GALVESTON – A Harris County man is claiming that the Baytown Police Department refused to accommodate his hearing disability while he was in its custody two years ago.
In a lawsuit filed Jan. 20 in the Galveston Division of the Southern District of Texas, Brandon C. Benjamin explains that a Baytown police officer used excessive force on him when the officer mistook his inability to hear as refusal to follow instructions.
Recent court papers show that Baytown police first interacted with Benjamin on the evening of Jan. 23, 2015 when he got into a single-vehicle accident. Per Benjamin, an officer by the name of Marshall Pigg investigated the scene.
The plaintiff reportedly informed Pigg that he suffered from substantial hearing loss and required hearing aids. Pigg administered Benjamin a field sobriety test and determined that the latter was driving under the influence.
Benjamin was then taken to the Baytown City Jail. He asserts his belt, wallet, and hearing aids were removed from his person as he was booked and placed in a holding cell.
The original petition further shows that the plaintiff unsuccessfully requested for his hearing aids, stating that he could not understand an unidentified jailer’s instructions.
“At that point Officer Doe began giving Mr. Benjamin instructions, but due to his hearing disability and the fact that his hearing aids had been taken from him earlier, Mr. Benjamin was unable to understand what Officer John Doe was requesting he do, and Officer John Doe mistakenly concluded that Mr. Benjamin was ‘non-compliant’ which prompted Officer John Doe to escalate the situation to the use of force,” the suit says. “The escalation of force included Mr. Benjamin being tasered twice and he was hit multiple times on the back of his head and other parts of his body.”
Benjamin insists that the incident left him “feeling ill and shaking.”
Consequently, he seeks unspecified monetary damages and a jury trial.
Joining Baytown police as co-defendants are the city, Pigg, and the unnamed officer.
Attorney Clyde “Chip” Adams of the law firm Pierce Skrabanek Bruera, PLLC in Houston is representing the complainant.
Galveston Division of the Southern District of Texas Case No. 3:17-CV-0020