Lawsuit alleges Texas police officer paralyzed man in jail

BEAUMONT, Texas (AP) — A man has filed a lawsuit accusing a Texas police officer of using excessive force while restraining him in jail and inflicting injuries that left him paralyzed from the chest down. The lawsuit filed Thursday on behalf of Christopher Shaw seeks unspecified damages from Beaumont police Officer James Thomas Gillen, the city, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and the jail’s medical contractor. According to the suit, Gillen arrested Shaw for suspected public intoxication and took him to the Jefferson County jail. There, the handcuffed Shaw refused commands. As jailers restrained him, Gillen body-slammed him to the floor, fracturing his spine. Beaumont’s city government didn’t immediately reply to a message seeking comment about the suit.