Judge allows Twin Peaks lawsuit to continue, dismisses McLennan County as defendant
A federal judge dismissed McLennan County as a defendant in a civil rights lawsuit filed by three bikers arrested after the 2015 Twin Peaks shootout but ruled the plaintiffs can pursue claims against the city of Waco and seven individual defendants.
In a 22-page ruling Monday, U.S. District Judge Alan Albright threw out some of the claims filed by bikers Bradley Terwilliger, Benjamin Matcek and Jimmy Dan Smith, as well as dismissing the county and four Waco police officers from the suit.
The lawsuit, filed by the three bikers who were never indicted in the deadly shootout, is one of about 20 pending Twin Peaks civil lawsuits involving about 130 bikers with claims of unlawful arrest and conspiracy.
The plaintiffs, represented by Dallas attorney Don Tittle, allege former McLennan County District Attorney Abel Reyna was the final policymaker for McLennan County regarding the events at Twin Peaks. Reyna and the county disputed the claim, and Albright, citing legal precedent in dismissing the county from the lawsuit, ruled that a county sheriff, not the district attorney, is the final policymaker.
Read more: https://www.wacotrib.com/news/twin-peaks-biker-shooting/judge-allows-twin-peaks-lawsuit-to-continue-dismisses-mclennan-county/article_f8ac28f3-8e51-5aba-837c-a6e26c7a81c8.html
