George Floyd Attorney Joins Family of Hays County ER Patient Killed by Officer

Attorney Ben Crump, at the podium, joins San Marcos attorney Chevo Pastrano (l) at press conference on case of Joshua Wright, who was killed by an officer while in the ER (courtesy of Caldwell/Hays Examiner)

The family of Joshua Wright, the Hays County inmate shot and killed while shackled in an emergency room last month, has gained a strong ally as they demand the truth about Wright's killing. Ben Crump, the civil rights attorney who has represented the families of George Floyd, Trayvon Martin, Breonna Taylor, and others, joined the family on Monday, Jan. 2, to demand that authorities release body-camera video of Wright's shooting by a Hays County corrections officer.

"This officer, we believe, used unnecessary, unjustifiable, excessive force in shooting Joshua Wright multiple times in the back while he was going away from him," Crump told supporters assembled in downtown San Marcos. "They say he was running away – he's 300 pounds, shackled, with his pants falling down. He ain't running nowhere."

In the hours after the Dec. 12 killing, the Hays County Sheriff's Office released a statement saying that Wright, being held pending trial on charges related to the unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, had been taken to the hospital in Kyle earlier in the day. The statement claimed that Wright "assaulted the corrections officer [guarding him] and ran on foot through the emergency room" before the officer "discharged his firearm." Simultaneously, reports were reaching county officials that Wright had been shot multiple times in the back, that his feet had been shackled, and that the corrections officer had access to a Taser but didn't use it.

The Wright family's primary attorney, Chevo Pastrano, said Monday that Wright was initially taken to the hospital for an unknown medical crisis by two officers, who were later replaced by one, Isaiah Garcia. According to Pastrano, Garcia got into a scuffle with Wright after removing his handcuffs so he could use the restroom.

Wright "suffered one particular shot that went through the spinal cord and would have been a paralyzing shot," Pastrano said. "That shot put him to the ground. And only at that point did [we] come to the very disgusting realization that officer Garcia continued to fire upon Joshua Wright." Pastrano said that an independent autopsy he authorized showed six bullet entry wounds in Wright's body.

Officials with the Hays County Jail have declined to release further information on the killing, saying it's the subject of an open investigation by the Texas Rangers and that the shooter has been placed on administrative leave. The jail hadn't responded to questions from the Chronicle as of press time. One of our jail sources says Garcia was back at work this week.

Crump, in his remarks, paid particular attention to the role of the pro-police lobbying group Combined Law Enforcement Assoc­i­a­tions of Texas. On the night of Wright's shooting, Charley Wilkison, CLEAT'S executive director, tweeted that Wright "grabbed sharp medical instruments [and] began running toward hospital staff/civilians." The next night, after Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra publicly asked the Sheriff's Office to release the body-cam video, Wilkison changed his statement, replacing "grabbed sharp medical instruments" with "moved toward sharp medical instruments."

Crump challenged CLEAT to release the body-cam video. "If they are lying about this, then you gotta ask what else are they lying about?" he said. "And if they gotta lie then you know it ain't justified." Wilkison responded in a tweet hours later, saying, "Mr. Crump represents a profiteering cottage industry that is paid to spread hatred towards law enforcement officers."

Meanwhile, Cyrus Gray, a former inmate who is currently out on bond after spending almost five years in the Hays County Jail, identified Garcia as the same jailer who he says facilitated his beating by other inmates last year, an incident the Chronicle reported on in September and that jail officials deny. "Garcia is quick to deal with African Americans very aggressively," Gray said. "So sitting here, hearing that it was Garcia who was involved in this, for me it's not surprising, it's not shocking."

Wright's mother Beverly Wright told the crowd Monday that her son was a gentle and helpful presence in her life. "He struggled with a lot of things. He wasn't perfect, but he was my son," Ms. Wright said, her voice rising. "He was my son! Why did they have to kill my baby boy, is what I want to know. I want to know why. If it was his fault, I can accept it. But show us the video!"