Federal judge dismisses lawsuit brought by former Pharr police chief

Andy Harvey

A federal judge in McAllen on Monday dismissed a lawsuit brought by former Pharr Police Chief and City Manager Andy Harvey for failure to state a claim.

Harvey filed the pro se lawsuit on March 20 against the Pharr Police Department and officers Jose Montiel and Anthony Garcia over his Sept. 23, 2023 arrest for texting 911 that resulted in his arrest. He was later no-billed by a grand jury and the charges were dismissed.

Chief U.S. District Judge Randy Crane signed the 21-page order on Monday morning, court records show.

Harvey had claimed that his fundamental rights were infringed upon and that he experienced unjust actions, including retaliation, discrimination, harassment, false arrest and excessive force.

Harvey, who resigned as Pharr’s city manager on Sept. 6, 2022 and as chief of police on Sept. 12, 2022, has filed several lawsuits against Pharr.

At the time of his arrest, the officers attempted to detain Harvey, who they allegedly struck. The former chief also alleged that he was placed in an “unauthorized chokehold” and that authorities fabricated evidence against him.

Harvey had sought damages of up to $10 million, attorney fees and the implementation of training protocols by the Department of Justice “to investigate and stop future civil violations and effectively discipline the conduct of the City of Pharr, the Pharr Police Department and the misconduct done by its officers and others.”

Crane, however, found that Harvey failed to actually state any claims that he supported with evidence.

“The Court agrees with the City’s argument that Plaintiff has failed to specifically plead non-conclusory factual support for his allegations that the City violated his constitutional rights,” Crane wrote in his order.

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