The opinion
Case: 25-40106 Document: 75-1 Page: 1 Date Filed: 01/07/2026
United States Court of Appeals
for the Fifth Circuit United States Court of Appeals
____________ Fifth Circuit
FILED
No. 25-40106 January 7, 2026
____________ Lyle W. Cayce
Clerk
Yoni Orli Perdomo,
Plaintiff—Appellant,
versus
City of League City, Texas; City of League City Police
Department; Trevor Rector, Officer; Tanner Surrat,
Officer,
Defendants—Appellees.
______________________________
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Texas
USDC No. 3:24-CV-129
______________________________
Before Jones and Engelhardt, Circuit Judges, and Summerhays,
District Judge. *
Edith H. Jones, Circuit Judge:
After Plaintiff-Appellant Yoni Perdomo repeatedly slammed his body
into Defendant-Appellee Officer Rector, Officer Trevor Rector tackled
Perdomo to the ground. Perdomo sustained serious injuries when his head
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*
United States District Judge for the Western District of Louisiana, sitting by
designation.
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hit a concrete sidewalk during the tackle. Based on video evidence depicting
Perdomo as aggressive, rather than compliant, in the moments before the
injury, the district court dismissed Perdomo’s complaint against the Officers,
concluding that the defendant Officers acted reasonably and were entitled to
qualified immunity. Because we agree that the Officers acted reasonably
under the alleged circumstances, we AFFIRM.
BACKGROUND
In May 2022, Yoni Perdomo worked as a subcontractor on a
residential remodeling in League City, Texas. The general contractor on the
project terminated Perdomo’s employment in the middle of the project.
After his termination, Perdomo returned to the project site, allegedly to
retrieve his tools and some unpaid wages. When the general contractor
refused to tender payment to Perdomo and demanded that Perdomo stop
trespassing on the property, Perdomo called the police. Officers Trevor
Rector and Tanner Surrat (“the Officers”), the Defendant-Appellees,
arrived at the scene shortly thereafter.
After briefly speaking with the general contractor, who requested that
the Officers remove Perdomo from the property, Officer Rector approached
Perdomo and offered to give Perdomo a ride away from the property.
Perdomo ignored the offer. Following a brief exchange during which Officer
Rector insulted Perdomo and Perdomo became increasingly frustrated,
Officer Rector warned Perdomo that he would go to jail if he returned to the
property. According to body camera footage of the incident, Perdomo
responded by saying “Ok, go to jail,” before putting his hands behind his
back, turning around, and slamming his back twice into Officer Rector’s
chest. Perdomo’s amended complaint and briefing characterize this behavior
as “compliant” or “submissive.”
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After the second time Perdomo made contact with Officer Rector,
Officer Rector tackled Perdomo to the ground. During the tackle, Perdomo
hit his forehead on the concrete sidewalk. Perdomo began to convulse and
bleed from his right ear. When the Officers observed Perdomo’s condition,
they called an ambulance within a few seconds and moved Perdomo from the
sidewalk to a nearby patch of grass. Thirteen minutes later, an ambulance
arrived and took Perdomo to the hospital. Perdomo alleges that, as a result
of his injury, he suffered a stroke, contusions, and several other lasting
injuries.
Perdomo filed suit in federal court against Officer Rector, Officer
Surratt, the League City Police Department, and the City of League City,
bringing a collection of claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and state law. The
district court dismissed all of Perdomo’s claims under Fed. Rule Civ. Proc.
12(b)(6). The court found that the body camera footage blatantly
contradicted Perdomo’s account of the facts and that, based on the events
depicted in the video, qualified immunity shielded the Officers from liability.
Perdomo timely appealed.
STANDARD OF REVIEW
This court reviews Rule 12(b)(6) motions to dismiss de novo, accepting
well-pleaded factual allegations as true and drawing reasonable inferences in
the light most favorable to the plaintiff. White v. U.S. Corr., L.L.C., 996 F.3d
302, 306 (5th Cir. 2021). “To survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint must
contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to state a claim to relief
that is plausible on its face.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S. Ct.
1937, 1949 (2009) (internal quotation marks omitted). A reviewing court
need not accept “conclusory allegations, unwarranted factual inferences, or
legal conclusions.” Heinze v. Tesco Corp., 971 F.3d 475, 479 (5th Cir. 2020)
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(quoting In re Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co., 624 F.3d 201, 210 (5th Cir.
2010)). Courts may also reject a plaintiff’s allegations if video evidence
attached to the pleadings “blatantly contradict[s] those allegations.”
Harmon v. City of Arlington, 16 F.4th 1159, 1163 (5th Cir. 2021) (internal
quotation marks omitted) (quoting Scott v. Harris, 550 U.S. 372, 380, 127 S.
Ct. 1769, 1776 (2007)).
DISCUSSION
Before reviewing Perdomo’s claims, this court considers whether
Perdomo’s factual allegations align with the video evidence. They do not.
Perdomo contends that, in the moments before Officer Rector tackled him,
he “briskly walked backward” and “made incidental contact” with Officer
Rector while behaving in a “submissive” and “compliant” manner.
description deviates significantly from the events captured on video. As the
district court observed in rejecting Perdomo’s allegations, the video evidence
shows a “visibly aggravated Perdomo place[] his hands behind his back
unprompted, turn[], and slam[] the back of his shoulder into [Officer]
Rector’s chest twice, knocking [Officer] Rector backward.” Perdomo’s
conduct in the video appears to be neither “submissive” nor “compliant,”
so like the district court, this court concludes that the video evidence
blatantly contradicts Perdomo’s complaint. 1
Having rejected Perdomo’s factual allegations in favor of the video
evidence, disposing of Perdomo’s claims is straightforward. Against the
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1
Perdomo suggests that the video is “ambiguous” because his back obscures the
video feed for five seconds after Perdomo makes contact with Officer Rector. But neither
party disputes what happened during that five-second period. Both sides agree that Officer
Rector bear-hugged Perdomo and tackled him to the ground. The parties only disagree
about the moments leading up to the tackle, and the video is unobscured during that period.
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Officers, Perdomo asserts claims for excessive force, false arrest,
unreasonable seizure, deliberate indifference to medical needs, and assault.
He further alleges that liability should extend to the City and the Police
Department based on Monell v. Department of Social Services, 436 U.S. 658,
98 S. Ct. 2018 (1978), and the City’s ratification of the Officers’ conduct.
Finally, Perdomo raises claims for negligence per se and malicious
prosecution against the City, the Police Department, and the Officers. We
review each set of claims in turn.
Perdomo’s several claims against Officer Rector and Officer Surratt
run headlong into qualified immunity. To overcome an officer’s qualified
immunity defense, a plaintiff “must allege facts showing that the officer[]
(1)‘violated a statutory or constitutional right, and (2) that the right was
clearly established at the time of the challenged conduct.’” Templeton v.
Jarmillo, 28 F.4th 618, 621 (5th Cir. 2022) (quoting Ashcroft v. al-Kidd, 563
U.S. 731, 735, 131 S. Ct. 2074, 2080 (2011)). The plaintiff alone bears the
burden of refuting qualified immunity. See Jackson v. City of Hearne, 959 F.3d
194, 201 (5th Cir. 2020).
Perdomo fails to successfully allege that the Officers violated his
statutory or constitutional rights. 2 A plaintiff suing for excessive force must
allege “(1) an injury[,] (2) which resulted directly and only from a use of force
that was clearly excessive, and (3) the excessiveness of which was clearly
unreasonable.” Ontiveros v. City of Rosenberg, 564 F.3d 379, 382 (5th Cir.
2009) (quoting Freeman v. Gore, 483 F.3d 404, 416 (5th Cir. 2007)). In
determining whether force was excessive, courts conduct a case-specific
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2
Because this court concludes that Perdomo’s allegations do not demonstrate any
violation of law, clearly established or otherwise, we do not reach the clearly established
law prong of qualified immunity. See Pearson v. Callahan, 555 U.S. 223, 236, 129 S. Ct. 808,
818 (2009).
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inquiry that considers “the severity of the crime at issue, whether the suspect
poses an immediate threat to the safety of the officers or others, and whether
he is actively resisting arrest.” Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386, 396, 109
S. Ct. 1865, 1872 (1989). As the district court observed, Perdomo’s forceful
contact with Officer Rector constituted felony assault. Thus, all three of the
Graham factors support the reasonableness of the Officers’ actions.
Perdomo was engaged in a felony, threatened the safety of the Officers, and
was not acting in a compliant manner. 3 Moreover, the entire incident, from
the moment Perdomo first pushed his shoulders into Officer Rector to the
moment Perdomo became visible on the ground, lasted five seconds. The
brevity of the encounter left Officer Rector with no time to pursue
alternatives or gauge the risk that Perdomo posed. 4 Perdomo has not
successfully alleged that the Officers used excessive force.
Nor has Perdomo adequately alleged that the Officers conducted a
false arrest or unreasonable seizure. The Fourth Amendment permits arrests
supported by probable cause. See Glenn v. City of Tyler, 242 F.3d 307, 313
(5th Cir. 2001). The Officers had probable cause to believe that Perdomo
had committed felony assault or had unlawfully interfered with a police
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3
Reaching beyond the Graham factors, Perdomo asserts that the Officers knew that
Perdomo suffered from a mental health problem and thus should have tried to deescalate
the encounter. The record does not support this assertion. The complaint never alleges
that the Officers were forewarned about Perdomo’s mental health, and the video evidence
also does not depict the Officers receiving any such warning until after tackling Perdomo.
4
Because Officer Rector acted reasonably, Perdomo’s claim against Officer Surratt
for bystander liability fails. A plaintiff arguing bystander liability must show that an officer
“(1) knows that a fellow officer is violating an individual’s constitutional rights; (2) has a
reasonable opportunity to prevent the harm; and (3) chooses not to act.” Whitley v. Hanna,
726 F.3d 631, 646 (5th Cir. 2013) (quoting Randall v. Prince George’s Cnty., 302 F.3d 188,
204 (4th Cir. 2002)). Here, Perdomo has failed to adequately allege that Officer Rector
violated his rights. Officer Surratt had no obligation to intervene to stop Officer Rector
from lawfully subduing Perdomo.
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officer because they witnessed Perdomo commit those offenses. Based on
that probable cause, the Officers were entitled to arrest or seize Perdomo. 5
Next, Perdomo contends that the Officers improperly denied him
medical care under the Fourteenth Amendment. To properly state such a
claim, Perdomo must allege facts showing that officers acted with deliberate
indifference to his medical needs. See Austin v. City of Pasadena, 74 F.4th
312, 327–28 (5th Cir. 2023). Showing deliberate indifference entails alleging
that (1) an “official was aware of facts from which the inference could be
drawn that a substantial risk of serious harm exists, and (2) the official
actually drew that inference.” Id. at 328 (internal quotation marks omitted)
(quoting Domino v. Tex. Dep’t of Crim. Just., 239 F.3d 752, 756 (5th Cir.
2001)). Perdomo fails to plausibly allege that these elements were present
here. The Officers called an ambulance almost immediately upon observing
Perdomo’s injuries, and the ambulance arrived only a few minutes later.
While awaiting the ambulance, the Officers did move Perdomo a few feet,
which supposedly risked aggravating Perdomo’s head injury. than
conclusory allegations that these risks were “obvious,” Perdomo alleges no
specific facts indicating that the Officers were aware of these risks. Because
awareness is a precondition to deliberate indifference, Perdomo has not
sufficiently pled that the Officers acted with deliberate indifference.
The lawfulness of the Officers’ conduct also defeats Perdomo’s
Monell and ratification claims. When a municipality’s or police department’s
official policy or custom is the moving force behind a constitutional violation,
the municipality may face liability under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Monell, 436 U.S.
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5
The same reasoning defeats Perdomo’s malicious prosecution claim. A plaintiff
can prevail on a malicious prosecution claim only if the prosecution was instituted without
probable cause. Armstrong v. Ashley, 60 F.4th 262, 278 (5th Cir. 2023). That probable
cause existed here makes it impossible for Perdomo to satisfy this element.
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at 694–95, 98 S. Ct. at 2038. Alternatively, a city can face liability if it
endorses a constitutional violation. Young v. Bd. of Supervisors, 927 F.3d 898,
903 (5th Cir. 2019). But a city cannot be liable for causing or endorsing a
violation if no violation occurred. No violation occurred here, so the City and
the Police Department are not liable under these theories.
Finally, Perdomo’s state law claims for assault and negligence do not
overcome the Defendant-Appellees’ immunity. The Officers benefit from
immunity because “[o]fficial immunity in Texas is substantially the same as
qualified immunity under federal law.” 6 Hart v. O'Brien, 127 F.3d 424, 450
(5th Cir. 1997). The Officers’ objectively reasonable actions, undertaken in
good faith, easily trigger official immunity here. Immunity also shields
League City and the Police Department from liability. Texas governmental
units do not waive immunity for claims “arising out of assault, battery, false
imprisonment, or any other intentional tort.” Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem.
Code § 101.057. Perdomo attempts to frame his claim as a negligence claim,
but Texas state courts have held that when an excessive force claim arises
from a lawful arrest, “the claim is for battery alone.” City of Watauga v.
Gordon, 434 S.W.3d 586, 593 (Tex. 2014) (explaining that excessive force
claims “in the context of a lawful arrest arise out of battery,” not negligence).
As a result, governmental immunity applies, and the claim fails.
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6
State immunity substitutes a “good faith” requirement for federal immunity’s
“clearly established law” requirement. Hart v. O’Brien, 127 F.3d 424, 450 (5th Cir. 1997).
Nothing in the record suggests that the Officers acted in bad faith, so state immunity applies
with equal force as qualified immunity.
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CONCLUSION
Based on the events described in Perdomo’s allegations and depicted
in the video footage, Officer Rector’s split-second decision to subdue a
noncompliant Perdomo did not violate Perdomo’s rights. We AFFIRM.
9