The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals sided in favor of the city of Brownsville’s position in the case against George Alvarez.
In 2005, Brownsville police arrested Alvarez on suspicion of burglary and public intoxication.
On the night of his arrest, Brownsville police say Alvarez became aggressive with detention officers and initiated an assault. He was later charged with assault on a public servant and convicted.
After getting possession of the surveillance video, Alvarez’s attorney, Eddie Lucio, worked to get Alvarez out of jail. He was released in 2014.
The district court originally ordered the city of Brownsville to pay Alvarez a judgement of $2 million. However, on Monday, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the judgement and dismissed the case.
Brownsville Police Chief Orlando Rodriguez said in a statement:
“We always felt we would prevail, as we had the truth on our side.”
The case will continue as Lucio is in the process of taking the case to the Supreme Court.
“The end goal is to create a law,” Lucio said. “Once the Supreme Court rules, they will be creating a law–that law is, you have to disclose evidence. That, I think, is extremely important.”
