Martinez v. Hinojosa

── Martinez v. Hinojosa ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Date: June 04, 2026 Category: Civil Rights Case: 24-40535 Document: 82-1 Page: 1 Date Filed: 06/04/2026 United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ____________ United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit No. 24-40535 FILED June 4, 2026 ____________ Lyle W. Cayce Jorge R. Martinez, Clerk Plaintiff—Appellant, versus Officer David Hinojosa; City of Laredo, Defendants—Appellees. ______________________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas USDC No. 5:20-CV-75 ______________________________ Before Southwick, Higginson, and Wilson, Circuit Judges. Leslie H. Southwick, Circuit Judge: This is a tragic case of mistaken identity. A police officer believed he was targeting a gunman who had been firing on police from a residence. Instead, he shot and badly wounded a man who had disarmed the actual shooter and then emerged from the residence holding the weapon. The issue here is whether that officer’s mistake led to a violation of the victim’s constitutional rights. As lamentable as these events certainly were, we agree with the district court that no constitutional violation occurred on the specific facts of this case. The district court denied relief. We AFFIRM.  Case: 24-40535 Document: 82-1 Page: 2 Date Filed: 06/04/2026 No. 24-40535 FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND At approximately 5:42 a.m. on November 26, 2019, two officers of the Laredo Police Department responded to a domestic disturbance at a residence in their city. As the officers reached the scene, Cesar Terrazas opened fire on them with an AR-15-style rifle, striking one officer in the leg. After a brief gunfight with the officers, Terrazas broke into the home where the plaintiff, Jorge Martinez, lived along with his mother and sister. Once inside, Terrazas shot and wounded Mr. Martinez’s mother before Mr. Martinez and his sister overpowered and disarmed Terrazas. Still inside the home, Mr. Martinez removed the magazine from Terrazas’s rifle. Officer Hinojosa arrived on the scene at 5:51 a.m., only seconds before Terrazas entered Mr. Martinez’s home. At 5:52, Officer Hinojosa retrieved a rifle from his vehicle and began walking toward the gunfire. 1 Unaware of the suspect’s identity, description, or clothing, Officer Hinojosa stopped and established a defensive position approximately 60 yards from Mr. Martinez’s home. Just before 5:56 a.m., Mr. Martinez exited the home completely naked and carrying the confiscated weapon in his left hand. We found no explanation in the record for why Mr. Martinez wore no clothes. Once outside, he walked a few steps away from the home and shouted, “I am not the shooter.” Officer Hinojosa — who would later state he did not hear Mr. Martinez and perceived him as the suspect — immediately alerted his fellow officers: “He’s naked,” and “[h]e’s got a 32.” Mr. Martinez then quickly walked between two vehicles and into the street. There, he first turned 90 _____________________ 1 As mentioned, Terrazas entered Mr. Martinez’s home shortly after Officer Hinojosa arrived on the scene. The record is not clear as to when the shooting stopped or to whom each shot can be attributed. The body camera fo