Case No. 24591, 25th District Court, Colorado County, Texas Removed: 4:16-cv-03708, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas, Houston Division Filed: December 1, 2016 | Removed: December 21, 2016
On December 7, 2014, Barbara Ortiz was a passenger in a vehicle driven by Alfred Singer in San Felipe, Texas. Singer failed to stop at a stop sign, prompting Officer Jones of the San Felipe Police Department to initiate a traffic stop. Singer refused to stop.
A multi-agency high-speed pursuit followed. Deputy William Lund of the Colorado County Sheriff’s Office joined the chase. During the pursuit, DPS Trooper Paul Kohleffel fired approximately 13 rounds into the passenger side door of Singer’s vehicle while traveling at highway speed. Trooper Kohleffel struck the vehicle at least 9 times and struck Barbara Ortiz in the head and in the back.
At the time of the shooting, Ortiz was pregnant with twins. As a direct result of her injuries, she lost one of the twins in utero.
Trooper Kohleffel knew passengers were in the vehicle and proceeded anyway with, in the words of the petition, “conscious indifference and reckless disregard for the rights, safety and welfare of the passengers.”
Claims Against Colorado County Sheriff’s Office #
Ortiz filed suit on December 1, 2016 in the 25th Judicial District Court of Colorado County, asserting two counts directly against Colorado County and the Colorado County Sheriff’s Office:
Count II — Excessive Force (42 U.S.C. § 1983)
CCSO and Deputy Lund participated in and continued the pursuit with “conscious indifference and reckless disregard for the safety of others,” in violation of the Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable seizure.
Count III — Official Policy or Custom (42 U.S.C. § 1983 — Monell)
“Defendants are liable under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 because their failure to properly supervise, screen, discipline, transfer, counsel or otherwise control officers who are known, or who should have been known, to engage in the use of excessive force caused the deprivation of Plaintiff’s constitutional rights was inflicted pursuant to an official policy or custom of Defendants.”
Damages were estimated to exceed $1,000,000.
Disposition #
Austin County removed the case to federal court on December 21, 2016. Colorado County Sheriff R.H. Wied consented to the removal. The case was subsequently remanded back to the 25th Judicial District Court of Colorado County — the same court that handles civil matters originating in the county. Its final resolution was not publicly reported.
The Monell count — alleging systemic failure to supervise and control officers — was never adjudicated on the merits.
Source: U.S. District Court S.D. Texas, Case No. 4:16-cv-03708; 25th District Court Colorado County, Cause No. 24591; court filings obtained via PACER/RECAP.