A Texas man says in a federal lawsuit that multiple Dallas officers used excessive force when they pulled him over during a traffic stop two years ago.
He alleges they mistook him for a violent crime suspect with a similar name, thus detaining him for no just cause.
Silvester Hayes, a 27-year-old Black former security guard, filed his complaint against 10 officers and the Dallas Police Department, outlining his Oct. 16, 2021, arrest.
Hayes believes the ordeal transpired because he was being racially profiled by the police.
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On the morning of the arrest, he was on the way to pick up breakfast for his family before being pulled over by the officers. Hayes handed over his driver’s license to the officers. Officer Holly Harris told Officer Walter Paul Guab that based on the name, he was a wanted man, the complaint says. She did not check to see if the names matched by looking at the spelling but assumed they had the right person based on how the name sounded.
Hayes’ attorneys say Guab also never ran the license or verified the identification, but instead, he began to arrest Hayes. That person they thought they were stopping, Sylvester Hayes, had an outstanding family violence warrant and was listed as someone to be pulled in upon contact.
The male officer immediately reached into the driver’s side door and tried to open it.
The officers did not tell Hayes why he was being detained nor allowed him to explain that he was not the person of interest, Hayes claims.
Robinius, Espinosa & Wietzel, the law firm representing Hayes in this case, provided the press bodycam footage from some of the officers named in the lawsuit. They also allege the Dallas Police Department did not adequately train the officers and “failed to discipline” them after their client was released.
In the claim, he alleged the police officers not only forcibly removed him from his car but used excessive force, including kneeling on…
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