1st amendment retaliation arrest

On December 4, 2023, Irving police arrested me for public intoxication after I questioned and criticized an officer who had been watching me. I had not consumed alcohol or any other intoxicating substance. The charge was dismissed on March 19, 2025, after the court granted my motion to suppress evidence.

I was walking near Westgate Center Mall when I noticed Officer James Markham's patrol car stop near me and remain there. After about 15 minutes of being aware of his attention, I began recording on my phone and approached him. I asked why he was watching me and why his vehicle was blocking part of the exit lane. Markham repeatedly told me I was free to go. I replied that if I was free to go, I was free to stay.

When I challenged his reason for suspecting me of a crime, Markham said, “Would you like some justification? Because I can come up with it.” He referred to my walking from an area where people drink and said, “I can justify that all damn day.”

Officer Andrew Hammett arrived while I was objecting to being profiled. He laughed and asked how I thought I was being profiled. I continued questioning the officers. Markham then asked whether I had been drinking and, seconds later, ordered me to put my hands behind my back. He conducted no field sobriety tests.

From the moment officers made physical contact, I initiated no movement of my own. Hammett shoved me into the patrol vehicle. Markham and Hammett held my arms in a painful position behind my back. I did not pull away, tense, twist, or resist. I made no verbal protest or audible noise during the hold. Officer Paul Lewis arrived and helped secure my hands using two sets of handcuffs. The force left bruising on my arm, which I photographed the next day.

At Irving City Jail, I said I wanted to remain silent. A jail officer told me that if I did not answer the intake questions, staff would put me in a suicide smock. When another officer asked whether I would hurt myself, I said no.

Staff told me I could not complete booking or use the phone unless I answered their questions. I asked to contact a lawyer. Other detainees were processed and allowed to make calls while I waited. I spent hours in a cold cell without shoes, a mattress, or a blanket. I eventually agreed to answer because I believed I would otherwise remain there indefinitely. After answering and being fingerprinted, I was allowed to use the phone and was given jail sandals, a pillow, and a blanket. I was released that afternoon.

On March 7, 2025, the Irving Municipal Court granted my motion to suppress. The prosecutor then asked for dismissal because the State could not meet its burden without the suppressed evidence. The court dismissed the public-intoxication charge for insufficient evidence on March 19, 2025—more than 15 months after the arrest.

I filed a federal civil-rights lawsuit over the arrest, use of force, and treatment at the jail: Lotts v. City of Irving et al., No. 3:25-CV-03329-S-BN, in the Northern District of Texas. My cellphone recording and police body-camera footage are linked below.