The federal lawsuit over the February 2023 police shooting during a search-warrant entry on Spring Loop has been moved to a different judge, and the hearing dates that were supposed to lead to a trial setting are no longer on the calendar, according to filings in U.S. District Court in Houston.
A clerk's notice filed Thursday, Oct. 15, reassigns the case to U.S. District Judge Drew B. Tipton under a court special order. The notice says the deadlines in the existing scheduling order stay in effect but that "all court settings are vacated." No new dates appear on the docket as of Saturday.
What changed this week
Under a January scheduling order from U.S. District Judge Charles Eskridge, a docket call was set for Tuesday, Oct. 20, where the court planned to pick a trial date soon after. On Oct. 14 the court reset that docket call to Oct. 27 by video and separately set a motion hearing for Jan. 12, 2027.
The reassignment a day later vacated those settings, so the timing of a trial date now rests with the new judge.
The case
The family of the man who was killed, a Blinn College student, 22, who police said was not the target of the warrant, and a woman who was in the home that night have sued the City of College Station, Police Chief Billy Couch and 10 other officers and commanders.
The suit, filed in February 2025, alleges an unreasonable manner of entry, excessive force and a city policy or custom that caused the death. The defendants deny the claims.
On Oct. 12 the two sides filed a combined proposed jury charge that marks where they agree and disagree, along with exhibit lists. The proposed questions would ask jurors about the entry, the use of deadly force, qualified immunity for the officers and whether a city policy or custom was a "moving force" in the death.
