North Houston deputy constables kick, harass family as routine traffic stop turns ugly

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- There are new developments in a story we've been following closely involving video of a controversial arrest and a family's claims of excessive force. Now we're hearing audio of these arrests as they happened. We're also hearing more from Precinct 4 about its investigation.

"Officer, what is the charge and why are you arresting my wife?" David Scherz could be heard saying on the video.

"Interference with an investigation," said the deputy constable.

"Investigation of what? You are on our property, sir!"

That dramatic exchange is from the traffic stop in September 2011, a traffic stop caught on dashcam and gone so wrong. The Scherz family filed a complaint with the Harris County Precinct 4 Constable's Office.

Yvonne Scherz says it started when Deputy Constable Lewis pulled her son over in her driveway.

"I just stepped outside and asked the officer, 'Is there a problem here?'" said Sherz. "He ordered me to go back inside the house."

Here's the audio.

"Ma'am, either wait inside or wait in the backseat of my car. I'm not going to ask you again," the deputy constable could be heard saying.

"It's my property," said Sherz.

"I'm not worried about it."

The family says it escalated quickly. On Wednesday, Braxton Scherz held up a picture of what he says are injuries sustained when a deputy constable allegedly ground his face into the concrete while he was handcuffed on the ground.

The Scherz family joined civil rights attorney Randall Kallinen in front of the Harris County Criminal Courthouse to urge the DA's office to file criminal charges against the deputies in the video.

"We're here today to make sure that the Harris County District Attorney's Office does not have any questions, does not have any more evidence that it needs," said Kallinen.

The DA's office wouldn't comment on whether an investigation was underway, but Precinct 4 says part of the internal affairs investigation should be complete by Thursday. They also say the family filed the complaint last month, almost two years after the incident.