Family files lawsuit against Katy ISD after student hit with stun gun multiple times

KATY, Texas (KTRK) -- The family of a Katy ISD student shot multiple times with a stun gun has filed a lawsuit against the school district.

Body camera video shows 17-year-old Jevon Washington trying to leave Mayde Creek High School after getting frustrated in class.

It happened in November 2016.

The teen says he was attempting to go outside of the school to "blow off some steam, but a male school official blocked him, asking him over and over why he wanted to leave."

The video shows the teen opening the door as a Katy ISD officer appears to hold him back and then tase him, afterward yelling at the teen with profanity saying, "Don't you move God d*** it."

The officer is then seen holding the taser to the teen's head while saying, "I did not want to tase you, but you don't run s***here."

Jevon's mother, Lori Washington, tells Eyewitness News she spent the last year and a half trying to get answers from the school and the district.

"This was not necessary, it was excessive force," she said.

In the video, you can hear the officer explain why he used the stun gun.

"I jumped in, he still tried to get out the door, Molina jumped in, he still tried to get out the door, I got tired of wrestling with him so I popped him."

His mother tells us the trauma caused her son urinate and defecate on himself. In the video you can see the teen throw-up while being handcuffed on the ground.

She explained he has trouble communicating when he's upset and wants to know why the officer used the Taser instead of trying to de-escalate the situation.

"He has nightmares. Every so often you hear him hollering don't tase me, or stop it. We have to wake him up out of his sleep," said Washington.

Eyewitness News asked Katy ISD for their use of force policy and if there was any internal investigation.

Katy ISD released the following statement:

"As is the case with many legal matters, the district is not in the position to comment on pending litigation. However, the safety of all of our students is our number one priority as we focus on creating environments conducive to learning and personal growth."

Washington said because the district will not explain what happened in the classroom that led up to this traumatic situation, she is worried it could happen again.

"And I'm not saying that everybody in Katy ISD is bad people, I just say this situation was handled wrongly and I want it corrected because I don't want to see any other child or parent go through what I went through," she added.