A Jefferson County resident filed a lawsuit against a Beaumont police officer on allegations of false arrest and excessive force in a 2014 confrontation that left the 5-foot-3-inch plaintiff with broken teeth and other injuries.
Krystle Bob filed a complaint against Joshua Dunahoe in the Beaumont Division of the Eastern District of Texas on July 2, claiming liability in the March 2014 altercation.
According to the suit, Dunahoe responded to a neighbor’s call to investigate a possible domestic dispute at Bob’s apartment on the morning of March 18, 2014. The suit states that the plaintiff answered the door, assured Dunahoe that there were no problems and stated that she did not want him to enter the apartment.
Allegedly, when the officer asked her to identify herself and she cooperated, the complaint states that he forcibly grabbed her, pursued her into the apartment, tazed her in the stomach, tackled her to the ground and handcuffed her.
Court documents indicate that audio recording of the event is at odds with the policeman’s report of the incident. The plaintiff’s charge of resisting arrest was dismissed by the Jefferson County District Attorney's office due to lack of evidence on Jan. 20.
Stating that she was arrested without probable cause and subjected to unreasonable search and seizure, the plaintiff claims physical and emotional pain and suffering, medical expenses, damage to her reputation, and financial injury.
She seeks actual and punitive damages, attorney’s fees, expenses, and costs.
The plaintiff is represented by Paul Gertz of the Gertz Law Firm in Beaumont.
Beaumont Division of the Eastern District of Texas case number 1:15-cv-00264.