This story has been updated.

The civil rights lawsuit filed by Mathias Ometu, a Black man arrested after being misidentified by San Antonio police in August 2020, appears to be headed for mediation, but a trial date has been set for October.

Ometu, an insurance adjuster for USAA, was jogging in north San Antonio on Aug. 25, 2020 when police officers stopped him. They were searching for another Black man whose wife had reported a domestic violence incident.

Ometu declined to provide his name. Officers then handcuffed him, and kept him detained even after the wife clarified that her husband was wearing different colored clothing. Police eventually attempted to put Ometu in a police car, but he resisted and kicked two of the officers. Ometu was booked for assault of a peace officer, but Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales dropped the charges.

In Ometu’s lawsuit, originally filed in district court a year after he was arrested, he claims that police officers Richard Serna and Devin Day used excessive force, unlawful arrest, malicious prosecution, defamation and violent physical assault. Those actions deprived Ometu of his constitutional and civil rights, the lawsuit argues.

The lawsuit was moved to federal court, and in August 2022, Chief U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia ruled that Ometu could not pursue punitive damages against the city. Garcia allowed the rest of the case to move forward, meaning Ometu can still seek compensatory damages. The judge also dismissed SAPD Chief William McManus from the case in his official capacity as chief of police.

Punitive damages are considered punishment, typically awarded at the court’s discretion when a defendant’s behavior is considered especially harmful — unless this type of damage is not allowed by law, as Garcia stated in this case. Compensatory damages are awarded to a plaintiff for harm, injury or other losses caused by the defendant.

According to a scheduling order filed on Sept. 23, 2022, Ometu was to have made a written settlement offer to the city and police officers named in the suit by Nov. 7. A filing by Ometu’s attorney entered that day states that he had sent a “written offer of settlement to the plaintiffs” and agreed to mediation.

A filing by the city on the same day states that Ometu had not sent a settlement offer, but it too agreed to mediation, as did Serna and Day. According to the scheduling order, mediation must be complete by the end of June.

Over the past decade, the City of San Antonio has paid out more than $1.5 million to settle claims of police brutality and misconduct, according to the San Antonio Current.

Attorney Artessia House, who is representing Ometu, said Ometu was merely exercising that day without any idea that he “existed under a cloud of suspicion.”  

“On that day, he was arrested against his will,” she told the San Antonio Report in September 2021. “He was not permitted to go home as he expected. He was not permitted to return to work, as he expected. Going through something so traumatizing will forever change you as a person. Because the problem with an unjust system is that you could be doing the right thing.”

The lawsuit cites violations of the U.S. Constitution, including Ometu’s right against unreasonable seizures and his right to due process. In the lawsuit, House also argues that failure to properly screen or train officers led to Ometu’s wrongful arrest, and so the City of San Antonio and McManus are liable for the alleged civil rights violations.

In its response, the city denied the allegations, and argued that Ometu’s own “acts or omissions proximately caused or contributed to the incident,” and that “any use of force was reasonably necessary.” The city also claimed immunity and limited liability, based on the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code.

McManus defended the police department and the actions of its officers, writing that “the San Antonio Police Department has proper and constitutional policies and procedures for its police officers regarding the use of force and arrests.”

McManus also referred to Ometu’s refusal to provide his name to officers when asked, a point that House took issue with. He was out jogging and did not have his wallet with him, she said. 

“Without identification, would they have taken his word alone?” she asked.

Jackie Wang contributed to this report.