Bonham, Texas Police Officer Shoots and Kills 63-Year-Old Man

The Bonham, Texas police department filed a custodial death report regarding the death of Mark Royal Gilliam. Mr. Gilliam was 63 years of age at the time of his death. Information in this post was extracted from that report, and we make no allegation of any wrongdoing against anyone.

On February 23, 2019, a Bonham police officer attempted to initiate a traffic stop for a vehicle being operated by Mr. Gilliam. Mr. Gilliam refused to stop, and a vehicle pursuit ensued. The pursuit ended at Mr. Gilliam’s residence. Body cam video indicates that two Bonham police officers repeatedly gave commands to Mr. Gilliam to raise his hands. Moreover, the video also showed Mr. Gilliam taking an aggressive stance toward the police officers, and ultimately refusing commands by quickly lowering his right hand toward a coat pocket. This resulted in one of the officers shooting Mr. Gilliam twice. Mr. Gilliam was transported to a Plano, Texas hospital, where he ultimately passed away on March 11, 2019.

The report does not indicate anything about a weapon being found on Mr. Gilliam. The Texas Rangers are conducting an investigation regarding the officer-involved shooting. The 4th Amendment to the United States Constitution requires Texas police officers to act reasonably when using deadly force.

Written By: Dean Malone

Dean Malone

Dean Malone is the founder of Law Offices of Dean Malone, P.C., a jail neglect civil rights law firm. Mr. Malone earned his bachelor's degree at the University of Texas at Dallas, graduating summa cum laude with a 4.0 GPA, and from Baylor University School of Law with a general civil litigation concentration. Mr. Malone served in several staff positions for the Baylor Law Review, including executive editor. Mr. Malone is an experienced trial lawyer, trying a number of cases to jury verdict and also handling arbitrations through final hearing. He heads the jail neglect section of his law firm, in which lawyers litigate cases involving serious injury and death resulting from jail neglect and abuse. Lawyers frequently refer cases to Mr. Malone due to his focus on this very complicated civil rights practice area.