Keller, TX — In one of the most blatant attacks on the First Amendment, a power tripping cop arrested a completely innocent man for allegedly “making a wide right turn.” This power tripping cop then called for backup and he and his backup then attacked, pepper sprayed, and beat that man’s dad for filming the unlawful arrest. The video evidence against the officers was so compelling that a lawsuit against the city was settled for a whopping $200,000 less than 6 months after the incident.
Though the lawsuit was settled swiftly, it took the city of Keller, Texas nearly a year to charge the officer involved. Finally, 9 months after his disgraceful abuse of authority was captured on video, ex-Keller Police Sgt. Blake Shimanek was indicted on a charge of official oppression — a misdemeanor. If convicted, he faces up to a year in jail.
The arrest came after months of the community and activists demanding accountability; and, finally, that accountability has come.
In January, as TFTP reported, the City of Keller agreed to pay $200,000 to Marco Puente after he was attacked, beaten, and pepper sprayed for legally standing on a public sidewalk, filming police harass and falsely arrest his son. Despite Puente’s arrest being entirely illegal, the officers involved were not immediately fired or charged. It took them 9 months to charge just one of the cops involved.
It is not very often that police departments issue an apology and admit wrongdoing. However, the following case was such an abuse of authority that it prompted the Keller police chief to call the family and apologize for the abuse and demote Sergeant Blake Shimanek for his role in the incident. Shimanek later resigned in an attempt to avoid further accountability.
