COUPLE SUE HARRIS COUNTY SHERIFF, CLAIM LIBEL OVER ARREST

A Katy woman and her husband have filed a libel suit against Harris
County Sheriff Tommy Thomas, claiming he damaged their reputations in
a published letter saying the woman was intoxicated.

Vonessa Beaird, 40, had been arrested in front of her house for
driving while intoxicated, but the charge was later dismissed.

Beaird and her husband, John, have also formed a citizens committee
demanding Thomas' resignation.

Capt. Don McWilliams of the Sheriff's Department said Thomas would not
comment because he has yet to see the lawsuit.

The $5 million lawsuit stems from an incident that happened about
midnight March 17, outside the couple's house in the Kelliwood
subdivision, a gated community.

According to the suit, Beaird and her husband were in separate
vehicles returning home when she passed Deputy J.K. Burton, sitting in
his patrol car.

The deputy followed Beaird into her driveway and arrested
her.

Her husband then pulled up at about the same time and asked Burton
what was happening.

The suit claims that Burton responded, "Shut the ---- up or I'll
arrest you for interfering with an investigation."

The Beairds allege that Burton then threw her to the ground, injuring
her shoulder and arm.

She was then taken to the Clay Road substation and held for five
hours.

The lawsuit claims Beaird was not allowed to call an attorney or use
the restroom, and that her wrists became so swollen from the handcuffs
that bolt cutters had to be used to cut them off.

She refused to take a breath test and was later transferred to the
Harris County Jail, where she was released about 1:30 p.m. She was
charged with driving while intoxicated.

One of the Beairds' attorneys, Rebecca Hamilton, said that in her
opinion the videotape that was made of her detainment shows a sober,
frightened woman.

"This woman is as harmless as a fly. What happened to her was
ridiculous," Hamilton said.

The DWI charge against Beaird was dismissed May 27, because the entire
episode took place on private property, said Chuck Noll of the Harris
County District Attorney's office.

Noll said the streets of the subdivision are private roads that were
paid for and are maintained by the residents of that
subdivision.

"Under our DWI law you have to be on a public roadway in order to be
guilty of a DWI. So in this case we couldn't even get to first base
with our facts and had to dismiss it," he said.

"The officer apparently wasn't aware of that situation," Noll
added.

He said the issue of intoxication became irrelevant after it was
determined the incident occurred on private property.

Noll said the definition of public roadways is sometimes confusing,
but is generally considered to be roads and parking lots open to the
general public.

He said the situation involving Beaird is "more akin to someone
driving a car on ranch property."

Following the arrest, a group of Katy residents called the Citizens
for Oversight Committee, placed an ad in the April 25 Katy Times
describing the arrest of Beaird, saying it was illegal and that she
had been physically abused by the deputy.

Sheriff Thomas responded with a letter to that newspaper, published
May 2, in which he stated an internal investigation found no evidence
of excessive force or wrongdoing on Burton's part.

"Mrs Beaird was videotaped less than two hours after her arrest, still
clearly in a state of alcohol-induced impairment," Thomas said.

In another part of the letter Thomas wrote, "Mr. Beaird's problem
seems to center on the fact his wife almost, but not quite, made it
home ahead of the police after allegedly having had too much to drink.
Given that this was not a new experience for them, I can understand
his inclination to look for someone else to blame."

Thomas' letter to the newspaper stated that the internal investigation
into the incident showed no wrongdoing, but the lawsuit claims that
investigators with the internal affairs unit had not completed their
probe yet.

Thomas wrote that Beaird drove by Burton at a high rate of speed and
passed within one foot of his patrol car. He said Burton was
responding to an alarm call at the time.

Attorney Hamilton said Thomas' assertation that this is "nothing new
for them," implies that both of them were intoxicated.

"She drinks infrequently and Mr. Beaird does not drink," she
said.

Hamilton said Beaird was arrested 10 years ago for DWI, but has not
had a traffic offense since then.

Meanwhile, the Citizens for Oversight Committee, which has about 12
full-time members and numerous volunteers, is calling for Thomas'
resignation.

A member of the committee, Jill Maurer, said the Beaird case is an
example of how police and government can infringe upon individual rights.

"We have got to put a stop to his kind of conduct," she said. "They
are making war on citizens."