Officers from the Santa Fe, Texas, ISD police department are accused of showing a mother no mercy during a traffic stop in 2021. Taylor Rogers allegedly made an illegal turn in a school parking lot, which apparently caught the attention of a Sante Fe ISD police officer. Now, Civil Rights Attorney Randall Kallinen, who is representing the mother, has shared a disturbing video of the incident.
During her arrest, Rogers claimed officers forced her to the ground, where fire ants reportedly bit her. But police say that's not what happened at all. They claim the mother did not heed the responding officer's warnings, which led to her being handcuffed. Rogers is now suing the city of Santa Fe.
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The video is shocking.
Kallinen shared police body cam footage with KHOU that appears to show Rogers on the ground struggling. She is seen yelling to the officers to let her up, explaining that fire ants are crawling on her.
"Ants are on my face. Ants are getting on my face. Please!" Rogers screams. "How can y'all do this? Ants are on my face! Please let go!"
Kallinen said during a press conference on May 11 that his client was thrown on the ground for "no reason."
Police disagree with the woman's claims.
Santa Fe ISD Police Chief Ruben Espinoza told KHOU that he stopped Rogers, who was reportedly in the car with her 9-year-old son, because she made an illegal turn into the Roy J. Wollam Elementary School parking lot. Espinoza said that when he tried to explain the violation to Rogers, she became irate and continued driving.
"She was also passing a vehicle in the grassy area on the right side when I tried to get in front of her to stop. She then put her vehicle in reverse and fled from me," he told KHOU.
The mother claims she was frightened and that's why she kept driving.
According to Rogers, she continued to drive because an officer allegedly pulled a gun, and she was afraid of having her son in the car. The video shows the woman on the ground screaming about fire ants with several officers looking down.
"Is it torture? Yeah, that's a strong word, but I call it torture," Kallinen said during the news conference, per KHOU. "When the police hold you down in a fire ant bed, and you're 'saying fire ants' and screaming, and they keep you there, what is that?"
Espinoza said the video clip shared by the attorney is misleading.
He told KHOU the short clip provided to the station only shows part of the altercation and that soon after the video cut, the woman was helped up off the ground.
"They stopped the clip that they provided to you. The officer says, 'Calm down and we will lift you up,'" he said. "At that point, she said, 'OK I will calm down,' and they lifted her up immediately."
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Rogers ultimately pleaded guilty.
Although she did plead guilty to charges associated with fleeing police, the mother decided to go forward with the lawsuit against the city because she believes the police officers violated her civil rights.
"While I forgive those officers for their actions that day, I refuse to remain silent in the face of a violation of my son's and my civil rights," Rogers said at the news conference, according to KHOU.
As part of the suit, the mother wants the officers involved to be disciplined and have increased de-escalation training.
