Published: Sat, 01/20/24
Houston City Council will vote Wednesday to put another $1.7 million toward fighting a lawsuit against the city and former Police Chief Art Acevdeo in a drug raid gone wrong.
The lawsuit was originally brought forth January 2021 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern Division of Texas by Clifford Tuttle, Jr., the uncle of Dennis Tuttle.
Dennis Tuttle and his wife, Rhogena “Reggie” Nicholas, were killed in a 2019 drug raid led by former Houston police officer Gerald Goines.
Goines said he had bought heroin at Dennis Tuttle and Nicholas’ Houston home through an undercover informant. Acevedo later said that was a lie, and that Goines never got drugs from the home.
Lawyers for Clifford Tuttle Jr. claim the raid violated Dennis Tuttle and Nicholas’ civil rights, according to the initial court filing.
“This untethered operation and its deadly conduct giving rise to this case is shocking, but it was sadly predictable and preventable,” the 2021 filing reads. “The people of the City of Houston deserve better. Dennis and Reggie deserved better. Now Dennis and Reggie deserve justice, as do their grieving families.”
The council will vote Wednesday to increase the cost of the legal services contract between the city and Houston-based firm Beck Redden LLP. The original cost of services was more than $1.2 million, according to a city council agenda note. If the council approves the extra funding, it will increase the cost of defending the lawsuit to more than $2.9 million.
The city broke the litigation down into two phases: The first for services to fight to dismiss the case and the second for subsequent services leading up to a trial. The additional money slated for approval by Houston City Council Wednesday is anticipated to cover the remaining legal fees, the council agenda note reads.
City Attorney Arturo Michel told the Chronicle Friday evening that the case was "heavily contested" and had become complicated. The city's position, he said, was that there were a couple rogue officers who harmed those who died, in addition to fellow officers, and that the city should not be held liable.
Mike Doyle, one of the lawyers representing the Tuttle and Nicholas families, said Friday that the council’s anticipated vote Wednesday proves Houston is “the best place in the country to be a criminal police officer.”
“Not only will they pay millions to defend the indefensible, but it's going to be over five years that you get to sit at home every holiday with your family with no justice,” Doyle said.
In response to Doyle's statement, Michel said the city was not defending the rogue officers' actions.
"The families, you know, our hearts go out to them, our sympathy in terms of this, but this is the issue of the liability of the city," he said.
Acevedo could not immediately be reached for comment Friday afternoon.
Acevedo, who has returned to Texas after stints as a chief in Miami and Aurora, Colorado, recently accepted an administrative job at Austin City Hall overseeing the city’s policing, the Austin American-Statesman reported Friday. Before coming to Houston, Acevedo served as Austin’s police chief.
The most recent court filing shows Acevedo is scheduled to give a deposition in the case at Denver law office Wednesday morning.