Civil Rights Attorney Lee Merritt Running for Texas Attorney General
Civil rights attorney Lee Merritt announced via his Twitter profile this past weekend that he plans to run for the office of Texas Attorney General.
I watched the video today, and Merritt states, "It's clear he (current AG Ken Paxton) doesn't want to do his job, so I decided to go ahead and take it.'
In the Video, Merritt says he was concerned about police inaction and lack of resources for dealing with people experiencing a mental health crisis.
Merrit goes on to say in his video that he has frequently reached out to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and demanded Paxton take responsibility for the poor training of police officers when it comes to dealing with people in mental distress.
After his efforts to reach out to Paxton, Merritt claims Paxton blocked him.
Merritt has represented several Central Texas families in cases with officer-involved shootings.
Most recently, Merritt represented the family of Patrick Warren, Sr., 52, a local man who died after Killeen Police Officer Reynaldo Contreras shot him in January of 2021.
“This is one of the worst officer-involved shootings that I’ve seen,” Merritt said in an interview with our partners at News 10.
Merritt also represents Michael Dean's family. Dean was a Temple man shot and killed during a traffic stop by former Temple Police Officer Carmen DeCruz in December 2019.
Paxton is up for reelection in November 2022. The state attorney general is currently under indictment on securities fraud charges and has pleaded not guilty. He also faces allegations of bribery and abusing his position.
Paxton hasn't responded to Merritt's announcement. He's currently busy leading a lawsuit against the Biden administration over its decision to halt the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, and has recently filed suit against a La Quinta Inn in San Antonio accused of price gauging during February's winter storm.