City of College Station addresses court filing related to deadly officer-involved shooting

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX) -The City of College Station is once again denying the claims put forth by the family of Mark Hopkins, a 22-year-old Blinn College student who lost his life during a police raid in February.

On February 8, 2023, at 6:00 a.m. police executed four warrants around the city seeking evidence of a drug operation. One of those locations was on Spring Loop and was home to Hopkins. According to court documents, police were targeting Abraham Escobar who they called a ‘high-level drug dealer’. Police said Escobar was dating Hopkins’s roommate, giving them reason to search the home. Hopkins was not a target of the operation.

The family said Hopkins and his girlfriend were asleep at the time of the raid and believed the noise was a burglary. The petition says his girlfriend hid in the closet while Hopkins grabbed a shotgun. This is where she states they heard no identification of it being police who then forced their way into the bedroom. Hopkin’s girlfriend said the shots were ‘instantaneous’.

Earlier this month, his family filed a petition against the city with the hopes of forcing them to turn over information and evidence related to his death and overall investigation.

In a press conference with College Station Police Chief Billy Couch in February, he said officers entered the home after announcing themselves and were met by Hopkins holding a shotgun. This is when he fired at police and they fired back, killing Hopkins.

In the court filing earlier this month, the Hopkins family says the city made false statements alleging their son made financial transactions with suspected drug dealer Abraham Escobar to obtain the warrant. The family also claims the city only released “highly altered” body camera footage. The City of College Station denies all of these claims.

In the statement, the city says those allegations are entirely unfounded and that the affidavit and warrant were presented correctly based on a lengthy narcotics investigation regarding Escobar.

However, attorneys representing the Hopkins family have a different perspective. They argue that the city’s lengthy justification of the shooting serves as a distraction from their ongoing refusal to release any unedited evidence, particularly video footage. They contend that if the city possessed video evidence exonerating its officers, it would have been made available by now.

In the statement from the city, they acknowledge Mr. Hopkins was never a criminal suspect in the investigation. They say Escobar and Mr. Hopkins’ roommate, Lauren Decoux, were in a dating relationship, giving Escobar ”unfettered” access to the home in the 900 block of Spring Loop, and that Escobar was frequently observed at the residence during the investigation.

As it relates to the alleged false information in the affidavit and warrant, the city says the affidavit and warrant do not contain false information or statements. However, the city believes the unspecified “false information” referenced in the Doyle Law Firm press release refers to a sentence in the affidavit that mislabeled a suspected party. KBTX reported on that inconsistency in February, but police did not comment.

In a statement, the city has pledged to address the concerns outlined in the family’s petition transparently and ethically. They express a willingness to collaborate with the family and their legal representatives and extend an open invitation to meet with the family and answer their inquiries.

Doyle argues that transparency should entail presenting the evidence, not just issuing statements.

“So, the question is if it really shows what they say it does, why are they still concealing it from the public and the family?” said Doyle. “Why are they not actually letting the family see it, why don’t they let the public see it? Even today, they’re admitting that they’re not going to produce it to the family or anybody, and so here’s the real question: do you think if it actually showed the story they keep saying it showed we would have seen it by now,” said Doyle.

The Texas Rangers and a Brazos County Grand Jury have since found the officer who shot Hopkins did nothing wrong.

The full statement from the city of College Station along with the statement released earlier this month below: