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Civil rights lawyer Lee Merritt says he will run for Attorney General of Texas

Lee Merritt
Posted at 11:34 AM, Mar 21, 2021
and last updated 2021-03-21 12:47:49-04

Civil rights lawyer Lee Merritt announced he will run for Attorney General of Texas.

"I am running for Attorney General of Texas," Merritt announced on Twitter. "Texas deserves an attorney general that will fight for the constitutional rights of all citizens."

Merritt has notably represented several Black families in Texas whose loved ones were killed in officer-involving shootings.

Merritt is the attorney for the family of Michael Dean, a Temple man who was killed during a traffic stop in December 2019. The officer involved, Carmen DeCruz, was arrested for manslaughter.

He is also the attorney for the family of Patrick Warren Sr., who was shot and killed by a Killeen Police officer during a psychiatric call in January of this year.

Ken Paxton has been Texas' attorney general since he was first elected in 2014.

In an Instagram video, Merritt said he didn't intend to make a formal announcement yet. Merritt said he was discussing his concerns with a reporter about law enforcement's handling of cases involving mental illness, and whose responsibility it was to ensure that police were properly trained.

"I said that it was Ken Paxton's responsibility, and I had been telling Ken Paxton that for a while, but he blocked me," Merritt said in the video. "And I said if he didn't do his job, I would take his job. It's clear he doesn't want to do his job, so I decided to go ahead and take it."

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