Otto the Watchdog Sues the City of Trinidad, Chief Gregory, and Three Officers in Federal Court

Winston Wesley Noles, the citizen journalist who records under the name "Otto the Watchdog," filed a federal civil rights lawsuit Thursday over his May 12 arrest at Trinidad City Hall. The complaint names Trinidad Police Chief Charles W. Gregory, Trinidad Sergeant Robert W. McCumsey, Trinidad Officer Cameron M. Beckham, Malakoff Officer Derrick Hocutt, and the City of Trinidad as defendants. It was filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Tyler Division, and docketed as Case No. 6:26-cv-00221. Noles is represented by Brandon J. Grable of Grable PLLC in San Antonio.

I covered the original arrest on my own livestream on Tuesday afternoon. This article is a short summary of what the new federal complaint actually says.

What Noles Is Alleging

The lawsuit pleads four counts under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, the federal civil rights statute.

Count One. Unreasonable seizure under the Fourth Amendment. Noles alleges Trinidad PD arrested him on a public sidewalk in front of City Hall without probable cause. The asserted offense, on Citation No. 36889, is disorderly conduct (language) under Texas Penal Code § 42.01(a)(1), with a court date of May 27, 2026. The complaint argues that the officers articulated the wrong legal standard on the record, omitting the statute's requirement that the language tend to incite an "immediate breach of the peace" and substituting a subjective-offense standard the U.S. Supreme Court has rejected since Cohen v. California in 1971.

Count Two. Unreasonable prolonged seizure under the Fourth Amendment. Noles alleges that after Chief Gregory arrived on scene and personally decided he would be released on a citation rather than taken to a magistrate, officers kept him handcuffed in the back of a patrol vehicle for at least another twenty minutes while paperwork was completed.

Count Three. First Amendment retaliation and content-and-viewpoint discrimination. Noles alleges the arrest, the prolonged detention, the citation, and an in-progress broadcast of music over Officer Beckham's patrol-vehicle PA system were each motivated by the content of his political signs and his commentary critical of Trinidad PD.

Count Four. Municipal liability against the City of Trinidad. The complaint pleads five independent theories, including that Chief Gregory is the city's final policymaker for arrest and detention decisions under Trinidad Code of Ordinances §§ 32.048 and 32.052, that the City Council ratified the conduct by inaction, that a custom of First Amendment retaliation exists, that the City failed to train its officers on the constitutional limits of arrest authority, and that the City was deliberately indifferent in its hiring of the named officers.

Noles asks the court for declaratory judgment that the conduct violated the First and Fourth Amendments, an injunction against using Texas Penal Code § 42.01 to arrest people for constitutionally protected criticism of government, an injunction against using police PA equipment to disrupt protests, nominal damages, compensatory damages, punitive damages against the individual officers, attorneys' fees under 42 U.S.C. § 1988, and a jury trial. The amounts of compensatory and punitive damages are left to be proved at trial.

What the Complaint Says Happened Inside City Hall

The complaint describes a single, brief visit inside Trinidad City Hall before the protest began outside.

According to the lawsuit, Noles entered the building during ordinary business hours and spoke with a City employee in a normal speaking tone. He used profanity once. The complaint quotes it verbatim, as a self-deprecating remark about the employee's surname: "That's a fucked up name. Sorry about that." The employee allegedly responded, "I've had worse," and the conversation continued for several more minutes. According to the complaint, the two of them discussed an air-filter return vent, a Texas Penal Code § 30.06 firearm-prohibition sign posted on the outside of the building, and a potted plant. The employee allegedly told Noles the § 30.06 sign would "be gone by the end of the day." Noles departed by saying "Have a good day."

The lawsuit alleges that after Noles exited, the doors of Trinidad City Hall were locked from the inside. It also alleges that interior video-surveillance recordings, when produced, will corroborate Noles's account.

The complaint contrasts that description with what Chief Gregory told me on my own livestream later that afternoon. Gregory's stated basis for the arrest, as captured on that recording, was that Noles had "walked in, started yelling and cussing and screaming" inside the building and that the City's water clerk had been "offended" by his words. The complaint treats those two descriptions as inconsistent and asks the court to find that the version reflected on Noles's contemporaneous audio is the correct one.

What the Complaint Says Happened Outside City Hall

Noles then set up his recording equipment on the public sidewalk and steps in front of Trinidad City Hall and began a live internet broadcast. The complaint describes three handheld signs: Back the Blue, Fuck Bad Cops, and Shit Is Fucked Up And Stuff. His commentary was critical of Trinidad PD's recent enforcement actions and the City's handling of water-system concerns.

The lawsuit pleads a twenty-minute sequence between the first officer's arrival and the handcuffing. During that twenty minutes, officers from three different municipal police departments came and went. Officer Hocutt, of the Malakoff Police Department, arrived first and, the complaint alleges, entered Trinidad City Hall for about six minutes to speak with City employees. Officer Beckham arrived in a marked Trinidad PD patrol vehicle and, according to the complaint, broadcast music through the vehicle's PA system at a volume audible at Noles's recording location. The complaint alleges that broadcast was intended to interrupt the protest, interfere with the livestream, or trigger automated copyright-takedown action on Noles's internet broadcast.

According to the complaint, Sergeant McCumsey eventually told Noles the encounter "became a criminal matter," identified the offense as disorderly conduct, and articulated the elements as being in a public place, using profane language, and offending "a citizen that is not a public servant." Noles asked whether he could refrain from the language and receive a warning instead of a citation. McCumsey allegedly answered, "No. You've already committed that offense." Beckham then directed McCumsey to handcuff Noles with the words "Hook him up." Hocutt allegedly stood within arm's reach during the handcuffing and physically escorted the handcuffed Noles from the public sidewalk to the rear of a marked Trinidad patrol vehicle.

The complaint also pleads, on information and belief, that the four named officers have never received a single hour of First Amendment training, as reflected in their Texas Commission on Law Enforcement records.

Parties

Plaintiff. Winston Wesley Noles, a citizen of Hopkins County, Texas. He operates the "Otto the Watchdog" YouTube channel and a related internet broadcasting platform.

Defendants.

• Charles W. Gregory, Chief of Police, City of Trinidad. Sued in his individual capacity.
• Robert W. McCumsey, Sergeant, Trinidad Police Department. Sued in his individual capacity.
• Cameron M. Beckham, Officer, Trinidad Police Department. Sued in his individual capacity.
• Derrick Hocutt, Officer, Malakoff Police Department. Sued in his individual capacity.
• City of Trinidad, Texas, a Texas municipal corporation.

Plaintiff's counsel. Brandon J. Grable, Grable PLLC, 12451 Starcrest Drive, Suite 206, San Antonio, Texas 78216. Texas Bar No. 24086983.

Court. United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Tyler Division. Case No. 6:26-cv-00221. Filed May 14, 2026.

What Trinidad Says

This article is based entirely on the allegations in the complaint and on my own contemporaneous recording of the events at the scene. The City of Trinidad, Chief Gregory, Sergeant McCumsey, Officer Beckham, the Malakoff Police Department, and Officer Hocutt have not yet filed an answer. Under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, they will have an opportunity to respond. None of the allegations have been tested in court, and the defendants are entitled to a presumption of innocence with respect to the conduct alleged.

I requested a statement from Chief Gregory at the scene on May 12. He gave me one on camera, and that recording is part of the public record of this case. I will continue to request comment as the case proceeds.

The complaint, the citation, and my own recording of Tuesday's events will continue to be the basis of my Trinidad coverage. The next regular Trinidad City Council meeting is on Tuesday, May 19. I plan to be there.

If you have information related to this case, the City of Trinidad, the Trinidad Police Department, or the Malakoff Police Department, you can reach me at [email protected].