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HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — In a significant ruling by one of the most conservative federal courts in the country, two Houston police officers have lost their qualified immunity due to their blatant dishonesty in a 2019 DWI case.
The Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that officers Michael Garcia and Joshua Few lied so egregiously in their handling of the case that they no longer have qualified immunity. The court’s decision stemmed from an incident involving Austin Hughes, a former Michigan police officer working as an Uber driver, who witnessed a drunk driver weaving through traffic on the 610 W. Loop.
Early in the morning, Hughes called 911 while following the erratic driver. When the driver crashed, Hughes performed a citizen’s arrest. However, when officers arrived, they believed the drunk driver’s account over Hughes’ and arrested Hughes, charging him with a felony. The criminal case was eventually dismissed, but Hughes’ life was significantly affected.
Hughes, represented by attorney Courtney Warren, filed a civil suit, leading to this month’s extraordinary court ruling. Paul Doyle, who represented Hughes in the dismissed criminal case, expressed surprise at the ruling, noting that qualified immunity usually protects officers from civil liability.
The 21-page court document included a strong rebuke:
“For those who worry that qualified immunity can be invoked under absurd circumstances: Buckle up. …when police officers arrived at the scene, they let the drunk driver go and then arrested Good Samaritan Hughes. (Seriously.) Piling insanity on irrationality, the officers then charged Hughes with a felony for impersonating a peace officer. Hughes spent thousands of dollars defending against the frivolous criminal charges before the City of Houston dropped them. Then Hughes brought this suit against the two officers who victimized him. The district court denied qualified immunity. We affirm. (Obviously.)”
Another part of the ruling emphasized:
“This case does not involve excessive force, or split-second decisions, or the chaos of a chase. Rather, it involves a simple, clearly established rule that all officers should know at all times … Do not lie.”
Doyle remarked, “What this case says is no. If you lie this blatantly, you don’t have immunity, and you don’t have these protections. So, hopefully, it will cause the bad officers that do this type of stuff, because there are so many good ones, to think twice before putting the case on someone.”
The Houston Police Officers’ Union maintains that the officers acted correctly, noting that the District Attorney’s Office accepted the charges against Hughes and that no internal affairs complaints were filed. Both officers, Garcia and Few, remain employed by the Houston Police Department.
City Attorney Arturo Michel indicated that the statute of limitations would prevent any criminal prosecution of the officers. He plans to discuss potential additional training or corrective actions with acting HPD Chief Larry Satterwhite.
The case has been remanded back to federal trial court, where civil penalties could be imposed. Hughes, who still resides in Houston, declined to comment on camera.