A federal court jury has delivered a $21.35 million verdict on behalf of a former East Texas police captain who was wrongfully fired after alleging unlawful collusion among elected officials in Wood County.
Terry Bevill was fired, then arrested, for signing an affidavit in 2017 saying he didn’t think a friend could get a fair trial in the East Texas county because of an improperly close relationship among the county sheriff, the district attorney, and the state district judge.
Mr. Bevill’s affidavit was submitted in support of a county jail administrator who sought a change of venue after being arrested for tampering with a government record to secure the release of a jail inmate with whom he was sexually involved. Mr. Bevill contended that the administrator, David McGee, could not get a fair trial in Wood County. After the venue motion was denied, Mr. McGee was convicted of the charge and Mr. Bevill was subsequently fired and arrested on a charge of aggravated perjury. Mr. Bevill was no-billed by a Wood County grand jury 16 months after his arrest.
Mr. Bevill’s lawsuit claimed he was terminated by David Dobbs, the mayor of Quitman in 2017, as a result of pressure from Tom Castloo, the then Wood County sheriff, Jim Wheeler, the district attorney at the time, and Jeff Fletcher, who presided over the state district court for Wood County.
“The evidence clearly showed that a longtime and respected police officer was fired in retaliation for stating an opinion,” says Mr. Bevill’s attorney, Laura Benitez Geisler with the Dallas law firm of Sommerman, McCaffity, Quesada & Geisler. “Every subsequent action taken demonstrated the truth supporting that opinion, and that due process could be manipulated to fit the bias and whims of these officials. We’re pleased the jury has compensated Mr. Bevill for the emotional and reputational damage he has suffered.”
“This outcome is better than anything I could imagine,” says Mr. Bevill. “After five long years of waiting and two weeks of testimony, the jury just verified that I was right all along. All you’ve got in this life is your name, and now I hope people realize what I did was the right thing to do, and I’d do it all over again.”
The jury’s verdict specifies $18 million in compensatory damages in addition to $3.35 million in punitive damages against the four defendants.
The case is Bevill v. City of Quitman, Texas et al, No. 4:19-cv-00406, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Sherman Division.
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