LEON VALLEY, Texas — The City of Leon Valley recently settled with a chalk artist who claimed he was wrongfully arrested earlier this year, agreeing to pay him $16,500.
Officers were called to the 6700 block of Bandera Road on May 15 for a criminal mischief complaint, according to the Leon Valley Police Department's incident report. The document states an anonymous caller told dispatchers a man was graffitiing the Randolph Bank property.
When the two officers arrived, they found Jashoa "Lakey" Hinson creating chalk art. Hinson recorded the interaction and posted it on social media.
"Hey, the police are out here messing with me," Hinson can be heard saying in the video. "I am just trying to do my sidewalk chalk."
"We tried to talk to you," an officer responds. "You don't listen. We tried to be civilized. We want to give you a break, now you [are] pushing us to do this."
The officer then accused Hinson of breaking the law and puts him in handcuffs.
Civil rights attorney Brandon Grable told KENS 5 his client was wrongfully detained for nearly half an hour.
"It was going to rain the next day, so I thought, 'Why not create a piece of art for people to look at?'" said Hinson about that May day. "I was almost done. It was basically a bunch of circles that I made free-hand. As I was working on it, the officers approached me. I interacted with the police before and I know what I'm doing isn't illegal.
"Within a minute of them saying their first word to me, they were putting me in cuffs," he continued. "It's very frustrating. Whenever you know you’re in the right, and you’ve seen it happen over and over and over again, it’s like, ‘OK, something needs to be said. Something needs to be done.'”
On July 14, Grable filed a complaint with the City of Leon Valley, threatening legal action. Just five days later, a settlement was reached, according to Grable.
“That money, it’s not coming from the officer at all," said Hinson. "It’s not like that officer is feeling too much of that punishment. What saddens me is that money comes from the taxpayers, and Leon Valley has quite the reputation for these wrongful arrests. I can’t imagine how many lawsuits and settlements there are.”
Grable says he has represented people in a handful of cases against the City of Leon Valley.
"It comes down to a training issue," said Grable. "Leon Valley police officers continue to ignore citizen's First Amendment rights. They escalate situations, and we hope this settlement inspires change in their law enforcement practices."
Hinson says he did receive an apology from the city.
KENS 5 reached out to Leon Valley for comment. We are waiting to hear back.