2 protesters arrested during 2018 demonstration at Cowboys stadium sue Jerry Jones, others
Two of the nine people arrested in 2018 during a protest outside AT&T Stadium filed a lawsuit Monday alleging they were wrongfully arrested and maliciously prosecuted.
The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Texas, lists the city of Arlington, five unnamed police officers, Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney Sharen Wilson and Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys, as defendants.
The Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office and the Arlington Police Department said they do not comment on pending litigation. The city of Arlington and Jones did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Michael Lowe and Arminta Jeffryes were both arrested in September 2018 while protesting with a group of people outside the Cowboys’ stadium. The group was protesting the killings of two unarmed Black men by police. In Arlington, police officer Bau Tran shot and killed O’Shea Terry during a traffic stop. On Sept. 6, 2018, Dallas police officer Amber Guyger killed Botham Jean inside his apartment.
During the protest, a pastor and attorney for the family of Jean led a procession down Randol Mill Road from east of Globe Life Park to one of the entrances for a Dallas Cowboys game. The protest was formed as a mock funeral procession representing Jean and Terry, and included two hearses and caskets.
At the end of the protest, the group stood in the intersection of Collins and Randol Mill Road. According to the lawsuit, the protesters said a prayer during a red light. At the time, Arlington police spokesman Christopher Cook said the protesters were “given orders to disperse and not block the roadway and failed to comply.”
According to the suit, officers swarmed the scene and arrested nine protesters. An Arlington officer “violently threw (Jeffryes) to the ground,” “put his knee in her back” and “twisted her arm into handcuffs,” the suit says. Another officer grabbed Lowe and arrested him.
Jeffryes, Lowe and seven other protesters were taken to Tarrant County jail, according to the suit. According to public records at the time, the protesters were sent to an Arlington jail.
The lawsuit alleges the suit’s defendants “furnished false information to Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office to prosecute Plaintiffs on their fabricated charges.” Jeffryes and Lowe spent three days in jail, away from their toddler son, according to the suit. The two spent “years and countless hours going through the trial process” and Jeffryes had to “endure a high risk pregnancy throughout the course of the trial,” the suit says.
The two suffered from emotional distress, PTSD, anxiety and depression due to the arrest, the suit says.
The suit says during a jury trial on Jan. 28, 2020, Lowe and Jeffryes were acquitted of all charges. A county clerk confirmed the case was dismissed in Tarrant County court.
The suit accuses Arlington officers of wrongful arrest, use of excessive force, emotional distress, assault and battery and malicious prosecution. The city of Arlington is accused of not supervising or training officers properly. Wilson and Jones are accused of malicious prosecution.
The suit demands a trial by jury.
This story was originally published February 1, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
