Galveston County woman suing, claims Santa Fe officer's held her face in fire ants
HOUSTON - A Houston area woman has filed a lawsuit against the City of Santa Fe and two members of the Santa Fe Police Department after she claims officers held her face in a pile of fire ants.
In the court document, Taylor Rogers names the City of Santa Fe, Santa Fe PD Sergeant Ruben Espinoza, and officer Christian Carranza are named as defendants.
According to the lawsuit, Rogers was driving with her son when a Santa Fe ISD police officer began yelling at her to stop. The document claims Rogers suffers from mental illness, panicked, and drove the wrong way.
At some point, Espinoza arrived at the scene and rammed into Rogers's vehicle with her son inside, the lawsuit says. Officer Carranza also arrived on the scene and according to the document, slammed Rogers to the ground and put her in handcuffs.
The lawsuit alleges Carranza twisted Rogers's leg with excessive force, hog-tied her, and buried her face in a pile of fire ants. In the body-worn camera video, the mother is heard screaming and asking for help because ants are on her face.
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"Ants are on my face, ants are getting on my face. Please, help," Rogers can be heard yelling. "How could y'all do this? Ants are on my face, please let go."
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FOX 26 reached out to the Santa Fe Police Department who said they could not give a comment because of ongoing litigation.
A press conference is scheduled to be held on Saturday where Rogers and community members will discuss the incident.
