Marvin Louis Gay still sits behind bars tonight, nearly two and a half years after his arrest for the capital murder of a police officer. Gay was the victim of a no-knock raid. The drug war made its way to Marvin’s front door in the form of a SWAT team, performing a controversial no-knock raid. It was 5:30 in the morning and Gay armed himself, believing that someone was breaking into his home. He opened fire on the officers who were breaching his door and coming in through the windows. One officer was killed, three were wounded, and Gay ended up charged with capital murder.
A recent development in the case comes in the form of a civil rights violation lawsuit filed by Gay. The lawsuit attests that he did not actually ever shoot and kill the officer in question, identified as Detective Dinwiddie. According to the press release of the Killeen Police Department, “The TRU was beginning to breach the window when 49-year-old male inside, opened fire striking four officers.” According to Gay, this is not what happened. He alleges that the Detective was killed by “friendly fire.” In other words, the detective was killed by other officers in a hail of gun fire by police.
Gay’s lawsuit asks for the charges against him to be dismissed and that he be compensated for his time in jail. The lawsuit states that the SWAT team, “put me in fear of me and my family safety.” He also points out that a ban on “no-knock raids” by the department after the incident, is fundamentally an admission of guilt on the part of the agency, that these kinds of raids are reckless and pose a great danger to the safety of officers. The search was based on a tip that Gay was selling drugs, however, in usual fashion, no drugs were found. The non-existent drugs, however, took another life and may take Gay’s as well, as prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
The lawsuit claims that the detective was “shot by their fellow police officers in a crossfire of reckless and hostile police gunfire.” Little information has been brought forth in regards to the forensics in this case. With dozens of shots fired, small town Texas may have one hell of a time discerning one from the other. The failure to provide definitive forensic evidence that Gay fired the fatal shot will go a long way to help him, so the burden in civil court is far less than that of criminal court. Even if the civil jury finds the charges should be dismissed, it is unlikely that the prosecutor will honor their wishes. Legally, they are under no mandate to do so.
Another recent case in Texas, which has great implications for the racial bias involved in the Gay case, is that of Henry Goedrich Magee. Magee was also the victim of a no-knock raid in Somerville, Texas. A no-knock raid, also looking for marijuana, was served. Magee opened fire on the officers, killing a Burleson County Sergeant. The case was brought before a grand jury who in a shocking verdict, found that he was not responsible for the death. The prosecutor immediately dropped the capital murder charges that were filed against him. The only difference between the two cases is that Magee was white and Gay is black.
In the case of Henry Magee, prosecutors admitted after the fact that the case went forward with not enough evidence to convict. Texas has long held its own version of the castle doctrine — which allows for one to protect their home from unwanted intruders. With identical circumstances, it is difficult to see how the prosecutor can move forward on this case, as Magee has set a State precedent. The obvious racism that is inherit in the criminal justice system is demonstrated perfectly in the case of Marvin Louis Gay. No-knock raids have been outlawed in many states and individual departments. The danger they pose far outweighs the risk, considering according to the ACLU, the majority of no-knock raids end with no contraband located on the premises.
Gay had a new court date set in September 2016, however, no new docket information has been posted since his arraignment. His civil trial will most likely have to wait until his criminal charges are resolved.
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