Houston, Texas (KTRK) – More than four years after Danny Ray Thomas was shot and killed by Harris County’s deputy sheriff, the family is still searching for some sense of justice.
“March 12 was the last day I hugged my father. It was the last day I was able to tell my father that I loved him,” Malikiya Thomas said. Ten days later, her father was killed.
For the first time since her father’s death, Malikia spoke publicly as tears streamed down her cheeks.
She said, “He (the deputy) took our father from us.”
The fatal shooting took place in March 2018.
Former Harris County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Cameron Brewer led an argument in Greenpoint Road.
Danny Thomas’ family lawyer says he was showing signs of a mental breakdown.
His pants were at his ankles, he was lathering in his mouth and he didn’t follow orders.
What his sister said the camera video does not show is his inner suffering after his wife, Shiborah Thomas, drowned two of her children in a bathtub in 2016. The family said Danny Thomas’ strange behavior was a symptom of a mental crisis.
RELATED: HPD says mother who drowned two kids in bathtub will stand trial in court
“When law enforcement is called into a mental health condition, I would expect it to be treated as such. Not in a criminal way. This is how my brother was treated as if he was doing something criminal,” his sister Marketa Thomas Smith said.
Investigators said Brewer gave Danny Thomas orders he did not follow.
Continuing to get close to Brewer, the deputy shot Danny Thomas instead of using an electric stun gun.
Brewer was fired a month later, with the HCSO cited as having violated its use of force policy.
He was later charged with aggravated assault by a government employee, but a jury acquitted him in 2019.
A federal civil rights lawsuit has also been dismissed, and the family is now seeking recourse in state civil court.
“All of you, citizens of Harris County, should decide if it is reasonable for someone with a mental health crisis, with his pants dangling around his ankles, his hands clearly visible, without a weapon, is it reasonable for (Vice) to shoot and kill him in cold blood?” Family attorney Ben Crump said.
“What Cameron Brewer did was objectively unreasonable and unjustified in terms of the use of lethal force,” said co-attorney Vince Colella.
As they continue to pursue justice, this family also wants mental health awareness for black and brown neighbors.
Thomas Smith said, “If anyone has mental health issues, please don’t hang up. Speak. I’m with you. You’re not alone.”
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