Pasadena ISD teen gets $60K settlement
Student — who was severely bruised by school officer using metal nightstick — had requested up to $1 million
A teen who was severely bruised in a “brutal and excessive” nightstick attack by a Pasadena ISD school resource officer has settled his federal lawsuit for $60,000.
Cesar Suquet Jr. was 16 in May 2014 when he went to the principal’s office at South Houston High School to retrieve his cellphone, which had been confiscated earlier that day. His request was declined and he was told to leave.
As he was escorted out of the building by Pasadena Independent School District officer Michael Y’Barbo and an assistant principal, the teen uttered profanity.
Y’Barbo told the student that he was under arrest and attempted to handcuff him. Suquet claimed he never heard commands from the officer but turned to see Y’Barbo swinging a metal nightstick.
The teen was struck at least 18 times, including nine blows while he was on the ground. The beating was recorded on school surveillance cameras.
Photographs taken by Suquet’s parents that night document bruises and cuts as well as swelling on the back of the boy’s arms, legs, elbow and neck.
“It hurt. It hurt to the point that I couldn’t feel it anymore,” the teen said at a news conference with his parents in February to discuss the civil rights lawsuit, which claimed the beating was unconstitutional and requested up to $1 million in damages. “I mean, he wasn’t gonna stop, and I was getting
ready for the worst. I didn’t know what was going to happen.’’
Guadalupe and Cesar Suquet Sr. sued the district and the officer on behalf of their son because he was a minor. The teen turned 18 this summer.
Suquet Jr. will split a $60,000 payout, which was covered by a Pasadena ISD insurance policy, with his legal counselors — Houston criminal and family lawyer Mark Montgomery and Pearland attorney J. Scott Siscoe, both retired Houston Police Department lieutenants.
“It was a quick settlement,” Montgomery said before offering his opinion of why the claim was resolved swiftly before trial: “I think they were worried that the videotape might get out. ... I would imagine we would have gotten more money if the tape would have been released because the media pressure would have been so damaging to the police department.”
Entered into the court record as part of discovery, the footage was under a federal nondisclosure agreement, Montgomery said, but could have been presented in open court to a jury.
After the incident, Suquet Jr. left Pasadena ISD for another school district but still felt unsafe. He decided to pursue his GED and go to community college.
“Even though he had switched school districts, he still felt like he was looking over his shoulder a lot,” Montgomery said.
Another filmed case of school police excessive force sparked by a cellphone controversy made headlines last month. A South Carolina officer was fired for yanking a teen girl out of her chair and tossing her across a classroom after she refused to stop using her mobile device. A 10-second tussle before she was cuffed was captured on video by several other students.
“Basically, (Y’Barbo) struck Mr. Suquet about 20 times in 20 seconds with a metal baton. I think our case was a little uglier,” Montgomery said, adding that he is still waiting for prosecutors to present the case to a grand jury.
Jeff McShan, a spokesman for the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, confirmed that grand jurors have not had an opportunity to consider the incident for potential criminal charges because there are “other cases ahead of it.”
Unlike some other excessive force settlements, the terms did not include changes to Pasadena ISD police training or policies.
“As far as I know, they haven’t changed anything in regards to our lawsuit,” Montgomery said.
A Pasadena ISD spokeswoman did not respond to several requests for comment on the settlement. A call to the school district police department about the employment status of Y’Barbo has not been returned.
U.S. District Judge David Hittner signed a final order dismissing the case on Nov. 2.