A settlement has been reached in the lawsuit from plaintiffs former state Sen. Wendy Davis, Timothy Holloway, David Gins and Eric Cervini against Chase Stapp, Brandon Winkenwerder, Matthew Daenzer and the city of San Marcos over the “Trump Train” incident from Oct. 30, 2020, on I-35.
How we got here
On the day in question, the four plaintiffs were on a Joe Biden-Kamala Harris campaign bus, just over a week before the presidential election, traveling along I-35 to an event at Texas State University in San Marcos. During the drive, several Donald Trump supporters surrounded, swerved into and tried to slow down the bus.
The lawsuit alleges the San Marcos Police Department and Director of Public Safety Chase Stapp failed to respond to the escalating incident of intimidation and harassment, which the four plaintiffs said resulted in ongoing psychological and emotional injuries.
The lawsuit also alleged the city of San Marcos violated the federal Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, which aims to protect civil and political rights of any individual through the federal government.
What you need to know
The city issued a statement Oct. 20 on behalf of City Manager Stephanie Reyes regarding the lawsuit and the subsequent settlement reached earlier last week.
“While the city of San Marcos continues to deny many of the allegations in the lawsuit, the city of San Marcos Police Department’s response did not reflect the department’s high standards and attention to duty,” the statement reads.
The city and the city’s risk pool carrier, Texas Municipal League Intergovernmental Risk Pool, will be splitting the cost for the $175,000 settlement.
“The city regrets that Me. Cervini, Ms. Davis, Mr. Gins and Mr. Holloway had this unfortunate experience while traveling through the city of San Marcos,” the statement reads.
What else?
Aside from the financial settlement, the police department will be required to undergo additional training by July 2024 wherein attendance is mandatory and will be offered multiple times to ensure all employees are able to attend.
The training course will cover topics including:
- Psychology of procedural law
- Building public trust
- Understanding cognitive dissonance
- Responding to political violence and voter intimidation
“Following this event, the city of San Marcos Police Department has been committed to improving its operations,” the statement reads. “To further its ongoing commitment, all members of the police department, both sworn and professional staff, will attend training in the coming weeks.”
