Rare case against City of Houston and officer who crashed into Charles Payne, killing him, moves forward

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Four years after an HPD officer crashed into and killed Charles Payne, his family will finally have their case heard in federal court starting Monday.

In December 2021, Payne was driving home from church, heading south on Shepherd. When he made a left turn, he was struck by a police cruiser driven by then-HPD officer Christopher Cabrera.

Payne died from his injuries. Soon after, his family filed a civil lawsuit against the City of Houston and Cabrera. For the past three years, the case has moved through both trial and appellate courts. Experts say the city tried to have the case dismissed partly because such cases are so uncommon.

“They managed to get over a really remarkable hurdle as it is,” said Eric Gerard, a former federal prosecutor now in private practice. Gerard explained that police officers and the cities they work for usually have sovereign immunity, which means they generally can’t be sued. “We just don’t see these cases being litigated successfully even to the point of trial. To survive a motion to dismiss and a motion for summary judgment is a real feat to itself.”

In their original lawsuit, Payne’s family argued that Officer Cabrera was not speeding to an emergency or a chase, but simply to finish paperwork.

“Officer Cabrera was simply heading back to his station to fill out a report from booking a suspect in the joint processing center in downtown Houston…. but chose to go 70 mph in a 35-mph zone anyways.”

In lengthy filings seeking to get the case dismissed, the City of Houston blamed Payne and his driving.

“The ultimate cause of Plaintiffs’ injuries is not any policy or custom of the Houston Police Department but Charles Payne’s turning left when it was unsafe to do so and failing to yield to oncoming traffic.”

Gerard said it is extremely rare for courts to allow a family’s lawsuit like this to move forward, but it shows that public servants are still expected to act reasonably.

“What the trial court and the Fifth Circuit is saying there is that these exceptions are important, it’s important that the police officers be allowed to do their jobs and the government not sued on a regular basis, but that has limits. And when an officer acts unreasonably during the course of his duties, it puts us all at risk.”

When the case begins Monday in Judge David Hittner’s court, Payne’s attorneys are expected to argue that HPD officers rarely face consequences after causing crashes. Court filings mention about 10 examples from other cases.

The City of Houston said it could not comment on a pending trial.