TEMPLE, Texas (Oct. 7, 2026) – Nationally renowned civil rights and personal injury attorneys Ben Crump and Ven Johnson filed a federal civil rights lawsuit on behalf of Billy Gordon’s estate. Gordon, 43, died in 2024 after a Temple police officer deployed his TASER on Gordon four times during a mental health and substance-induced crisis. The lawsuit names Cpl. Timothy J. Lawrence, Officer William Nasser and the City of Temple as defendants.
According to the complaint, a friend called 911 asking for an ambulance, and the dispatcher confirmed Billy was unarmed. The complaint states that Lawrence deployed his TASER three times in a span of 17 seconds, beginning less than a minute after officers entered the apartment. The complaint alleges that Lawrence deployed the TASER a fourth time while Billy lay face down, partially handcuffed, silent and motionless, with his left arm trapped beneath his body. The medical examiner ruled Billy’s death a homicide.
The lawsuit also alleges that Nasser used excessive force by physically restraining Billy face down and failed to intervene as Lawrence repeatedly deployed his TASER, and that the City of Temple failed to properly train its officers to respond to people in mental health crises. According to the complaint, the family’s requests for the officers’ body camera footage were denied.
Attorneys Crump and Johnson released the following joint statement:
“Billy needed an ambulance, but instead he was shocked with a TASER four times in less than two minutes. Before the fourth deployment, he was face down and motionless, and the officer pulled the trigger anyway. His sister, Stacy, has waited two years for anyone to answer for her brother’s death. A mental health emergency should NEVER be a death sentence, and we intend to hold these officers and the City of Temple accountable for this unnecessary loss.”
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ABOUT BEN CRUMP LAW
Through his work, nationally renowned civil rights and personal injury attorney Ben Crump has spearheaded a legal movement to better protect the rights of marginalized citizens. He has led landscape-changing civil rights cases and represented clients in a wide range of areas including civil rights, personal injury, labor and employment, class actions, and more. Ben Crump Law is dedicated to holding the powerful accountable. For more information, visit bencrump.com.
About Ven Johnson Law, PLC
Ven Johnson has worked on many of the most notable personal injury cases in America, winning jury verdicts and settlements totaling more than $1 billion. The firm’s practice areas include product liability, trucking negligence, automobile negligence, civil rights, police misconduct, premises liability, medical malpractice and many more. For more information, visit www.venjohnsonlaw.com.
