Harris County, TX Constable District 1, May 30, 2019: Akeem Bagley was issued a ticket for parking too close to a railroad by Officer Rudy Guillen. After receiving the parking citation, Bagley encountered the officers again at a nearby gas station, where there was a verbal altercation between him and Guillen as well as other officers. Bagley also used his phone to video the officers. After leaving the gas station, Bagley was pulled over by Guillen for a disputed traffic violation (failure to signal). During the stop Guillen ordered Bagley out of his car, but in a very short time (which became the issue when the court considered qualified immunity for Guillen) he deployed his Taser after opening the door. Bagley then exited and Guillen used a drive stun on the motorist bringing him to the ground and charged him with interference of public duties during a traffic stop. This charge was eventually dropped. Bagley sued…
Bagley sued, alleging excessive force, unlawful arrest and illegal detention. The deputy asked the trial court to grant qualified immunity; the court refused. The deputy appealed and the appellate court upheld the denial of qualified immunity.
The court held it was clearly established that the deputy could not lawfully use force on a suspect who was complying with his commands. The court observed the deputy appeared to have used the TASER before giving Bagley a reasonable opportunity to comply.