A 70 year old, independent journalist David R. Jones has filed a sweeping federal civil rights lawsuit accusing the City of Temple and four police officers of violating his First and Fourth Amendment rights during two separate incidents in 2023. The complaint, filed July 19 in the Western District of Texas, alleges officers unlawfully detained, assaulted, and retaliated against Jones for recording them in public — conduct the courts have repeatedly recognized as protected under the U.S. Constitution.
At the heart of the lawsuit is a simple act: filming police officers while they perform their public duties. But according to Jones, this act — legal, peaceful, and routine for journalists — triggered a campaign of harassment by Temple police that escalated into physical violence, false arrests, and threats to suppress public scrutiny.
First Incident: “The Camera Changed Everything”
On July 19, 2023, Jones was walking near a wooded area along North 12th Street when he spotted three Temple Police Department cruisers parked next to a patch of trees. Officers were speaking with a shirtless man nearby. As Jones began filming from a distance of about 50 feet — standing on a concrete slab in a publicly accessible area — he says another pedestrian passed through the area without incident.
What changed, according to Jones, was the camera.
The lawsuit alleges that Lieutenant Brian Moody and Corporal Geoffrey Goodson approached Jones in a confrontational manner, demanding that he stop recording and threatening to confiscate his phone. “If you come back here, we’re gonna take it,” Moody allegedly told him, referring to his phone. “You can’t be filming our crime scene.”
But there was no crime scene tape, no marked perimeter, and no signage restricting public access, according to the complaint. Even so, Moody allegedly shoved Jones backward and told him that he would be arrested if he didn’t retreat to a more distant location behind one of the police cruisers.
When Jones asserted his right to film from public space, the lawsuit says, Moody expanded the supposed “crime scene” by pointing to a distant tree and declaring the area off-limits — a move Jones argues was clearly intended to push him out of filming range.
Tensions escalated when Jones asked for badge numbers. Goodson allegedly refused to identify himself, gesturing toward his nameplate and saying, “Can’t you read?” Moody eventually provided Goodson’s name and badge number, but not before allegedly warning that Jones would be arrested for interference.
Moments later, Jones was taken into custody.
Second Incident: “Laundry Day Turned Into a Takedown”
Two months later, on September 21, 2023, Jones says he was targeted again — this time while doing laundry at the Scrub-Tub Laundromat on West Avenue H.
According to the lawsuit, police officers had detained someone on the sidewalk outside the business. As before, Jones took out his phone and began recording from a public location. Officers Aumua and Jacquez, both named in the lawsuit, allegedly became confrontational almost immediately.
Jones asked whether the detained individual had consented to a search of his belongings. Instead of responding substantively, Officer Aumua allegedly challenged Jones’ presence at the location, asking whether he “had business” there. When Jones responded, “Yes, watching y’all,” Aumua allegedly ordered him to leave.
Jones refused, citing his constitutional rights and pointing out that he was a paying customer at the laundromat. According to the complaint, Aumua escalated the encounter by grabbing Jones’ arm, handcuffing him, and ordering him to sit on the ground. When Jones declined, Aumua allegedly used force to throw him to the pavement, cracking his phone and causing visible injuries.
Jones was detained in a patrol car for over ten minutes until Sergeant Taylor, a supervisor, arrived on the scene. According to the lawsuit, Taylor released Jones without charges, took photos of his injuries, and allowed him to return to his laundry.
A Pattern of Retaliation, Not Isolated Incidents
The lawsuit contends that the two incidents are not isolated, but instead part of a broader pattern of retaliation by Temple police against individuals who document or question their conduct. It accuses the City of Temple of failing to train its officers on the legal rights of the public, including the right to record police in public places — a right clearly established in the Fifth Circuit’s Turner v. Driver decision in 2017.
The complaint also cites the department’s failure to train officers on their statutory duty under Texas law to intervene when they witness excessive force. Officer Jacquez, who witnessed the force used at the laundromat, allegedly did nothing to intervene — a point the lawsuit highlights in its municipal liability claim.
Legal Claims and Requested Damages
Jones is seeking both compensatory and punitive damages, along with attorney’s fees and a jury trial. The complaint outlines three legal claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983:
- Unlawful Arrest and Detention: Violations of the Fourth Amendment for physically restraining and detaining Jones without probable cause or reasonable suspicion.
- First Amendment Retaliation: Allegations that officers used their authority to silence Jones because he was engaged in protected newsgathering activity.
- Municipal Liability: Claims that the City of Temple failed to properly train or supervise its officers, and effectively condoned a culture of retaliation against journalists and members of the public who record law enforcement.
Jones is asking for $150,000 in punitive damages in addition to compensatory relief.
Qualified Immunity and the Right to Film
In anticipation of the officers’ likely invocation of qualified immunity — a legal doctrine that shields government officials from liability unless they violate “clearly established” law — the complaint argues that the rights at issue were long settled. It cites multiple cases confirming the right to film public officials and requiring that arrests be based on specific, articulable facts — not arbitrary orders or retaliatory motives.
The complaint was filed by attorney CJ Grisham, who represents Jones in the action.
Conclusion: “He’s Not a Dog, a Slave, or a Subject”
In stark and sometimes biting language, the lawsuit portrays a police department that treats cameras as threats and citizens with disdain. It closes by emphasizing that Jones, a 70-year-old veteran journalist, was treated as an adversary simply for observing the government in action.
“He’s not a dog. He’s not a slave. He’s not a subject,” the complaint reads. “He’s a citizen with rights.”
Whether the courts agree could have implications far beyond Temple, especially as public accountability and the right to record continue to be flashpoints in police-citizen encounters across the country.
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