Published: September 30, 2006 02:05 am      

Lawsuit filed in alleged Royse City police officer assault

The chief of the Royse City Police Department believes a lawsuit filed this week in a Hunt County state district court is frivolous.

The suit claims a Hispanic man was assaulted by a Royse City police officer two years ago and argues the city was negligent, in part, for not teaching the officer Spanish. The attorney in the case is seeking more than $1 million in damages.

Chief Tom Shelton, when contacted Friday, said he could not go into specifics regarding the incident described in the suit, but felt the litigation was baseless.

“There’s really not going to be much to it,” Shelton said. “To me, it is pretty much a frivolous lawsuit.”

Dallas attorney Domingo Garcia filed the suit in the 196th District Court Wednesday on behalf of Jose Lopez. The suit claims Lopez was assaulted at a football game on Oct. 2, 2004 by a Royse City officer, who allegedly knocked Lopez to the ground and kicked the plaintiff in the knee and face with steel-toed boots.

The officer accused of the attack is not named in the suit, which claims the city was negligent failing to properly monitor and train the officer. The suit argues the city should have trained the officer in fundamental Spanish, “in order to properly communicate with Spanish speaking persons.”

The suit is seeking $1 million in exemplary damages, $3,000 in medical expenses, $150,000 in damages for pain and suffering and $25,000 for lost wages, along with an apology from the police officer.

Garcia could not be reached for comment.

Shelton said he was standing behind his officer.

“I feel very confident the officer did everything he was supposed to do and he was supported by several witnesses,” Shelton said.