A Black man who called the police after witnessing an alleged drunk driver leaving the scene of a crash and holding him for law enforcement was then arrested by the police and charged with impersonating law enforcement. The police officers then allowed the drunk driver to leave. A three-judge panel chastised the Houston Police Department for arresting the man.
According to The Houston Chronicle, a federal appeals court, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals rebuked the police department after they wrongly arrested Austin Hughes in 2019. The former police officer was working as a part-time security guard when he called 911 after seeing a drunk driver crash his vehicle and attempt to get away by running in traffic. He chased the driver and used handcuffs to restrain him until police officers arrived on the scene.
Instead of arresting the driver, the police officers let him go and then arrested Hughes on charges of impersonating law enforcement.
