Off the Kuff: K-Mart Kiddie Roundup Archives

Council to vote on K-Mart settlement payments

And we're one step closer to officially putting all the lawsuits that stemmed from the K-Mart Kiddie Roundup into the books for good.

[Houston City Council] on Wednesday will consider whether to settle one lawsuit brought by 59 people who were arrested that night. The full settlement amount is $474,117. According to the settlement, each plaintiff will get $4,000, except for one who will get $5,000. Their four lawyers will split $237,117.

The other lawsuit had 43 plaintiffs. The proposed settlement is for $257,500. Each plaintiff will get $2,500 or $3,500. Their attorney, Paul Rosen, will get $125,000.

Eight other lawsuits stemming from the Kmart raid already have been settled. Four others were dismissed. The total cost to the city for all the settlements is $840,117. Senior Assistant City Attorney Robert Cambrice estimated that an additional $60,000 was spent on outside lawyers who helped defend HPD and worked to expunge the arrest records of those caught up in the sweep.

"We came in at less than $1 million," Cambrice said. "Some people said how many tens of millions this would cost the city. I would say justice was served, and the public purse was appropriately protected."

Randall Kallinen was one of the attorneys in the suit that may be settled for $474,117.

"The Kmart raid represented one of the most egregious mass civil rights violations in Houston history," Kallinen said Monday. "I believe it is a reasonable settlement under the circumstances, and all the clients will get some payment for the suffering they went through."

Well, it is less money than the Ibarra lawsuit, I'll say that much for it. The original agreement was reached in April, and if this subsequent story is still accurate, then there's still some action pending for Judge Nancy Atlas, which should be completed in another month. And then, that's all she wrote. Miya has more.

06/17/08 | permalink | comments [0]

More K-Mart suits dismissed

This story needs a wee bit more detail.

Several civil rights lawsuits from a 2002 botched street racing raid were dismissed Friday in Houston federal court.

The resolution comes days after the more than 100 plaintiffs in the remaining 10 cases settled their lawsuits with the city of Houston.

U.S. District Judge Nancy Atlas issued an order Friday dismissing the combined cases unless the settlements aren't resolved by July 18.

Okay, so is this saying that these dismissals are all part of the settlement agreements, or that there are some cases which aren't a part of that which have now been tossed? I believe it's the former, but it could have been made a lot clearer.

Three plaintiffs who had not come to agreements with the city or had not been located earlier this week have been reached and also settled.

Well, that answers that question. Barring a collapse in the settlement negotiations, it looks like July 18 is the end of the line for this saga.

04/20/08 | permalink | comments [2]

Two down, one to go for K-Mart settlement

It's almost over.

Two of three remaining plaintiffs with legal claims against the city and former Houston police chief C.O. "Brad" Bradford for alleged civil rights violations during a botched raid almost six years ago have reached settlements.

Houston lawyer Michael Kerensky notified U.S. District Judge Nancy Atlas late Wednesday about the deals.

Now, with the exception of one plaintiff who cannot be located, the lawsuits filed by dozens of people arrested by Houston police during a 2002 street racing raid at a Kmart parking lot have been resolved.

[...]

Monday morning, Atlas approved the 11th-hour settlements for all but three plaintiffs. At that time, there was no deal for Wassim George Matta as well as two other plaintiffs who had not been located. Atlas on Monday agreed to put off jury selection in Matta's case until April 22. Since then, Matta and Ryan Grenwelge have settled, but lawyers are still trying to locate a man named George Mui.

Okay, so what happens if he can't be found? Does the settlement get entered and then put into escrow or something until he can be located, or does his case get dismissed? And how long do his attorneys have to find him before some action gets taken one way or the other?

I presume this is a situation where he took a trip without leaving contact information for his attorney, and not that he's really unfindable. Even if that is the case, I'm a little surprised at the lack of communication between him and his attorney. You lawyers out there, is this unusual, or more common than I thought? Thanks.

04/17/08 | permalink | comments [1]

Settlement reached in K-Mart Roundup lawsuits

The great K-Mart Kiddie Roundup saga may finally be drawing to a close.

Dozens of people arrested by Houston police during the 2002 street racing raid that turned into a scandal for the Houston Police Department have reached a tentative settlement with the city.

The agreement -- which still needs approval by U.S. District Judge Nancy Atlas and the City Council -- will resolve at least nine of the 10 federal cases that include more than 100 plaintiffs. Lawyers on both sides confirmed the deal, but declined to reveal the settlement amount late Sunday. They will appear in court today, when jury selection was slated to begin, but it is unclear how Atlas will proceed in light of the agreement.

City Attorney Arturo Michel said the agreement makes good sense given the mounting legal costs and the distraction the litigation brought to HPD. The department is a different agency today than before the raid and lawsuits, he added.

"They've looked at how they operate, made some changes and they're moving on," he said of police officials. "It just closes the chapter on HPD's attempt to regulate a serious problem, but raises a lot of issues on how it was done."

The settlement also means that former HPD Chief C.O. Bradford, the Democratic candidate for Harris County district attorney, could avoid recounting the details of his department's missteps during a trial. Bradford stepped down as police chief in 2003, shortly after the incident.

[...]

In the early stages of the cases, Atlas ruled that HPD's plan to curb street racing was unconstitutional. In 2005, the judge wrote a scathing opinion calling HPD tactics to detain and arrest people not observed violating the law "an unjustified, almost totalitarian, regime of suspicionless stops."

Last year, an appeals court rebuffed Bradford's attempt to be removed as a defendant after Atlas ruled he would remain.

The judge allowed the case to proceed in February because of unresolved disputes about whether HPD had a custom of mass detention without individual suspicion and because what Bradford knew about the plan remained unclear.

Other plaintiffs settled their lawsuits, but these final cases took five years to resolve.

Looks like I was right after all to predict that these suits would not make it to a jury but would be settled instead. There may be one last case to go forward, and we still need Judge Atlas to sign off on all this, but this appears to be the end of the line. Which is surely a relief for Chief Bradford, as all this business will now not get a week-long rehashing in the news. I'm sure this incident will come up as a campaign issue, but at least from his perspective it will only be a campaign story, and not a lawsuit-against-the-city story. All things considered, given that there was enough merit to the suits for them to have come to trial, that's the best outcome for him.

04/14/08 | permalink | comments [2]

K-Mart lawsuits: Still proceeding

Another request by the city of Houston to throw out ten remaining lawsuits stemming from the infamous 2002 K-Mart Kiddie Roundup has been denied by the judge.

In a decision this week, [U.S. District Judge Nancy] Atlas wrote that the more than 100 plaintiffs could sue about whether the Houston Police Department had a "custom of mass detention without individualized reasonable suspicion."

A mediation is scheduled in the coming weeks. Without settlements, a joint trial is set for April 14. Other plaintiffs already settled with the city.

In 2005, the judge ruled that the police plan that led to the mass arrests was unconstitutional. In a scathing opinion, she called HPD tactics to detain and arrest people who were not observed violating the law "an unjustified, almost totalitarian, regime of suspicionless stops."

Civil rights lawsuits were filed after almost 300 people were arrested in August 2002 during a surprise raid on the Kmart parking lot in the 8400 block of Westheimer. The HPD operation was an attempt to combat street racing.

All of the cases name former HPD Chief Clarence C.O. Bradford, who is running as a Democrat for Harris County District Attorney, and allege he knew about the plan. The lawsuits also accused police of brandishing pistols and shotguns and verbal use during the incident.

Most of those arrested were charged with trespassing or curfew violations, but none was accused of street racing. The charges were dropped after public outcry. Three years later, Atlas said the city's efforts to shut down street racing that summer were unconstitutional.

In court filings, the city tried to avoid trial by arguing that issue was not the mass detentions, but the department's plan to pursue racing spectators through the use of trespassing laws.

[...]

The plaintiffs claimed that HPD maintained a pattern of mass detentions dating back to 1989. But in the most recent ruling, Atlas said those cases were not sufficiently similar to the incident in 2002.

She is allowing the plaintiffs to continue their cases on the disputed facts of the custom during the summer of 2002.

The judge also wrote that there is a genuine dispute about then-Chief Bradford's knowledge about that summer's plan.

Bradford lost his appeal of Atlas' decision to keep him as a defendant in the lawsuits.

You can peruse all my archives on this here. I thought back in 2005 that we'd never see these cases go to court, but that they'd all get settled one way or another. Looks like I may be proved wrong about that in two months. I presume the plaintiffs will get former HPD Captain Mark Aguirre to testify against his erstwhile boss. That ought to make for some compelling action. I don't know how credible he'll be - he wasn't particularly credible at the time; the cross-examination ought to be a doozy - but I'm sure he'll land a few blows, and he'll enjoy the heck out of doing so. Stock up on the popcorn now, and we'll see how it goes.

02/16/08 | permalink | comments [1]

Bradford still part of K-Mart lawsuit

It's been almost two years since we last had an update on the K-Mart Kiddie Roundup story.

Former Houston police Chief C.O. Bradford's request to be severed from a lawsuit related to an infamous crackdown on street racing has been denied by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

In an opinion filed Monday, the appellate court ruled that it does not have jurisdiction in the case and, therefore, did not have the authority to grant Bradford's motion to be removed from the federal lawsuit.

Bradford was chief at the time of the raid. Contacted by phone Monday night, Bradford said he could not comment without consulting with his attorney.

The litigation was filed after almost 300 people were arrested on Aug. 18, 2002, during a raid on the Kmart parking lot in 8400 block of Westheimer in an attempt to combat street racing. Most of those arrested were charged with trespassing or curfew violations, but none was accused of street racing. The raid produced public outcry and the charges were dropped.

In response to the raid, 10 lawsuits involving more than 100 plaintiffs were filed, accusing police of brandishing pistols and shotguns, and verbally abusing some during the incident. Bradford, who was not at the raid, was named in all of the lawsuits.

In July 2005, in a scathing opinion, U.S. District Judge Nancy Atlas ruled that the lawsuits could go forward.

[...]

Bradford had appealed Atlas' decision. But in its ruling Monday, the 5th Circuit said Bradford had made arguments about fact that could only be ruled on by the district court.

I'm not qualified to opine on the legal mumbojumbo. At a high level, it pretty much comes down to how much Bradford knew, and how much he could or should have known. It's been clear from the beginning that fired HPD captain Mark Aguirre was directly responsible for the mess as it took place. Aguirre has claimed that Bradford knew what he was doing and approved of it; Bradford has denied that he approved the specific plan. That much certainly sounds like a matter of fact for the lower court to decide. How long it will take to get to that point from here, I have no idea.

06/06/07 | permalink | comments [0]

Bradford still part of K-Mart lawsuit

It's been almost two years since we last had an update on the K-Mart Kiddie Roundup story.

Former Houston police Chief C.O. Bradford's request to be severed from a lawsuit related to an infamous crackdown on street racing has been denied by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

In an opinion filed Monday, the appellate court ruled that it does not have jurisdiction in the case and, therefore, did not have the authority to grant Bradford's motion to be removed from the federal lawsuit.

Bradford was chief at the time of the raid. Contacted by phone Monday night, Bradford said he could not comment without consulting with his attorney.

The litigation was filed after almost 300 people were arrested on Aug. 18, 2002, during a raid on the Kmart parking lot in 8400 block of Westheimer in an attempt to combat street racing. Most of those arrested were charged with trespassing or curfew violations, but none was accused of street racing. The raid produced public outcry and the charges were dropped.

In response to the raid, 10 lawsuits involving more than 100 plaintiffs were filed, accusing police of brandishing pistols and shotguns, and verbally abusing some during the incident. Bradford, who was not at the raid, was named in all of the lawsuits.

In July 2005, in a scathing opinion, U.S. District Judge Nancy Atlas ruled that the lawsuits could go forward.

[...]

Bradford had appealed Atlas' decision. But in its ruling Monday, the 5th Circuit said Bradford had made arguments about fact that could only be ruled on by the district court.

06/06/07 | permalink | comments [0]

K-Mart lawsuits can proceed

It's never a good thing for a police force defending itself against various lawsuits to be labelled almost totalitarian by the judge.

Calling the operation "almost totalitarian," a federal judge says a Houston police plan that led to 278 arrests in a Kmart parking lot almost three years ago was unconstitutional.

The ruling by U.S. District Judge Nancy Atlas allows all 10 lawsuits filed in the wake of the Aug. 18, 2002, mass arrest, and a smaller operation the previous night, to proceed.

The "plan to detain all persons ... with no regard for the existence of open businesses and their customers, is facially unconstitutional," Atlas wrote in an opinion made public this week.

[...]

Atlas threw out a number of the lawsuits' claims, but allowed the plaintiffs to go forward with allegations that Bradford knew about the mass arrest plan, known as the "Jackson plan" for the officer who devised it.

"It reflected an unjustified, almost totalitarian, regime of suspicionless stops and was completely inconsistent with the Fourth Amendment rights Americans hold dear," Atlas wrote, referring to the right to be secure against unreasonable searches and seizures.

She also allowed them to go forward with an accusation that a police "zero-tolerance" policy customarily allowed improper arrests and that Bradford knew about it.

Bradford has denied knowing about the plan or the policy.

I'd love to know which of the plaintiffs' claims were tossed, but never mind that. We're approaching the three-year anniversary of the great K-Mart Kiddie Roundup and we're still nowhere near the end of the story.

Joseph Lanza, an attorney representing more than 60 of the more than 100 plaintiffs, called Atlas' ruling "a signal victory for the plaintiffs because it continues to allow them to press their claims in federal court."

Senior Assistant City Attorney Robert Cambrice said it was merely another step in a long process. He predicted the lawsuits will never reach trial.

"When you look at the total picture, the city is still in great shape," Cambrice said.

They can't both be right, but I do agree with Attorney Cambrice in one regard - I don't think these lawsuits will go to trial. I think they'll eventually be settled out of court. My gut feeling is that taking them to a jury would represent a sizeable crapshoot for both sides, and as such there's plenty of room to come to an accomodation that should be suitable to all.

On the other hand, with ten suits total, there's sure to be some wide variance in the level of risk acceptance among the plaintiffs, meaning that one or more may decide to take that dice roll and hope for the best. If so, then whatever the outcome is of those cases, I'll bet the others that follow will either get dropped or quickly settled once a verdict is in.

But I'm just guessing. Any actual lawyers want to weigh in on this, please be my guest.

07/29/05 | permalink | comments [7] | trackbacks [0]

Aguirre firing upheld

An arbitrator has ruled against former HPD Captain Mark Aguirre, who was fired by the city for his role in the K-Mart Kiddie Roundup.

Thursday's decision came six months after Aguirre testified that he was wrongfully fired in January 2003 as a scapegoat when the raid became a political controversy.

[...]

"Capt. Aguirre led and was responsible for a tragedy that ultimately affected not only many officers but the citizens as well," John B. Barnard, the arbitrator, wrote in his decision.

After the arrests prompted public fallout, the city dropped charges against everyone arrested. What followed was the police department's largest internal affairs investigation, resulting in disciplinary action against 32 officers.

Aguirre's attorney, Terry W. Yates, said Thursday that Aguirre likely will appeal the decision to a state district court or file a wrongful termination lawsuit against the city.

Oh, good Lord. Will this ever be over?

03/11/05 | permalink | comments [2] | trackbacks [0]

Aguirre's arbitration ends

Fired HPD Captain Mark Aguirre's arbitration hearing has ended with a little media bashing.

Fired Houston police Capt. Mark Aguirre's civil service hearing ended Wednesday with testimony from Executive Assistant Police Chief Chuck McClelland, who called media footage of the infamous Kmart arrests an unfair and inaccurate portrayal of the Houston Police Department.

Referencing video footage of numerous youths handcuffed and sitting in a Kmart parking lot in the 8400 block of Westheimer, McClelland said, "I don't think that was an accurate portrayal of the Houston Police Department, of the hardworking men and women that were involved in that operation, and it's unfair."

[...]

McClelland, who approved an initial plan for the raid, also was disciplined and given a seven-day suspension. He is appealing that disciplinary action, which is pending.

You can draw your own conclusions about that, but first let's go to the Wayback Machine and see what some other police officers said at the time:

"I couldn't believe we were being told to arrest all those kids. It was just utterly, utterly senseless," said one officer involved, who violated department policy by discussing the arrests and spoke on condition of anonymity.

"Captain [Mark] Aguirre was put in charge, and it went to hell in a handbasket," said a police supervisor who was at the scene, also violating department policy and requesting anonymity.

[...]

The two supervisors said police had "scout cars" and undercover officers working surveillance at the gathering spot for weeks in preparation for Sunday's raid.

"But we got out there, and no one was racing," said one of the supervisors. "So Aguirre just said, `Arrest them all for trespass.'

"It was like, `Kill them all and let God sort them out,' " said the other supervisor. "I guess we're just lucky he didn't order us to fire warning shots into the crowd or anything."

Both supervisors said many of the people arrested were not in cars. Many were eating food from the Sonic, which was open until 2 a.m., or had been shopping at Kmart.

Like I said, draw your own conclusions.

Aguirre's attorney, Terry W. Yates, said he thinks Aguirre will be vindicated.

"This is the only appeal that's really going to be heard and fully bring these facts out. We've shown this arbitrator, we believe, that what those men and women did that night, they were justified in doing," Yates said.

If that's all he's got, I wouldn't put money down on that proposition. We'll know what the arbitrator thinks soon enough.

09/30/04 | permalink | comments [0] | trackbacks [0]

Aguirre in arbitration

09/29/04 | permalink | comments [3] | trackbacks [0]

Aguirre wants his job back

06/08/04 | permalink | comments [3] | trackbacks [0]

Bye bye, BAMF

07/17/03 | permalink | comments [0] | trackbacks [0]

Aguirre mulling City Council run

07/15/03 | permalink | comments [1] | trackbacks [0]

If at first you don't succeed

07/14/03 | permalink | comments [4] | trackbacks [1]

Lawsuit says Chief knew about K-Mart raid

06/28/03 | permalink | comments [1] | trackbacks [0]

Charges dropped against Wenzel

06/20/03 | permalink | comments [1] | trackbacks [0]

Aguirre acquitted

06/16/03 | permalink | comments [4] | trackbacks [0]

Defense passes on calling Bradford

06/13/03 | permalink | comments [0] | trackbacks [0]

Prosecution rests, defense opens

06/12/03 | permalink | comments [0] | trackbacks [0]

Prosecution presses on

06/11/03 | permalink | comments [0] | trackbacks [0]

Aguirre trial update

06/07/03 | permalink | comments [0] | trackbacks [0]

First witnesses called in Aguirre trial

06/05/03 | permalink | comments [0] | trackbacks [0]

Wanted: People who don't follow the news

06/03/03 | permalink | comments [0] | trackbacks [0]

Separate trials in K-Mart case

05/29/03 | permalink | comments [0] | trackbacks [0]

New venue denied for K-Mart trial

05/20/03 | permalink | comments [0] | trackbacks [0]

Change of venue?

05/05/03 | permalink | comments [0] | trackbacks [0]

Chief gets a clean record

03/04/03 | permalink | comments [0] | trackbacks [0]

Rosenthal finally responds

03/01/03 | permalink | comments [0] | trackbacks [0]

Let's not be hasty here

02/24/03 | permalink | comments [0] | trackbacks [0]

Hail to the chief

02/03/03 | permalink | comments [0] | trackbacks [0]

The last word on the Bradford trial

02/02/03 | permalink | comments [0] | trackbacks [0]

He's gone

01/29/03 | permalink | comments [1] | trackbacks [0]

Will he stay or will he go?

01/29/03 | permalink | comments [0] | trackbacks [0]

Politics, schmolitics

01/27/03 | permalink | comments [0] | trackbacks [0]

Let the second guessing begin!

01/25/03 | permalink | comments [3] | trackbacks [0]

Bradford speaks

01/24/03 | permalink | comments [0] | trackbacks [0]

Bradford acquitted by judge

01/23/03 | permalink | comments [0] | trackbacks [0]

Your daily Chief Bradford Perjury Update

01/23/03 | permalink | comments [0] | trackbacks [0]

The Bradford trial: Why are we here?

01/22/03 | permalink | comments [0] | trackbacks [0]

Bradford trial begins

01/21/03 | permalink | comments [0] | trackbacks [0]

Bradford trial begins Tuesday

01/19/03 | permalink | comments [0] | trackbacks [5]

Council will pay outside firm to expunge K-Mart arrests

01/08/03 | permalink | comments [0] | trackbacks [0]

Chron spanks Mayor Brown

01/05/03 | permalink | comments [0] | trackbacks [0]

Council demurs on hiring outside law firm

01/01/03 | permalink | comments [0] | trackbacks [0]

Taxpayers to bear cost: Film at 11

12/31/02 | permalink | comments [1] | trackbacks [0]

Aguirre appears in court

12/13/02 | permalink | comments [0] | trackbacks [0]

What's for Christmas? More lawsuits!

12/12/02 | permalink | comments [0] | trackbacks [0]

2 indicted in K-Mart Kiddie Roundup mess

12/06/02 | permalink | comments [0] | trackbacks [0]

Aguirre testifies before Grand Jury

11/23/02 | permalink | comments [2] | trackbacks [0]

Grand jury probe focuses on Captain Aguirre

11/21/02 | permalink | comments [0] | trackbacks [0]

Grand jury convenes for K-mart investigation

11/20/02 | permalink | comments [0] | trackbacks [0]

What Houston and Racine have in common

11/14/02 | permalink | comments [0] | trackbacks [0]

And in news on that other local story...

09/27/02 | permalink | comments [1]

Cry havoc, and unleash the lawyers of war!

09/25/02 | permalink | comments [1]

Signs, signs, everywhere there's signs

09/13/02 | permalink | comments [0]

K-Mart Kiddie Roundup: You're free to go now

09/11/02 | permalink | comments [0]

Liar, (alleged) liar

09/10/02 | permalink | comments [0]

K-Mart Kiddie Roundup: The Press breaks its silence

09/05/02 | permalink | comments [0]

K-Mart Kiddie Roundup: Sister speaks

09/02/02 | permalink | comments [0]

K-Mart Kiddie Roundup: Chief Bradford speaks

08/29/02 | permalink | comments [0]

K-Mart Kiddie Roundup: 12 more suspended

08/27/02 | permalink | comments [3]

K-Mart Kiddie Roundup: Aguirre Suspended

08/25/02 | permalink | comments [2]

K-Mart Kiddie Roundup: Still getting stranger

08/24/02 | permalink | comments [0]

K-Mart Kiddie Roundup Update

08/23/02 | permalink | comments [1]

K-Mart Kiddie Roundup Prequel

08/22/02 | permalink | comments [0]

Thom Marshall agrees with me

08/21/02 | permalink | comments [2]

Ginger has the goods

08/20/02 | permalink | comments [1]

Kmart Teenager Roundup gets ugly

08/20/02 | permalink | comments [3]

Drop the Blue Light Special and slowly back away

08/19/02 | permalink | comments [3]