Mother of man killed sues HPD

Blake A. Pate, shot to death by HPD. Blake A. Pate, shot to death by HPD. Photo: Family Photo Photo: Family Photo Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Mother of man killed sues HPD 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

The mother of an unarmed Houston man who was shot to death by a sergeant on patrol Christmas night 2011 has sued the Houston Police Department and the officer, accusing them of violating her son's civil rights.

The complaint, filed in Houston federal court on Friday, seeks damages for excessive force as well as unreasonable search and seizure.

Blake Pate, 24, had been involved in a car crash moments before he was fatally shot by Sgt. Curtis Hampton in northeast Houston. According to police, a struggle ensued as Hampton escorted Pate to the patrol car.

"That was my baby and he shouldn't have died all alone on those streets. He had just had a wreck. He survived the wreck. It shouldn't have happened," Patsy Pate said during a news conference outside HPD headquarters on Friday afternoon. "We've got to do something to change this."

Blake Pate was leaving Christmas dinner at a sister's home, when his Chevrolet Camaro struck another vehicle and landed in a ditch.

According to HPD, Hampton stopped and approached Pate, who was leaving. Pate kept walking when the officer ordered him to stop. Hampton drew his weapon and again told Pate to stop. As Hampton escorted Pate to the cruiser and was returning the weapon to his holster, police said, Pate began to struggle with the officer.

"The officer, fearing for his safety, shot the suspect," a police spokesman said at the time.

In August, a grand jury declined to indict Hampton for shooting Pate. The officer was cleared in another shooting investigation in 2004.

David Hodges, the lawsuit's lead attorney, said he does not know whether Hampton has been disciplined internally in the Pate case.

The lawsuit said that the sergeant fired four shots at Pate and that "Blake did not attack or otherwise threaten Officer Hampton."

Late Friday, City Attorney David Feldman said he had not seen the lawsuit and had no comment.

Hampton, who joined the force in 1998, has a history of discipline.

A female officer with whom Hampton had a consensual sexual relationship filed a complaint in 2007 alleging that he brandished a gun and handcuffed her to a bed while his head was covered with a stocking during "fantasy role play." According to HPD records, the department decided that Hampton was "using a weapon [in] an inappropriate and unacceptable manner," but a hearing examiner reduced the five-day suspension to two days.

A different female officer filed a complaint in 2008 accusing Hampton of making unwelcome sexual advances. The administrative disciplinary committee recommended an indefinite suspension, but then-Chief Harold Hurtt made a final determination of 15 days off without pay.

"The police department, once again, failed miserably in disciplining and removing problem officers from the force," Hodges said.