BEAUMONT, TX - Christopher Shaw, the 41-year-old black man paralyzed by Beaumont Police Officer James Thomas Gillen while Shaw was handcuffed in custody at the Jefferson County Correctional Facility (JCCF) for public intoxication on June 12, 2021, has hired renowned national civil rights attorney Ben Crump to hold Gillen, the City of Beaumont and Corrhealth, LLC accountable not only for breaking Shaw’s neck, but neglecting the injuries that left him paralyzed from the chest down.

Despite assaulting Shaw and paralyzing him, Jefferson County authorities have continued to prosecute Shaw for Assault of a Public Official and Misdemeanor Public Intoxication. Shaw’s attorneys maintain that he never assaulted anyone.

The City of Eagle Pass is currently applying for funding from the Texas Department of Public Transportation for sidewalks and walking trails through the 2023 Transportation Alternatives Set-Asides Program.