Posted on 07/05/2010 9:43:09 AM PDT by TheMom
It was about 6:00pm on June 22, 2010 when Robert Threadgill, 80-year-old former member of the 1970's singing group “The Threadgills”, had realized that he forgot his fishing pole at a nearby community-property creek called Woodcreek behind his condo where he fished often and had walked over to retrieve it. While there, still on a community property section of lawn, Mr. Threadgill apparently got into a minor verbal dispute with an employee of a Cypress Creek Falls Lodge, who was on another side of a fence next to their property, about debris those employees would throw into the creek.
The Cypress Creek employee apparently called the Hays County Sheriff’s Department after the dispute and apparently reported that Threadgill was trespassing even though he never crossed the tall fence that separates the properties. Four Hays County deputies arrived in response to the call and, Threadgill claims, when he saw the deputies talking with the employee he walked over and asked them to come over to his side of the fence so he could explain what the dispute was about.
However, when the deputies crossed over they immediately told him that he was trespassing, even though he was still on the opposite side of the fence. At this point Mr. Threadgill’s son, Stephen, began to walk over to see what was going on when his father told him everything was fine and to just go back to the house. At that point, things took a strange turn for the worst when two deputies allegedly tackled Mr. Threadgill to the ground, grinding their knees into his back and his head while another deputy approached Stephen, as he was walking back towards the house, and apparently hit him from behind with a baton and knocked him unconscious.
A neighbor, who witnessed the incident, confirmed that he saw two deputies throw the 80-year-old Threadgill to the ground then jump on his head and back while wrenching his arms behind him until Threadgill screamed out in pain. He then looked over to see Stephen unconscious on the ground with two other deputies handcuffing him.
The neighbor then claims that he watched as the deputies dragged both Stephen and Robert then threw both of them between rungs in the fence so that they both landed face-first on to the pavement on the opposite side while their hands were still cuffed behind them. He says that they then dragged Stephen about 70 yards, while still unconscious, across an asphalt parking lot until his knees were skinned to the bone. The elder Threadgill claims that deputies told him he was resisting since he couldn’t get his feet underneath him fast enough as they dragged him along the ground as well.
While deputies tossed Threadgill and his son into patrol cars Robert’s wife was trying to tell her husband that she was calling their other son when she too was threatened with arrest. However, before deputies could leave, two Fire Dept EMTs, who weren’t called but were nearby and decided to stop, examined the two and informed the deputies that they had to be taken to the hospital before taken into custody due to their injuries, especially since the younger Threadgill was still unresponsive.
While no charges were placed against Stephen, who suffered a concussion, broken ankle, as well as back and rib injuries, a warrant has been filed for Robert Threadgill on a stand-alone resisting arrest charge while he has been recovering from a shoulder injury, that will require surgery to repair, in addition to injuries to his face and leg… but, so far, neither have been cited for trespassing.
The neighbor who witnessed the incident says he is “horrified that this could happen in a quiet little town” and that “there was no violence or threats until police arrived and, even then, the only violence done was by the four deputies.” Threadgill’s daughter says she’s worried since her dad now has to pay $1,000 bond on the resisting charge and lives on a fixed income.
The Hays County Sheriff’s Office has not responded to requests for more information about the incident from Robert’s daughter. She has posted the story on her Facebook page devoted to Domestic Violence issues and we agreed to re-post the story to make it public after she told us about it.
I was a juror in a criminal trial and we almost let a flasher/pedophile go because there wasn't a YouTube video of the entire incident.
Not really, because of "from the account" we put the POS in prison for the max of six years. We found out later that he had prior convictions and additional pending charges.
I sure am glad we didn't "require" a video to do our duty and jail this menace.
Were the deputies hispanic?
From the names, I'd say no . . . Officers Bain, Long, Smith and Ayrs
Did you base your decision on somebody’s blog post or the evidence at trial?
In no way has anything “from the account” been verified or even formally investigated—at least as can be gathered from this post.
The fact that no trespassing charges have been filed is very telling.
Diving pig. There would not be anything unusual or particularly entertaining about swimming pig.
Never caught his act, but saw the signs along I-35 for years. A causality of the environmental wackos.
Heard back from one of Mr. Threadgill’s children, her response was, “of course, we are closely related, he’s dad’s cousin.”.
As a juror I based my decision on witness accounts and was right to send a POS to prison.
As a FReeper I am basing my non-binding opinion on witness accounts, physical evidence and logic.
In neither circumstance was it based on “wishes” or belief in unicorns crapping Skittles.
What evidence? This is a third hand account in a blog.
Used to go stay weekends at the hotel at Aquarena Springs, and do the do..ride the cablecar, watch the chickens that played the piano, and basketball, enjoyed Ralph, and the Mermaid show.
I was really sad to see the Snail Darter taking over such a great place.
Don’t worry about a thing. Internal affairs is on this like stink on a camel.
Internal affairs always gets to the truth of the matter.
“these fine deputies are just fine tuning their training for when “the WON” declares Martial Law and they start rounding up all us Tea Party Terrorists for the internment camps.”
Seriously, they won’t last ten minutes in such a scenario, despite their ‘heroic’ dreams.
Explain a reason for cops to attack an 80 year old? If the cops were in the right, why are there no trespassing charges filed?
If you like I can direct you to one of Mr. Threadgill’s daughter’s Facebook page. It has the the daughters second hand account, the witness statement, Mr. Threadgill’s statement and a few more pictures.
Great video! Mr. Threadgill is a legend and was an all around good guy! It’s a rotten shame this happened to his son and grandson. If what happened is true, these cops belong under the jail.
No, see post# 34.
It is indeed a bit more than that to me.
See, YOU are the one believing in unicorns based on what is to YOU a third hand account in a blog.
Everybody seems to be under the impression that I’m disputing this. Not true.
I’m saying that based on the posting on Free Republic there is precious little to go on. I’m not calling anyone a liar or saying that this didn’t happen.
I am saying that this is very different from my limited experiences with Hays County deputies. What that means is that I would like to see something other than UNVERIFIED accounts before rushing to judgement.
I have read the FB page and seen the pictures. I have no reason to doubt it. Nor do I have a reason to believe it to be true. Seeing as how this is a very serious criminal matter I don’t see why so many people have a problem with waiting for at least some verification and corroboration from someone who is not immediately involved or directly related to those involved.
When this started, the FB page was unknown to me and was not referenced in any way by you. You are taking advantage of information that has appeared to you after the fact to try and bolster your arguments. That still doesn’t change the incorrectness of your statements based on the facts as then known.
Having seen the additional information, however, doesn’t change the fact that so far everything presented is ALL FROM ONE SIDE.
I DO NOT DISPUTE THE TRUTH OF THE STATEMENTS, just that making a judgement (as many of you have) before other evidence is presented (much less analyzed) is irrational.
I will speak personally for the Sheriff, Tommy is about an upstanding individual as there can be in LE.
I find this, from Austin, interesting.
The new trend in excessive force cases?
Police “beat” mentally retarded man in Austin Texas...police video
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=b06_1197163849
Friday, December 07, 2007
An officer who was fired last year after investigators said he used excessive force on a man with mental retardation has won his job back.
An arbitrator overturned the firing, saying officer Gary Griffi More..n “did momentarily cross the line into the use of excessive force” in the July 1, 2006, incident at a bus stop on East Seventh Street, where he tried to wake Joseph Cruz, 24.
“However, these few blows, although patently unnecessary, were never proven to be anything more sinister than gross negligence,” Don Hays said in a ruling released Thursday. “There is absolutely no evidence in our record that officer Griffin’s reactions were ever motivated by any malice or bias.”
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