Landon Nobles Wrongful Death Trial Underway: APD Cops Shot Black Man in the Back Several Times after a Crowd Dispersed and Left Him to Die. Suit says he Posed No Danger to Cops or Anyone Else

From [HERE] A wrongful death trial for the family of a man shot by Austin police officers in 2017 begins Monday.

Landon Nobles, 24 at the time, was shot and killed by Austin Police Department officers Sgt. Richard Egal and Cor. Maxwell Johnson on May 7, 2017, after a crowd dispersed from in front of bars on East Sixth Street in downtown Austin.

Brian Manley, then-APD police chief, said officers fired at Nobles, because he fired at the officers. Witnesses in the crowd claim Nobles was not displaying a gun and posed no danger when he was shot in the back, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit said Nobles was shot “in the back multiple times.”

According to the complaint:

On or about May 7th, 2017, Landon Nobles, a twenty-four-year-old African-American Austinite, went to 6th Street in Austin to celebrate a birthday with his cousins Royie Nobles and Frankie Nobles. At approximately 2:30 am, Landon Nobles, Royie Nobles, and Frankie Nobles noticed a crowd of people gathered near the Jackalope and Moose Knuckle Pub in the 400 block of East Sixth Street and decided to observe the crowd. There was much jockeying and posturing as two people interacted as if “fixing to fight.” A small crowd gathered around the fighters.

The crowd dispersed after a loud popping noise emanated from the crowd. Landon Nobles walked away to the nearby intersection and then after a few minutes started walking briskly away from the corner of Sixth Street and Trinity Street toward 7th and Trinity Street, when suddenly an unidentified Austin Police Officer threw a bike in front of Landon Nobles, which caused him to fall.

At no time did any officer of the Austin Police Department announce their presence or instruct Landon Nobles to stop.

As Landon Nobles attempted to regain his balance, he was subsequently shot in the back multiple times by Sergeant Richard Egal and Corporal Maxwell Johnson. According to several non-police witnesses, Landon Nobles was not displaying a gun and posed no danger to Sergeant Richard Egal, Corporal Maxwell Johnson, or anyone for that matter at the time of the shooting, or at any time at all. There is no evidence that Defendants Sergeant Richard Egal and Corporal Maxwell Johnson or any third party feared for their lives or the lives of anyone else at the time lethal force was used against Landon Nobles.

Landon was killed right there on the street and he was left to die in the gutter as he bled out from the gunshot wounds inflicted by Officers Egal and Maxwell Johnson who shot Landon in the back. Twenty minutes later, Landon Nobles was later rushed to Brackenridge Hospital by Austin-Travis EMS where he was pronounced dead at approximately 3:08 am on May 7th, 2017. 16. As a result of Sergeant Richard Egal and Corporal Maxwell Johnson’s unreasonable and senseless use of deadly force, Landon Nobles died after suffered agonizing pain.

Based on media reports, Austin Police officers use deadly force against African- American suspects at a higher rate than white suspects, even though African- Americans comprise only 8% of Austin’s population. Additionally, the Austin Police Department utilizes deadly force against unarmed individuals disproportionately when the victims are African-American.

The two officers, Egal and Johnson, are listed as the defendants in the lawsuit that seeks $15 million in damages. The City of Austin was originally listed as another defendant, but it was removed on July 15, 2021, according to court records.

Attorney Edmund “Skip” Davis is representing the Nobles family. Ida Renae Nobles, Landon’s mother, along with his two children, are listed as plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

Davis called three witnesses to the stand Monday: a sound technician who was working downtown the night of May 7, 2017, as well as a cousin and friend of Landon who were with him the night he was shot. All three of them said Landon did not have a gun.

Nicholas Henderson, the second witness to take the stand, said he got into an altercation with a group of people from Houston who started making offensive comments. Henderson said it was around that time he noticed Landon was nearby. Henderson said the fight between himself and the men from Houston stopped when a gunshot rang out in the crowd, according to his testimony Monday.

During opening statements, attorneys for the officers said Halo video and other evidence shows Landon fired that shot into the air. Henderson said Nobles did not have a firearm.

Henderson, along with Roy Nobles, Landon’s cousin who was downtown with the group on May 7, and Chris Futrell, a sound technician who was working downtown that night, all said they did not see Landon turn toward officers before he was shot.

Testimony will resume Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. The plaintiffs still have more witnesses to call before the defense calls its witnesses to the stand. The trial is expected to wrap up Thursday or Friday.