RAMOS V. IRWIN
Mr. Ramos is a loving uncle and brother who was racially profiled, tackled and subjected to a deadly four-point restraint maneuver (commonly known as “hogtying”) by members of the Houston Police Department. At the time of the incident, he was walking home from a night out dancing with his sisters.
On July 10, 2023, Peoples’ Counsel attorneys filed a civil rights lawsuit in federal court to hold five Houston Police Department officers responsible for violating Mr. Ramos’s Fourth Amendment right to be free from false arrest and excessive force.
JULY 2023 | MR. RAMOS SUES FOR FALSE ARREST AND EXCESSIVE FORCE
FROM THE COMPLAINT:
“Early in the morning on July 11, 2021, Defendant Scott Erwin was notified of a 911 call alleging that a ‘Hispanic’ male had committed an assault. Shortly thereafter, Defendant Erwin saw Mr. Ramos, who is a Hispanic male, on a public sidewalk. Mr. Ramos was not committing any crimes. Apart from race and gender, Defendant Erwin did not receive any physical descriptors of the alleged perpetrator. Notably, 44.5% of Houstonians, or over 1 million people in the City of Houston, identify as Hispanic or Latino.
Despite having only those two pieces of relevant information … Defendant Erwin seized Mr. Ramos within seconds of getting out of his police vehicle. Without asking questions or giving Mr. Ramos an opportunity to answer, he grabbed Mr. Ramos’ arm and tackled him to the ground.
Later, Defendants Gino Dago, Hallie Smith, and Fredrick Morrison pulled an already-handcuffed Mr. Ramos out of the police vehicle, placed him on his stomach, and tied his wrists and his ankles in a four-point restraint known as hogtying.
Mr. Ramos had to be hospitalized for the injuries that he received as a result of being hogtied. Even now, he continues to suffer serious and long-term mental and emotional consequences.”
MAR 2024 | COURT DENIES OFFICERS’ MOTION TO DISMISS
PEOPLES’ COUNSEL BLOCKS QUALIFIED IMMUNITY
FROM THE COURT’S OPINION:
“The Court agrees with Ramos that Irwin and Gilbreath lacked probable cause at the time of the arrest. A suspect’s race and sex alone cannot provide reasonable suspicion—and, thus, not the higher standard of probable cause—for an officer to stop them. United States v. Alvarez, 40 F.4th 339, 343 (5th Cir. 2022) (concluding that officer lacked reasonable suspicion to stop Defendant, explaining that “[o]ur cases require officers to have information more specific than ‘a Hispanic male who once rode away from police on a bicycle with large handlebars in a particular area,’ especially in Corpus Christi, Texas.”). This conclusion is buttressed by the fact that 44.8% of people in Houston identify as Hispanic or Latino.
The deluge of authority and obviousness of the violation is such that no reasonable officer in Irwin and Gilbreath’s position would have concluded that it was constitutionally permissible to grab and tackle an individual to the ground where the individual had committed no crimes and immediately complied with orders. Therefore, Defendants Irwin and Gilbreath are not entitled to qualified immunity on Ramos’ excessive force claim.”
DEC 2024 | THE FIFTH CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS AFFIRMS, REFUSING TO DISMISS MR. RAMOS’ CASE
PEOPLES’ COUNSEL BLOCKS QUALIFIED IMMUNITY ON APPEAL
FROM THE COURT’S OPINION:
“After the district court partially denied the officers’ motion to dismiss based on qualified immunity, the officers appealed. Having reviewed the record and the parties’ briefs, and having heard oral argument, we affirm essentially for the reasons stated in the district court’s opinion.”
CURRENT STATUS
Trial is currently set for the fall of 2026.
Revisit this page for updates.
