A Texas man is suing a police officer and Dallas County after alleging that the officer pulled him over and live-streamed the event while revealing the man’s ID to viewers. The man believes that the entire incident was set up just for the purpose of filming a video.
The lawsuit filing identifies Deputy Francisco Castillo as the officer at the center of the case. Torry Osby, the citizen and plaintiff, claims that he was on his way to work when Castillo pulled him over, citing speeding as the reason. Osby maintains that he had set his cruise control below the speed limit and informed the officer of this fact. Despite letting Osby go with a warning, Castillo continued to livestream the entire encounter, according to Osby.
Osby claims that some 20 minutes after the stop, a viewer of the live stream dubbed “Stanley Sensational” in the lawsuit contacted him and shared not only the officer’s TikTok handle but also a screenshot showing 109 people viewing the stream. Stanley claimed that Osby’s personal information was shown on the stream and that Castillo admitted to his viewers that the traffic stop wasn’t legitimate. Somewhat understandably, Osby filed a complaint.
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According to the Sheriff’s Department, Castillo was suspended for two days for violating the department’s social media policy. That seems to be the very least of his problems these days though. Whether or not this was a one-time action or indicates a pattern of behavior is up for debate.
“The facts of this case beg the question: How many other traffic stops of Dallas County citizens has Deputy Castillo or another Dallas County sheriff’s deputy livestreamed over social media?” Osby’s lawyers wrote according to the Dallas News.
The police department declined to comment citing the ongoing litigation. The plaintiff is seeking a jury trial and monetary relief for suffering mental and emotional anguish over the breach of privacy. His lawyers claim that he’s continued to suffer mental and emotional anguish. As of this writing, there is no date set for trial.
