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Lawsuit alleges that former Fort Worth officer used excessive force during arrest

A former Fort Worth police officer has been accused in a federal lawsuit of using excessive force during an arrest.
Keren I. Carrión
/
KERA
A former Fort Worth police officer has been accused in a federal lawsuit of using excessive force during an arrest.

A former Fort Worth police officer who allegedly threw a man to the ground and knocked him unconscious is accused of using excessive force in a federal lawsuit.

The City of Fort Worth and Mitchell Miller, the former officer, are named as defendants in the lawsuit.

The incident occurred on January 28, 2022, when Miller arrested Tawayne Holloway for public intoxication.

The lawsuit alleges that as Miller escorted Holloway to a Fort Worth jail entrance, the officer “grabbed” him and “threw” him, “face-first, to the concrete floor,” leaving him unconscious.

Miller later was fired after another officer expressed their concerns. An investigation found that Miller had lied to superiors when he reported that no force had been used in Holloway’s arrest.

The Fort Worth Police Department had attempted to fire Miller once before. That was in 2018, when he was one of five officers who were fired after Christopher Lowe died in the back of the police car after asking for medical attention. Miller was reinstated in 2020.

Fort Worth City Attorney Leann Guzman confirmed in a statement The Fort Worth Attorney’s office confirmed in a statement that Miller "was terminated for violation of Fort Worth Police Department general orders, and a hearing examiner upheld that ruling."

She said she had not been formally notified of the lawsuit but that her office would "defend the City."

Holloway's attorneys argue that the department must be held accountable for not only this incident, but also for its "history of violence and failure to de-escalate situations.” They cited 38 uses of force by Fort Worth officers that ended in death in the last 10 years.

The lawsuit noted that Holloway is an African American man and that Miller and two other officers who were present apparently are white. It claims that Holloway's constitutional rights were violated. He is seeking damages for past and future physical pain, past and future mental anguish and attorney’s fees.

The complaint accuses the city of Fort Worth of creating a “culture of violence” in which “policies, practices, and/or customs, as well as the failure to adopt appropriate policies, were moving forces behind and caused violation of Mr. Holloway’s rights.”

Holloway’s attorney, Dean Malone, said in an interview that he hopes that this case will cause change.

“Hopefully, the justice he receives from this lawsuit will extend to other people being protected when encountering former police officers,” he said.

Gloria Farris covers Fort Worth and Tarrant County. Got a tip? Email Gloria at gfarris@kera.org.

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Gloria is a News Reporter at KERA covering news from the Fort Worth and Tarrant County area.