In Harris County v. Coats, the appellate court examined a civil rights jury verdict in favor of the family of an African American man, Jamail Amron. No. 14-17-00732-CV, 2020 WL 581184 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] Feb. 6, 2020, no pet. h. (Justices Christopher, Wise, and Jewell) (mot. for panel rehearing and mot. for en banc reconsideration pending). Mr. Amron, unarmed yet restrained by law enforcement officers who threw him to the ground, died after a Harris County deputy constable stepped on and covered Mr. Amron’s nose and mouth with his boot for several minutes, as if he were squashing an insect.
Unlike George Floyd’s death, Jamail Amron’s death was not video-recorded because, in violation of policy, the officers did not turn on their recording devices, indicative of an agreed intent to harm. And, unlike George Floyd’s detention based on a suspected crime, Jamail Amron’s death was prompted by his own 911 call for help. Still, in plain view of eyewitnesses, Mr. Amron, like Mr. Floyd and Eric Garner before him, took his last breath on the ground and in the custody of officers determined to “subdue.” If not for the boot on his airways Jamail surely would have cried, “I can’t breathe!”
