DALLAS — A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a former security guard who alleged Dallas police officers used excessive force during a 2021 arrest that stemmed from mistaken identity, The Dallas Morning News reported.
In a 20-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Karen Gren Scholer found that officers involved in the arrest of Silvester Hayes were protected by qualified immunity, according to the report. The court concluded the officers had probable cause to stop Hayes for a traffic violation and ruled the use of force was justified, citing his resistance during the encounter.
The lawsuit stemmed from an October 2021 incident in Oak Cliff, where officers pulled over Hayes for failing to signal at a stop sign. His name was similar, though spelled differently, to that of a man wanted for family violence. Officers pulled Hayes from his car after seeing the name on his ID and discovering he had a registered handgun, body camera footage shows.
Police later confirmed Hayes was not the suspect they were seeking but charged him with resisting arrest and unlawful possession of a firearm. Those charges were dismissed in December 2022.
Scholer noted in her ruling that Hayes physically resisted officers and that most of the force used was by officers not named in the lawsuit. She described the actions of the two officers named as relatively minor given the circumstances. The judge emphasized that officers did not punch, kick, hog-tie or use a TASER during the arrest.
Attorneys for Hayes plan to appeal the dismissal, arguing that the body-camera footage contradicts the officers’ claims and shows excessive force was used. The city of Dallas declined to comment on the ruling. In court filings, city attorneys said officers acted lawfully and disputed Hayes’ description of the incident.
