Former Officer ordered to Pay $6.3M for Death of an Iowa Man

DALLAS – A former Henderson County police officer has been ordered by a federal judge to pay $6.3 million to the family of an Iowa man who died in the officer’s custody in 2013. Judge Roy Payne ruled that Ernesto Fierro used excessive force when he arrested William Livezey Jr., 70, while off-duty. The judge said in his final judgment that Livezey suffered a heart attack induced by the arrest. Livezey was transporting lumber from his business in Iowa, to a client in Houston, when the encounter occurred. Fierro claimed Livezey was driving aggressively but witnesses said it was Fierro who was operating his motorcycle erratically. Fierro later was convicted of aggravated assault and fired from the Malakoff police force.