Corpus Christi officers disciplined after arrest

Published 6:42 am Thursday, December 18, 2014

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (AP) — A South Texas police chief has disciplined two officers after an excessive force investigation into the arrest of a man suspected of fatally shooting three neighbors and seriously injuring a child.

The Corpus Christi Caller-Times reports Police Chief Floyd Simpson says Officer Daniel Jimenez has resigned in lieu of termination. He says Senior Officer Michael Smotherman has been suspended without pay.



Simpson says the pair used excessive force when several officers arrested 63-year-old Sammuel Everett Toomey on Sept. 14. A dash-cam recording shows Jimenez stepping on Toomey’s head and neck and Smotherman shoving his head.

Toomey was charged with capital murder before authorities say he used his pants to hang himself in the Nueces (nyoo-AY’-sis) County jail on Sept. 18.

A U.S. Justice Department criminal investigation is ongoing.

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