Krista M Torralva

Corpus Christi Caller-Times

Lawyers in a lawsuit brought by a man suing Corpus Christi police officers and the city after a Nueces County jury acquitted him last year of charges stemming from an officer-involved shooting had their first hearing in federal court Friday morning.

The brief hearing, before U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos, was the first since Ray Rosas filed the suit in February. The trial is slated for more than a year away, on June 18, 2018.

Rosas accuses nine police officers of using excessive force when they used a flash bang device to disable people inside the home and as they restrained him and family members. Rosas’ suit also claims the officers are responsible for cruel and unusual punishment because Rosas was jailed for two years on false accusations.

Rosas seeks an unspecified amount in punitive damages and payment for attorney’s fees and medical expenses.

Three officers were injured in the shooting. Neither of them are named in the suit.

Jurors said after the trial that they believed the officers conducted a "botched" operation and didn't trust officers' contradicting accounts.

"What did it for a lot of jurors, I think, is that the officers didn't seem credible. Their stories didn't match ... and it kind of made us feel like if they're lying about this what else are they lying about?" a female juror said.

Jurors said they believed Rosas, who said his vision and hearing were affected by the officers' flash bang device. Rosas said he surrendered to police once he realized they were law enforcement.

"I believe the distraction device distracted him from hearing the officers," a male juror said.

Rosas’ lawsuit also accuses the officers of being excessively rough with Rosas’ 82-year-old mother, mentally disabled brother and two sisters. One of the women was strip searched without probable cause, according to the lawsuit.

The officers’ responses claim they acted in good faith and thought their actions were proper.

“(The officers’) actions were based on probable cause and were taken in a good faith belief that they were reasonable and proper and, as such they are entitled to qualified and official immunity from the claims…,” a response states.

Police use of no-knock raids have recently come under public scrutiny and Rosas’ case has been included in national conversations. The Washington Post and New York Times wrote about Rosas’ case after his acquittal.

Corpus Christi Police Chief Mike Markle previously told the Caller-Times the department was reviewing its policies on no-knock raids. He said the review was called for separate from Rosas’ trial and subsequent lawsuit.