The jury determined City of Houston policies allowed an HPD officer to drive recklessly in the 2021 crash that killed 75-year-old Charles Payne. The city attorney says he’s exploring an appeal.
After days of deliberation, a federal jury on Monday awarded $13 million in damages to the family of a 75-year-old man who died in a car wreck involving a Houston Police Department vehicle.
The jury found that the City of Houston’s polices allowed HPD officers to drive recklessly, calling that “the moving force” in the man’s “death and violation of his constitutional rights,” according to federal court documents. The jury also ruled that the city “was deliberately indifferent” in adopting an “inadequate” policy.
On Dec. 26, 2021, Charles Payne was driving south on North Shepherd Drive in Houston. According to the lawsuit, Payne was attempting to turn left across the northbound lanes of Shepherd when an HPD patrol officer crashed into the side of Payne’s vehicle. Payne died due to injuries sustained during the crash…