struck him in the face while handcuffed and restrained.
Garza’s complaint alleges that other county jailers in the Maverick County Jail had to intervene to restrain Lieutenant Santos Perez from continuing assaulting Garza while restrained.
“After the assault, I was left handcuffed and was refused medical attention and transferred to the Zavala County Jail in Crystal, City , Texas,” states Garza’s complaint against Lieutenant Santos Perez.
Garza filed a prisoner grievance form on his behalf on October 13, 2014 but never received a response and now seeks compensatory and punitive damages for the personal injuries he suffered from the assault propounded upon him by Lieutenant Santos Perez.
Garza’s complaint seeks “ Compensatory damages in the amount of $5,000. Punitive damages in the amount of $10,000. A jury trial on all issues triable by jury.”
It is unknown whether there are any pending state or federal criminal investigations against Lieutenant Santos Perez for violating a prisoner’s civil rights under color of law due to excessive force.
Upon returning into Open Session, Commissioners Court took no action on the Executive Session agenda item concerning discussion and consultation with Legal Counsel regarding the Humberto M. Garza vs. Santos Perez federal lawsuit. Currently, Humberto M. Garza is representing himself on a pro se basis while Maverick County employee Santos Perez is represented by Mark Sanchez of the Sanchez and Wilson law firm in San Antonio, Texas who substituted former Maverick County Legal Counsel Poncho Nevarez of the Nevarez Law Group.
