Federal Judge Denied Qualified Immunity for Houston Officers Who Shot Harion Lockett

​A federal judge has refused to grant qualified immunity to four Houston police officers who shot and killed a 27-year-old black man last year.

The officers — Devin Inocencio, Victor Villarreal, Peter Carroll and Sean Houlihan — were sued by mother Harion Lockett in March 2021 after Lockett was killed by police outside his north Houston home.

In an order issued by U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen on Monday evening, the court found “the pleadings are sufficient and [did not] grant dismissal on the basis of qualified immunity.”

The federal lawsuit also named Houston Police Chief Troy Finner and the city of Houston as defendants, but Hanen dropped the case against the two sides Monday night.

According to Hahnen’s order, the lawsuit “does not mention any facts linking [Finner] to the events surrounding Lockett’s death,” and argues that Lockett’s Fourth Amendment rights prohibiting unreasonable searches and seizures were violated in the first place by the four officers, not by the city or Finner.

HPD’s investigation into Lockett began after an alleged robbery took place around November 2021. The victim blamed Lockett and an unidentified man, prompting investigators to request a warrant for Lockett’s aggravated arrest with a deadly weapon, according to the criminal complaint.

That request was denied by a state district court judge, but a later attempt was granted by another judge “largely on the basis of false statements,” the lawsuit says, though court records do not specify what the false statements were.

According to the lawsuit, on the morning of February 7, 2021, officers came to Lockett’s home and “started shooting at him as he sat in a parked car” in the driveway.

Police say Lockett shot the cops as they drove up to the house. Body camera video shows officers firing at Lockett as he runs to the front of his home. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

According to Judge Hanen, the four police officers may return to their immunity arguments later, when the case is ongoing.

Read the full statement from U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen below: