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Harris County, Texas, Settles Civil Rights Case for $1.5 Million Brought by Innocent Man Shot in His Home Five Times by Trigger-Happy Deputy
Loaded on Feb. 15, 2024
by Jo Ellen Nott
published in Criminal Legal News
February, 2024, page 37
Filed under:
Police Misconduct,
Excessive Force (Police),
Fourth Amendment, rights,
Police/Govt Misconduct,
Monell Liability,
Fourth Amendment.
Location:
Texas.
by Jo Ellen Nott
On December 19, 2023, the Harris County Texas Commissioners Court approved a $1.5 million settlement in Joshua Coucke’s case against Harris County, Texas. Coucke, 35, was an innocent bystander in his own home when he was shot five times by a Harris County Sheriff’s …
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More from this issue:
- Geofence Warrants: The Mass Location Surveillance and Privacy Threat Created by Google May Be Eliminated by Its Creator, by Anthony Accurso
- Minnesota Supreme Court Announces Odor of Marijuana Alone Emanating From Vehicle Insufficient for Probable Cause to Search Under Automobile Exception, by Anthony Accurso
- Michigan Supreme Court: Defendant’s Statements Involuntary and Inadmissible, by Douglas Ankney
- Tales From the ‘Tails’ of Bloodstains, by Douglas Ankney
- New Jersey Supreme Court Excludes CSLI Testimony Based on Agent’s ‘Rule Of Thumb’ Method for Determining Defendant’s Location, by Anthony Accurso
- New Night-Vision Capable Drone Marketed to Police, by Anthony Accurso
- Missouri Supreme Court Orders Dismissal of Pending Charges Where Trial Court Failed to Bring Prisoner to Trial Within 180-Day Limitations Period Provided for in ‘Interstate Agreement on Detainers’, by Douglas Ankney
- Third Circuit: Defendant Not on Rental Agreement Had Reasonable Expectation of Privacy in Car Because He Had Dominion and Control of Car Where Renter Gave Keys to Him, He Was in Possession of Them Upon Arrest, and Car Parked Nearby, by Anthony Accurso
- NYPD Has Spent Millions of Dollars on Social Media Analysis Tools, by Jo Ellen Nott
- New York Court of Appeals: Forensic Findings Establishing Possible Alternative Cause of Injuries in Sex-Crime Prosecution Admissible Under ‘Interest of Justice’ Exception to Rape Shield Law, by David Reutter
- The Diminishment of Miranda Is Leading to False Confessions and Conviction of Innocents, by David Reutter
- Fifth Circuit Announces Revocation Judgments for Violation of Supervised Release Vacated Because Underlying Sentence Vacated, by Anthony Accurso
- FBI Works to Expand Court Authority for Its Offensive Cyber Operations, by Anthony Accurso
- Third Circuit: Defense Counsel Ineffective Under Strickland Where Counsel Sat Silent After Judge Threatened to Charge Witness With Perjury Unless Testimony Changed, by Douglas Ankney
- Study Raises Alarms About Inaccuracies and Bias in Gun Forensics Reporting, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Ninth Circuit Announces District Courts Must Either Orally Pronounce All Discretionary ‘Standard’ Conditions of Supervised Release in the Presence of Defendant or Provide Conditions in Writing Prior to Sentencing, by Douglas Ankney
- The Problem with Some Non-Carceral Punishments, by Carlo Difundo
- Researchers Find Fiber Evidence Lasts Longer Underwater Than Previously Thought, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Who Let the Dogs Out? Robotic Dogs Are the Newest (and Scariest) Surveillance Tech in U.S. Police Departments, by Jo Ellen Nott
- DHS Allows CBP and ICE Officers to Create Fake Social Media Profiles to Track Subjects of Interest and Conduct Investigations, by Jo Ellen Nott
- After Ohio Becomes 24th State to Legalize Recreational Marijuana, What Next?, by Jordan Arizmendi
- Fourth Circuit: Walking Past Unoccupied Home With Bulging Pocket and Attempting to Evade Neighborhood Tipster Insufficient for Reasonable Suspicion to Seize and Search, by Anthony Accurso
- DEA’s Domestic Surveillance Mission Creep: Beyond Drugs, Beyond Protests, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Harris County, Texas, Settles Civil Rights Case for $1.5 Million Brought by Innocent Man Shot in His Home Five Times by Trigger-Happy Deputy, by Jo Ellen Nott
- New Mexico Supreme Court Announces Marquez’s Holding That ‘Crime of Shooting at or From Motor Vehicle Cannot Be Predicate Felony Supporting Charge of Felony Murder’ Is New Substantive Rule and Applies Retroactively, by Douglas Ankney
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- News in Brief
More from Jo Ellen Nott:
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- GEO Group Funnels Millions to Trump PAC Following Windfall ICE Contracts, Oct. 1, 2026
- CoreCivic’s Non-Binding Promises Leave Minnesota City Exposed, Oct. 1, 2026
- Fatal LAPD Arrests Show Systemic Failure in Handling Mental Health Crises, Oct. 1, 2026
- Ohio Finds Guards and Medical Staff Failed to Render Life-Saving CPR to Detainee, Sept. 1, 2026
- Troubled Illinois Lockup Sees Guard Abuses, Prisoners on Hunger Strike, Sept. 1, 2026
- $75 Million CoreCivic Contract to Reopen Minnesota Private Prison Creates Resistance from Activists and Lawmakers, Sept. 1, 2026
- Wave of Staff Arrests Exposes Persistent Misconduct at South Carolina Jail, Sept. 1, 2026
- Michigan DOC Legal Payouts Top $7 Million in FY 2025, Less than One Percent of $2.15 Billion Operating Budget, Sept. 1, 2026
- Four Massachusetts Guards Face Charges for Assault on Prisoners During Brawl, Sept. 1, 2026
More from these topics:
- Eighth Circuit Grants Summary Judgment to Sheriff and County of Nebraska Jail Where Guard Sexually Assaulted Female Prisoner, Oct. 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Failure to Protect (General), Qualified Immunity, Failure to Train/Supervise, Monell Liability.
- $100,000 Paid to Five Prisoners Assaulted by Centurion Gynecologist at Florida Lockup, Sept. 1, 2026. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Prison Rape Elimination Act, Contractor Liability, Monell Liability, Deliberate Indifference.
- $280,000 Paid for South Carolina Detainee’s Death in Charleston Jail, Sept. 1, 2026. Private Contractors, Failure to Treat, Contractor Liability, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Monell Liability.
- Fourth Circuit Affirms Qualified Immunity in Strip Searches Resulting from Anonymous Tips, Sept. 1, 2026. Strip Searches, Qualified Immunity, Fourth Amendment, rights, Suspicionless Searches.
- $5.4 Million Jury Verdict Against Riverside County in Suit Over Jail Fentanyl Death, Sept. 1, 2026. Failure to Treat, Drug Overdose, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Monell Liability, Deliberate Indifference.
- The GEO Group Pays California $104,510 to Settle Workplace Safety Charges at ICE Detention Facility—Where Local Cops Won’t Investigate Crimes, Sept. 1, 2026. GEO Group/Wackenhut, Contractor Misconduct, Prison Labor, Work Conditions/Safety, Police/Govt Misconduct.
- $500,000 for Mentally Ill Detainee Beaten by Guard at Ohio Jail, Sept. 1, 2026. Guard Brutality/Beatings, Summary Judgment, Settlements, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Monell Liability.
- $11 Million Paid by Boston to Exonerated Prisoner for 37-Year Wrongful Incarceration, Sept. 1, 2026. Settlements, Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment, Monell Liability, Withholding of Exculpatory Evidence.
- Death of Seattle Detainee—Jailed Despite Not Being “Grounded in Reality”—Costs King County $3.5 Million Settlement, Aug. 1, 2026. Restraints, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Monell Liability.
- $13 Million Awarded to Exonerated Illinois Prisoner Tortured to Confess by Corrupt Cops, Aug. 1, 2026. Police Misconduct, Wrongful Conviction, Certificate of Innocence, False Imprisonment, Confessions - Coerced.





