SAN ANTONIO – A woman who was shot outside the Dub Farris Athletic Complex has filed a lawsuit against the Northside Independent School District and two of the district’s officers involved in the incident.
The lawsuit, which was filed on Friday, accuses Northside ISD, NISD Officer Kyle Kennedy, and NISD Officer Joseph Garcia of unreasonable use of deadly force.
The shooting happened around 1:30 p.m. on Oct. 28, 2023, at Farris Stadium, just before a high school football game between O’Connor High School and Sotomayor High School.
The woman, Markay Garcia, attempted to park her vehicle when Officer Kennedy and Officer Garcia addressed her.
On the day of the shooting, NISD assistant superintendent of communications Barry Perez said Garcia became “aggressive and belligerent” toward one of the officers. An incident report from the district said she attempted to drive away, dragging Officer Garcia. That is when the district said Officer Kennedy shot her.
The district said Garcia was shot once in her arm. She was then transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The actions of the officers caused Garcia to be severely wounded, which violates her rights under the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution, the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit alleges that Northside ISD officials made the incident possible when the district hired Officer Kennedy despite numerous wrongdoings when he worked in the Live Oak Police Department.
On the day of the shooting, Garcia arrived at the Dub Farris Athletic Complex to watch the O’Connor-Sotomayor football game. The lawsuit said her husband is an assistant coach for the Sotomayor football team.
Garcia attempted to park her vehicle at the athletic complex. The lawsuit said she stopped behind other cars in front of a crosswalk. She observed the vehicles go through the crosswalk without being stopped by Northside ISD officers.
When Garcia tried to proceed through the crosswalk, Officer Kennedy positioned himself in front of her vehicle, the lawsuit said. This caused Garcia to stop her car even though no one was using the crosswalk, the lawsuit said.
At the same time, Officer Garcia moved to the passenger side of Garcia’s vehicle and yelled at her to “calm down,” according to the lawsuit.
Garcia did not think there was a reason for the officers to stop her vehicle. The lawsuit said the officers also did not provide further instructions when stopping Garcia, which prompted her to move her vehicle forward slowly.
When Garcia tried to drive around Officer Kennedy, the lawsuit stated that he repositioned himself to block Garcia’s vehicle from passing through. Officer Garcia then approached Garcia’s vehicle from the driver’s side and yelled at her to, “Get out of the vehicle.”
The lawsuit said Garcia responded to the officers by saying she just wanted to watch her husband’s football game. Officer Kennedy also began yelling at Garcia before throwing his water bottle to the ground and positioning his hand on his service firearm, according to the lawsuit.
Officer Garcia then reached inside of Garcia’s vehicle, and Officer Kennedy moved towards the driver’s side window. The lawsuit said Officer Garcia’s movement caused Garcia to release her foot from the brake pedal, and her vehicle moved forward slightly.
As Officer Kennedy approached the driver-side of Garcia’s vehicle, she pressed the brake pedal to prevent the vehicle from moving forward. At this point, the lawsuit said Officer Kennedy retrieved his firearm and fired a shot toward Garcia’s driver’s side window.
The bullet punctured through Garcia’s arm, shattered her humerus, damaged her triceps, and caused permanent nerve damage, the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit argues that Officer Kennedy did not try to use less lethal force and immediately turned to deadly force against Garcia.
Officer Kennedy and Officer Garcia’s use of deadly force violated Garcia’s constitutional rights under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments, the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit argues that Officer Garcia had the opportunity to stop the unconstitutional use of deadly force by Officer Kennedy but chose not to act. According to the lawsuit, Officer Garcia’s choice not to act contributed to Officer Kennedy’s use of deadly force.
The lawsuit also argues that the Northside ISD failed to properly hire Officer Kennedy, which contributed to Garcia being unlawfully detained and shot.
As a result of Garcia’s injuries she suffered and the constitutional violations, she seeks compensation and demands a jury trial, the lawsuit said.
KSAT reached out to Northside ISD on Saturday for a comment on the lawsuit against the district but has not yet heard back.