Family members of Yvette Smith, a Bastrop woman who was shot and killed on her porch in a Feb. 16 incident involving a Bastrop County sheriff’s deputy, filed a federal suit against Bastrop County and Sheriff Terry Pickering Friday afternoon.
The $5 million civil suit — filed in Austin in the U.S. District Court’s Western District of Texas by Yvonne Williams, Smith’s twin sister — alleges that the county and Sheriff Pickering were negligent in the hiring, training and supervising of former Bastrop Sheriff’s deputy Daniel Willis, who was responding to a disturbance at the home when he allegedly shot and killed Smith, a 47-year-old mother of two.
The Bastrop County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that it was served with the court filings Friday, but declined to provide further comment because the investigation regarding the matter is ongoing.
According to the Bastrop County Sheriff’s Office, deputies, including Willis, were dispatched to a disturbance call around 12:30 a.m. Feb. 16 over two men who had allegedly been arguing over a gun at a residence near the corner of Zimmerman Avenue and Cool Water Drive in Bastrop County.
Willis was fired from the sheriff’s office in June after being indicted on a murder charge by a Bastrop County grand jury for his alleged involvement in the incident.
Initial reports from the sheriff’s office indicated that Smith opened the door carrying a firearm, causing Willis to open fire after she failed to respond to a deputy’s command. The sheriff’s office later retracted the statement, saying it was unclear whether Smith was armed.
The suit alleges that Willis “used unreasonable, unnecessary, and excessive force while confronting Yvette Smith,” according to case files.
The suit is also alleging that both the county and Sheriff Pickering were negligent in the hiring of Willis by failing to conduct a proper background check, including employment history and evaluations; and failure to adopt policies before the incident that every deputy be trained in the proper use of every weapon.
Before becoming employed by Bastrop County, a 2012 Travis County evaluation of Willis stated that he “needed more development in handling explosive situations and in the utilization of common sense,” according to case files.
The suit also alleges that the county and Sheriff Pickering were negligent “in allowing Sheriff’s Department supervisors to tamper with Deputy Willis’ training records.”
In early March, Lt. Joey Dzienowski was demoted to patrol deputy and suspended for 240 hours, and Sgt. David Repka was demoted to patrol deputy and suspended for 32 hours for their involvement in tampering with Willis’ training records, according to the sheriff’s office.
Officials with the sheriff’s office said Willis’ field training records had been modified to ensure that they were completely accurate.
Four additional supervisors with the sheriff’s office received disciplinary action regarding the incident, officials said.
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