Texas man sues deputies who shot him while on the phone with dispatchers

BOERNE, Texas (KXAN) – Ronald Smith, 40, sat with his legs crossed outside the Guadalupe Valley Memorial Cemetery on Highway 46 – his right hand held his cell phone, and his left was in the air when deputies zeroed in on him with guns drawn.

Body camera video shows that before Guadalupe County Sheriff Deputy Hunter Saenz could make it all the way across the busy highway to Smith, his gun was up – and he was yelling commands.

"Show me your hands! Put your hands up! Put your hands up!" Saenz said in the video.

Footage shows Saenz screaming to another deputy, Jimmy Gonzales, who arrived and parked in the middle of the highway, to cover him with lethal force while he switched to his less lethal weapon – a pepper gun.

Smith’s face was ducked between his raised hands. His phone was connected to 9-1-1 dispatchers. He screamed, “I have two people pulling a gun on me,” just as Saenz, who had been yelling verbal commands for just under a minute, shot him in the face with a pepper gun.

The interaction caught on body camera footage is now the subject of a federal lawsuit alleging the two deputies used excessive force against Smith during the police stop in June 2021. A claim the legal team for both deputies denies.

Saenz said in his offense report that he was initially attempting to check on Smith, who he says he saw walking along the highway. Saenz said he began following him on foot when he allegedly saw Smith jump over a barbed wire fence and start running in a nearby field.

Smith’s attorney, Andy Cano, said in the lawsuit that the interaction between Smith and Saenz actually started when the deputy nearly hit Smith with his cruiser – and Smith flipped him off.

The Guadalupe County Sheriff's Office told KXAN that "due to pending litigation, (it) was unable to comment on this matter at this time."

Attorneys for the deputies seen on video did not respond to KXAN. But said in court records -- the deputies "did not know that Smith was unarmed," and they "acted reasonably based on the information they had at the time of the encounter."

University of Texas Law professor Jennifer Laurin said she has mixed thoughts on what the video shows.

“On the one hand, it appeared that the officers had an inclination to reach for some less extreme tools in their training toolbox,” Laurin said. “On the other hand, it is significant in terms of being sort of contrary to principles of de-escalation that the first point of contact between the police and Mr. Smith, once Mr. Smith was stationary, was sort of peak force threatened.”

The federal lawsuit alleges Saenz and Gonzalez not only used excessive force but also “worked to assert a bogus criminal charge” against Smith after shooting him.

The footage shows that deputies first considered arresting Smith for allegedly running across people’s property, but after asking neighbors, they found none wanted to press a trespassing charge. The footage shows Saenz then telling Smith he is not being arrested but will be placed under emergency detention to be medically evaluated. In the end, deputies opted to arrest Smith and charge him with evading arrest, which was later dismissed.

“They are Monday morning quarterbacking: why do we have this guy? What can we charge him with?” Cano said. “They are trying to justify, retroactively, their conduct.”

The original lawsuit filed in 2023 was against all three deputies seen on body camera footage and the Guadalupe County Sheriff’s Office. The claim alleged malicious prosecution, false arrest, and excessive force.

Court records show a judge dismissed the claims against Guadalupe County and one of the officers who participated in Smith's arrest.

The court is allowing the excessive force claim against former Deputy Saenz and Deputy Gonzales to proceed to trial. The legal team for Saenz and Gonzales is currently appealing that decision.