Texas Man Sues Police Officers Who Pepper-Sprayed Him for Recording Arrest

A Texas man is suing two officers who pepper-sprayed and arrested him for recording his son’s arrest. Newly released video shows the incident.

Police car
Image via Getty
Police car

A North Texas man is suing two police officers who arrested and pepper-sprayed him while he was recording the arrest of his son.

Marco Puente came upon his 22-year-old son Dylan being handcuffed by officers in the Riverdance neighborhood of Keller, TX on Aug. 15. The younger Puente was arrested and ticketed for making a wide right turn. The officers accused Dylan of acting suspiciously, as he rolled his window up after being pulled over.


Marco Puente repeatedly asked the officers why his son was being arrested. They threatened him with arrest for obstructing the street with his truck. He moved his truck into a nearby driveway and then continued to ask questions and record the incident on his phone. Eventually, the officers handcuffed Marco Puente and pepper-sprayed him as he continued to ask the officers what they were doing.

The officers sprayed Puente in the face, removed his sunglasses and sprayed him again. Further videos reveal that the officers refused to help a screaming Puente. His eyes weren't washed until after he was brought to the local jail and left in the car for over 10 minutes.

Officers Ankit Tomer and Blake Shimanek are named in the suit. Shimanek was the officer arresting Dylan Puente and ordered Tomer to arrest the older Puente. Shimanek was demoted by the police department from sargeant after the incident. Tomer was not disciplined as he was following orders of his then-superior officer. Marco Puente's attorney called the incident chilling in an interview with WFAA.

"Marco is not a criminal. This is a man, a concerned father, and if this can happen to him, it can happen to anyone,” Palmer said. “These officers knew better. I believe they were trained better, but why did they not execute better? I don’t know."

Latest in Life