TEMPLE, Texas — The City of Temple filed a motion in a Waco federal court to dismiss most of the claims in a civil lawsuit brought by the family of Michael Dean. The city filed the motion on Sept. 6. It was the first filing in the case since September 22, 2023.
Dean's sister, Tosheena, sued the City and DeCruz in 2021. According to court records, she's seeking $10-million.
Dean was shot and killed by Temple Police Officer Carmen DeCruz during a traffic stop on Dec. 2, 2019. According to a police affidavit, DeCruz shot Dean in the head while reaching in his vehicle to grab the car keys.
DeCruz was charged with second-degree manslaughter for Dean's death but was found not guilty on Feb. 7, 2023.
The most recent court filing is a motion for summary judgment "as to all Dean's federal claims against the city." A motion for summary judgment is a request to a court to decide a case without a trial. The motion is filed by a party who believes there are no genuine issues of material fact and that they are entitled to win the case as a matter of law.
The City argues against Dean's claims that it did not provide proper training for DeCruz and that the City did not have a policy on how to safely conduct traffic stops.
"To the contrary, the evidence establishes that at the time of the incident at issue, the City had a policy on the conduct of traffic stops and the City’s officers, and particularly Defendant Carmen DeCruz, were trained on the conduct of traffic stops," the motion reads.
The motion also includes evidence of the type of training DeCruz received, and the Temple Police Department use of force policy.
If the motion is granted, there would still be a state law negligence claim against the City.