Man sues Pasadena police, Bayshore hospital
A lawsuit alleging two Pasadena police officers used excessive force to restrain a man while a phlebotomist drew blood as he allegedly was unconscious was filed Wednesday in the U.S. Southern District Court of Texas.
According to the lawsuit, Nelson Onyinyechi in March 2015 was falsely arrested by police for driving while intoxicated after his car experienced brake issues, crashing into a ditch, three blocks from his Pasadena home.
Onyinyechi alleges the officers detained him because they believed he was intoxicated — a charge that was dismissed by Harris County. Attorneys in Onyinyechi’s federal lawsuit say he was disoriented from having just experienced a car crash in the wee hours of the morning. Following his arrest, Onyinyechi alleges he was tased twice and taken to a medical center for blood work, which the lawsuit states was performed without his consent.
Now, Onyinyechi is seeking unspecified damages for the emotional distress caused by the alleged false arrest, excessive force and medical malpractice, according to records. It was not immediately clear why the suit was filed three years after the incident.
Calls and emails to the city of Pasadena, the Police Department and Bayshore Medical Center, where Onyinyechi’s blood was drawn, were not returned by press time Wednesday.
This is not the first time a court has looked at elements of this incident. In January 2017, the Court of Appeals for the 1st Judicial District of Texas at Houston reviewed the case after Onyinyechi attempted to overturn his conviction for assault on a police officer.
Files provided by Harris County District Attorney’s Office tell a different story from Onyinyechi’s’, painting him as uncooperative. The night Onyinyechi’s car ran off the road, witnesses and officers said he had an extreme loss of balance, according to the district attorney’s office.
The prosecutor’s office records indicate that the officers said Onyinyechi had slurred speech and smelled of alcohol. Officers then said his attitude switched from “very cooperative and calm” to “very belligerent.”
Two officers, listed as defendants in the suit and identified in the court documents as B.A. Ridings and and J.K. Baum, conducted sobriety tests. As soon as the tests were completed, Ridings handcuffed Onyinyechi. That’s when the two men started arguing, Onyinyechi’s suit alleges.
Onyinyechi’s suit contends that Ridings told him, “What do you mean you live in Pasadena? Pasadena isn’t for you.”
In its version, the district attorney’s office did not spell out exactly what was said. The district attorney records said Onyinyechi yelled and did not comply with police commands. The district attorney’s office also said that at that point Onyinyechi kicked Ridings in the groin. Onyinyechi was sentenced to five years of probation for attacking Ridings and is now in year three of the sentence.
Onyinyechi’s action states Ridings tased him twice while he was handcuffed causing him to fall unconscious. However, the district attorney’s office makes no mention of a tasing in the records the office provided the Chronicle. County officials say Onyinyechi fell asleep during the arrest.
Prosecutors stated Onyinyechi consented to a blood sample before being transported to Bayshore Medical Center, where he was cooperative until after the tests. The office’s testimony contrasts with Onyinyechi’s version that states that a phlebotomist unlawfully drew his blood without a warrant signed by a magistrate.