A county in Texas is set to pay out over $2 million after it was alleged deputies had staged a SWAT team raiding a home to make an arrest.
Texas man Gary Watsky argued in court that the raiders who smashed into his property back in May 2019 did not have a warrant for his son’s arrest, Ash Watsky.
He claimed they had used non-lethal ‘flash bang’ grenades, after breaking down the front and back door, and swarmed the house with SWAT team officers to make for better TV.
He was held at gunpoint according to his lawsuit, searched and brought outside where he saw TV cameras and was informed it was being filmed for the now cancelled TV show Live PD.
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His son was also slammed up against the wall and handcuffed for allegedly hitting his roommate with a shovel.
Watsky claimed the lawsuit against the Williamson County, former Sheriff Robert Chody, former lieutenant Mark Luera and former commander Steve Deaton among other deputies.
According to the lawsuit, Watsky was injured during the arrest and suffered a panic attack as he was humiliated in front of his neighbors.
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He had also argued that the arrest could have been made earlier in the day when his son was in court on separate charges.
On October 15, the Williamson County Sheriff's Office Gary agreed to pay Watsky $2.5 million for the SWAT raid at his Cedar Park home.
The settlement was approved four to one by county officials without a public discussion
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Watsky’s attorney, Brad Vison, suggested there was a larger issue afoot involving Sheriff Chody.
Speaking to Fox 7, Vison said: "We talked to witnesses who were a part of the court staff and they were able to say that the warrant wasn't in the system.
"It was removed from their view, meaning that it was active at some point before and then it was no longer active."
He added that he believed Chody had ‘orchestrated’ and staged the arrest for the show and that someone had hid the arrest warrant in order for his arrest to be filmed more excitingly at the Watsky home later.
Gerrard Kaonga