U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman on Thursday denied the Gonzales family's bid for a new trial in the federal civil-rights lawsuit over the 2021 roadside shooting that killed Alex Gonzales Jr. The decision keeps in place a jury verdict that found former Austin officer Gabriel Gutierrez not liable, and the family says it will now take the fight to a higher court. The ruling caps a long-running battle over thousands of pages of investigative records turned over shortly before trial and months of testimony last summer.
Judge Denies Motion For New Trial
In an order issued Thursday, Pitman refused to overturn the jury's verdict, finding that although the city produced more than 2,000 pages of forensic records just days before trial, the late disclosure did not ultimately prejudice the plaintiffs, according to the Austin American-Statesman. The judge acknowledged a discovery violation but pointed to steps he had already taken, including giving the plaintiffs extra time during the nine-day trial and imposing sanctions tied to the late production. His ruling shuts down the family's motion for a new trial, but not the case itself, since the family plans to appeal.
Allegations At The Center Of The Case
The lawsuit stems from a Jan. 5, 2021 confrontation that began as an alleged road-rage incident and ended with Gutierrez firing into Gonzales' car and, minutes later, on-duty Officer Luis Serrato fatally shooting Gonzales, according to court filings. The plaintiffs say Gutierrez misled dispatchers and other officers, portraying Gonzales as an active shooter and failing to tell responding officers that he had already shot Gonzales, allegations that sit at the heart of their wrongful-death and civil-rights claims. A Travis County grand jury declined to indict either officer in 2022, a decision that helped push the family toward civil court for a fuller airing of the case.
Trial Record And Verdict
The case went to trial in June 2025 and stretched over nine days, with jurors hearing from Gutierrez, other responding officers, eyewitnesses and forensic experts. Jurors ultimately found Gutierrez not liable for violating Gonzales' constitutional rights, a verdict reported by the Austin Chronicle. Earlier in the litigation, Pitman had dismissed Serrato from the suit after concluding that Serrato's use of deadly force was constitutionally justified, which narrowed the trial to Gutierrez and municipal claims against the city.
Statements From Lawyers And The City
The family's lead attorney said they are not done and will press the case on appeal, while city lawyers welcomed Pitman's ruling. In a statement to the Statesman, the city's lawyer said the city was “pleased with the court's decision and the careful consideration of the legal arguments in this case,” and plaintiffs' counsel Donald Puckett confirmed the family intends to appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Those dueling reactions set up the next round of legal sparring in a case that has kept a spotlight on how the Austin Police Department investigates officer-involved shootings.
Why The Case Still Matters
Beyond the individual verdict, the lawsuit has been framed as a test of whether municipal policies and internal investigations helped create a culture that shields officers from accountability. Legal observers and local coverage have noted that so-called Monell claims against cities are notoriously difficult to prove, which makes the family's decision to push ahead in federal court notable on its own. The Fifth Circuit appeal the family has signaled could influence how similar civil-rights suits in Texas move forward and how appellate judges view discovery problems at the trial level. The Austin Chronicle has tracked that broader context throughout the litigation.
