The Houston Police Department officer who shot Dennis Tuttle and Rhoghena Nicholas during the infamous 2019 Harding Street raid this week told a federal appeals court that he should be legally protected from a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the couple’s surviving family members.
Felipe Gallegos asked the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn a decision by a Houston-based judge that would potentially hold him liable for the deaths.
In the filing, Gallegos’ lawyers argued that any actions he took during the raid were part of legitimate police action, and should shield him from litigation under the theory of qualified immunity…