The case centers on an encounter in a convenience store parking lot where Deputy Bolin, Deputy Kerrigan, and Deputy Macias questioned Alexander J. Williams about his unregistered truck and parking in a reserved handicap space.
Williams, who was without identification, became defensive and insisted he was not a criminal. After Deputy Bolin handcuffed Williams, the deputies attempted to place him in a patrol car while Williams’s toddler son remained in Williams’s vehicle, crying loudly.
The court found that the body-worn camera footage provided "sufficient clarity that no reasonable jury could find" that the deputies violated Williams’s constitutional rights, overriding Williams’s version of events which the court characterized as an exaggeration.
The video shows Williams resisting entry into the patrol car by pulling backward, locking his feet, and eventually hooking his legs under the open door to prevent the deputies from forcing him inside.
During the struggle, Deputy Kerrigan punched Williams once and once after Williams repeatedly yelled racial slurs.
Later, after the deputies removed Williams to photograph his injuries, Williams again refused to re-enter the vehicle, goading Deputy Bolin by saying, "Get you another one. I’m a real one. I’m a man. Catch you another one."
Deputy Bolin then tackled Williams into the backseat and punched him twice in the shoulders and upper chest area.
Throughout the second encounter, Williams laughed hysterically and told Deputy Bolin, "You punch like a bitch," according to the video transcript.
Rosenthal noted that while the deputies’ verbal retorts "unnecessarily intensified the encounter," the physical force used was a "measured and ascending response" to Williams’s refusal to comply with calm commands.
The judge found Williams’s injuries to be minor, including a "superficial" facial abrasion and mild neck swelling, with a treatment plan of "self-care" and no medications administered.
Post-arrest photos showed lacerations that were "essentially invisible," and jail security footage showed Williams walking without assistance or signs of distress.
Rosenthal concluded that although the deputies’ actions "walk close to the line of reasonableness," they did not cross it because the force was applied to overcome active resistance rather than to punish a restrained suspect.
The court also dismissed Williams’s claims for punitive damages.
Williams’s earlier amended complaint alleged violations of his First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights, as well as state-law tort claims. Claims against Harris County and the Sheriff were previously dismissed with prejudice, and claims against Deputy Macias were dismissed without prejudice.