A man in Texas spent days in jail and thousands of dollars to fight an arrest that he says should never have happened in the first place.
On Dec. 17, 2023, deputies with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office came to the home of Dean Dietsch, who says he was inside sleeping at the time. After hearing a ruckus outside, he said he thought he was being robbed.
“They had their guns out and are hiding behind a tree,” he told Houston ABC affiliate KTRK. “I’m like, ‘Oh, my God. They want to come get me for some reason.’”
Dietsch said that at that point, he armed himself for protection.
“I get my squirrel rifle and my single-shot shotgun,” Dietsch said. “I come out with a shotgun raised, trying to defend my home.”
Bodycam video shows deputies then shouting at Dietsch to put down his firearms and get down on the ground. He told the station that he didn’t understand what was happening.
According to court records, Dietsch was arrested because he allegedly “unlawfully, intentionally and knowingly threaten with imminent bodily injury” one of the deputies who had come to his house to arrest him.