Joshua Wright family files wrongful death lawsuit against former HCSO corrections officer

KYLE — It was December 2022. Twinkling lights were strewn about neighborhood homes. Christmas carols echoed through the aisles of stores. Spirits were high for the season as families made plans to gather and celebrate the upcoming holidays. But Beverly Wright was busy making other plans — to bury her son, Joshua Leon Wright.

“His killing, shortly before Christmas last year, meant that instead of having our traditional family activities, we planned his funeral. I was left without my baby boy, my 13-year-old granddaughter without her daddy, and our family with a hole that can never be filled,” said Beverly in a statement released through the family’s attorneys, Edwards Law and Webber Law, in early July. “Our family loved Joshua — known for his huge heart, infectious smile and devotion to our family. He was always ready to hug anyone that needed him. He was a friend to everyone he met, always ready with a kind word or hug when you needed him.”

On Dec. 12, 2022, Wright, 36, was killed at Ascension Seton Hays Hospital in Kyle by former Hays County Jail Corrections Officer (CO) Isaiah Garcia. Following an investigation by the Hays County Sheriff’s Office and the Texas Rangers, he was indicted by a Hays County grand jury on April 6. He was arrested and released on a personal recognizance bond the following day. Garcia entered a plea of not guilty on May 23 to the charge of deadly conduct by discharging a firearm, a third-degree felony.

Since the day that Garcia pleaded not guilty to deadly conduct, lawyers for the Wright family said that justice will not be served until the Hays County District Attorney’s Office prosecutes Garcia for the slaying of Wright. As the case moves slowly through the court system, the Wright family is now seeking a different kind of justice — at the federal level.

A Different Kind of Justice

Despite Garcia's indictment for deadly conduct, the Wright family now plans to seek justice — outside of the Hays County courtroom — by filing a federal wrongful death lawsuit against Garcia in the Western District of Texas. In Wright et. al. v. Garcia, Beverly and her family seek to hold the former corrections officer accountable not for deadly conduct — the charge for which he was indicted — but for the “excessive, unnecessary and ultimately lethal force he inflicted on Joshua Wright,” the lawsuit stated. “Defendant Garcia, while acting under color of law, brutally gunned down Wright despite the ready availability of effective non-lethal options to stop Wright. His use of force was not necessary to prevent Wright from escaping from custody and was patently unreasonable … Therefore, Garcia’s actions violated Wright’s clearly established Fourteenth Amendment right to be free from excessive force.”

“As a Black mother, I prayed my family would never be in the position we find ourselves in today. The killing of Black men like my son by law enforcement remains all too common — it is past time for these officers to be held accountable,” Beverly stated. “While nothing can ever bring my son back, today we filed a lawsuit in federal court against Isaiah Garcia, the officer who killed my son. Our family and my son deserve the justice he was denied last December by Mr. Garcia.”

The Incident

According to an investigation conducted by the Wright family attorneys, on Dec. 11, 2022, Wright was experiencing a mental health crisis and a possible medical emergency at the Hays County Jail, where he was being held pretrial for misdemeanor crimes.

Shortly after 3 a.m. on Dec. 12, 2022, jailers took him to the emergency room of Ascension Seton Hays Hospital in Kyle. In the E.R., Wright complained of severe chest pain and reported taking Wellbutrin, a psychiatric medication. A shift change occurred for the two night shift jailers who accompanied Wright to the hospital and they were relieved by Garcia and another jailer while the patient was being evaluated by medical staff in the emergency room. Garcia was armed with a standard-issued TASER, given to him by one of the departing officers, as well as a Hays County-issued firearm.

According to the lawsuit, Wright asked to use the restroom at approximately 11 a.m., shortly before the hospital was set to discharge him. Garcia escorted the pretrial detainee to a restroom and unlocked his handcuffs, leaving his leg irons in place, shackled around his ankles. When Wright exited the restroom, he allegedly pushed past Garcia and moved down a hallway, away from Garcia, who followed with his service weapon.

“Because Wright’s leg irons significantly limited his stride, as did a vitals cart that was in his path, Garcia quickly gained ground on Wright,” the complaint alleged. “Rather than continue closing in on the unarmed and defenseless Wright, and personally restraining him or even deploying his TASER, Garcia fired his gun at Wright.”

The bullet tore through Wright’s left arm, but would not have been fatal, the lawsuit continued. Wright, “now wounded and in fear for his life,” took several steps away from Garcia; however, his pace was affected by the bullet wound and the constraints of the leg irons. He then collided with the medical cart and fell to his knees.

It was at this moment that, according to the lawsuit, Garcia could have taken non-lethal actions to subdue and restrain the wounded Wright. “Instead of using non-lethal options to restrain Wright, Garcia employed deadly force again,” it stated. Three seconds after his first shot hit Wright, Garcia fired again as the man struggled to his feet, ripping through his right upper arm, breaking it in multiple places before shallowly passing through Wright’s chest — a shot that downed Wright.

Again, instead of using non-lethal means of restraining the wounded inmate, Garcia fired at Wright a third time, striking him in the chest and breaking two of his ribs. Still, the lawsuit alleged, the bullet would not have been fatal had Garcia stopped firing.

“Wright never reached for, threatened or moved towards any specific person,” the lawsuit claimed. “Throughout the entire incident, Wright did not threaten anyone, have anything in his hands or even appear to have anything in his hands. There was simply no need for deadly force to stop Wright from moving away from Garcia or for any other reason. Yet, rather than physically restraining the bleeding, downed and unsteady Wright (as he could have done) or using his TASER to do so (as he also could have done), Garcia fired his gun twice in quick succession into Wright’s back.”

These shots, the fourth and fifth fired by Garcia, penetrated Wright’s lung and fractured his thoracic and cervical vertebrae in at least four places.

His injuries were not survivable and he was pronounced dead at noon on Dec. 12, 2022, after suffering significant blood loss “and senseless and terrible pain.”

Damages

As a result of these events, the Wright family is seeking damages for Wright's funeral and burial, past and future mental anguish, past and future loss of companionship and society, punitive damages and attorneys’ fees and costs.

“The conduct of defendant Garcia justifies an award of punitive and exemplary damages against him. His multiple excessive uses of deadly force against Wright without justification or need for such force constitutes shocking, brutal and egregious conduct,” the lawsuit alleged. “Garcia acted with malice and acted intentionally, recklessly or with callous indifference to Mr. Wright’s life and rights under the Constitution.”

On Aug. 2, a summons was issued for Garcia. He is required to answer the complaint within 21 days of service of the summons.

If he fails to respond, judgment by default will be entered against Garcia for the relief demanded in the complaint.

This is an ongoing story. The Hays Free Press/News-Dispatch will continue to monitor this incident closely and update the public with any new information as it becomes available.