Mother still has questions 5 years after her son was fatally shot by an Arlington police officer
ARLINGTON, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - In a surprising legal decision, a high court has ruled that an Arlington police officer can be sued by the mother of a man he shot and killed.
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals denied the officer's claim of qualified immunity, which protects officers from lawsuits, and raised questions about whether Tavis Crane's constitutional rights were violated.
The officer at the center of this 2017 shooting was cleared by a grand jury and has since gone back to work on the force.
A federal appeals court has looked at the dash cam video and this week determined that it raises questions about whether the shooting of Tavis Crane was justified.
Dash cam videos captured the chaotic seconds before and after Tavis Crane was shot and killed by Arlington police. They are the basis of a lawsuit filed by Crane's mother.
"Craig Roper was the judge, the jury and the executioner on that night with with my son in a chokehold," said Dee Crane, Tavis' mother. "He murdered my son."
It began when police pulled over the 23-year-old on suspicion of throwing a drug pipe out of a window that later was found to be Christmas wrapping paper.
An officer at the scene accused Crane of having outstanding felony warrants.
They turned out to be misdemeanors.
"The officers should have written him out a ticket, sent him on his way and let him live to see another day," Dee Crane said.
But an officer identified as Craig Roper wanted to arrest Crane, who was unarmed, and had the driver in a chokehold while sitting behind him in the backseat.
Witnesses in the car say when Crane was ordered to turn off the ignition and reached for the keys, the officer fired, causing the vehicle to accelerate in reverse, injuring an officer standing behind it.
"There was no de-escalation. He escalated the situation," Dee Crane said. "He entered my son's car, put my son in a chokehold, [and] within 30 seconds of Craig Roper entering into Tavis's car, Tavis was dead."
The officer says Crane was struggling with him and tried to put the car in gear.
But the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the video is inconclusive and denied the qualified immunity protection usually granted to prevent officers from excessive force lawsuits.
"I think that sends a very loud message to police officers throughout the state of Texas and all of the fifth circuit, that those types of stops are not acceptable," said Daryl Washington, Dee's attorney.
The officer was cleared by a grand jury and returned to duty.
"In this particular case, excessive force was used and now Officer Craig Roper has to be held accountable," said Angela Luckey, with the Grand Prairie NAACP.
But five years after that deadly night, a mother remains determined to find the truth behind what happened to one of her twin sons.
"I think society feels like black people are just supposed to forgive and forget let go. Today I don't hate Craig Roper. But am I still angry? Absolutely. Have I forgiven him? No, I have not," Dee said.
CBS 11 reached out to the City of Arlington for comment from the police department and the officer, but were told the city would not discuss pending litigation.