Doyle Dennis LLP: Family of Student Killed in College Station Police Raid Allege City Coverup

Lawsuit: False police statements to court led to attack; police department refuses to release evidence

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Oct. 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The family of a 22-year-old college student killed in an explosive, military-style raid based on a "glaringly false" warrant sued the City of College Station today to force an end to the city's continuing coverup in the case, the family's attorneys at Doyle Dennis LLP law firm and co-counsel said today.

In a lawsuit filed in state district court in Brazos County, the family of Mark Hopkins seeks to force the city to "uncover the full truth about what led to the untimely and unjustifiable death" of Hopkins who was awoken and killed by police early on the morning of Feb. 8, 2023 in the raid of the off-campus home he rented. The College Station Police Department also is accused of submitting a false statement to a local municipal court to obtain the raid warrant.

Hopkins, a Blinn Junior College student preparing to transfer to Texas A&M University, died after being struck in a hail of gunfire. Hopkins' girlfriend, Alyssa Wilson, survived the attack, which was initiated with the explosion of a so-called flash bang device. Disoriented in the onslaught and believing burglars had broken into the home, Hopkins grabbed his personal shotgun to protect himself and Wilson as she hid in a closet. Police later claimed to be targeting a purported drug dealer allegedly tied to Hopkins' housemate. The suspect was not present at the home at 925 Spring Loop during the raid.

As allowed by Texas law, the Hopkins family's "Rule 202" court filing seeks complete access to the incident reports and investigative documents, including the complete and unedited body camera footage of all CSPD officers involved in the warrant, the underlying raid, and the shooting of Hopkins. According to the court filing, despite months of requests by Mark's parents, Cynthia Hopkins and Geoffrey Hopkins, College Station PD has only provided to the family abbreviated and highly edited body camera footage of the warrant execution that led to Mark's death.

The family is represented by Michael Patrick Doyle, Patrick M. Dennis, and Jeffrey I. Avery, of Doyle Dennis LLP, of Houston, and Aaron W. Perry, of the Law Firm of Aaron W. Perry, PLLC, of Bellaire, Texas.

Geoffrey Hopkins, Mark's father, said, "Our investigation is focused and on clearing Mark's name. He respected authority and he had no criminal record of any kind. In this case, the police just refuse to be accountable. Citizens of College Station and parents that send their innocent children to school in the Aggieland area should be warned that this could happen to them. The City's lack of transparency raises many troubling questions. We want to know who is responsible for initiating and executing the false affidavit that led to the death of our son – and we want to investigate the conduct and claims of College Station PD before, during, and after the attack on Mark and Alyssa."

Cynthia Hopkins, Mark's mother, said, "College Station police are sworn to protect our kids, not recklessly endanger them. The profound sorrow and grief our family feels is surpassed only by the disappointment in and anger over how this entire situation has been handled by the City of College Station. The police destroyed his life and refuse to tell us who or why did this. As parents, we will never experience Mark's college graduation, a beautiful wedding or the grandchildren we looked forward to enjoying with him, and his wonderful girlfriend, the woman he hoped to marry, lost the love of her life. She had to watch him be murdered over false police information."

Attorney Michael Patrick Doyle, of Doyle Dennis LLP, said, "The City of College Station continues to refuse to justify why it initiated a terrifying, commando-like attack on Mark Hopkins and Alyssa Wilson and why the police department submitted false statements under penalty of perjury to the court to justify their warrant. This lawsuit is an important step forward for the Hopkins family as they search for the truth the City of College Station has not wanted released. We hope the City will finally reverse course and set the record straight for the Hopkins family and for the public the police department serves. Until then, and as the lawsuit filing and we continue to ask, 'What is College Station PD attempting to hide?'"

The case is Cynthia Hopkins and Geoffrey Hopkins v. City of College Station, Cause No. 23-002880-CV-85 in the 85th District Court of Brazos County, Texas.

MEDIA CONTACT: Erin Powers, Powers MediaWorks LLC, for Doyle Dennis LLP, 281.703.6000, [email protected].

SOURCE Doyle Dennis LLP