Two Texas school police officers who snatched a 14-year-old homeschooled girl from her family’s apartment without a warrant now face a jury trial for damages after courts demolished their qualified immunity defense, exposing how government agents trampled constitutional rights in the name of child welfare.
Story Highlights
- MISD officers Alexandra Weaver and Kevin Brunner removed Jade McMurry from her home without warrant, court order, or emergency, detaining her at school while blocking her father’s calls
- Texas CPS investigated the same day and cleared the family of any abuse or neglect, yet officers still pursued criminal charges against the mother
- Federal courts rejected qualified immunity for both officers, with judges ridiculing their excuses including claiming the family apartment was a “school” during homeschooling hours
- Mother Megan McMurry was acquitted by a jury in just five minutes after spending 19 hours in jail on false abandonment charges
Officers Seize Teen Without Legal Authority
On October 26, 2018, MISD officers Alexandra Weaver and Kevin Brunner entered the McMurry family’s gated apartment in Midland, Texas, and removed 14-year-old Jade McMurry based on nothing more than a misguided welfare check. The officers had no warrant, no court order, and encountered no emergency situation that would justify their actions. They searched the family’s kitchen, pantry, refrigerator, and freezer, finding no evidence of danger or neglect. Despite Jade crying and her father attempting to call her, Weaver instructed the teenager not to answer and transported her to school where she was detained for hours.
CPS Clears Family, Officers Pursue Charges Anyway
Texas Child Protective Services assessed the McMurry family the same day officers seized Jade and found no abuse or neglect, immediately clearing her to return home. This professional determination should have ended the matter, but Officer Kevin Brunner filed probable cause affidavits two months later accusing mother Megan McMurry of child abandonment and endangerment. Megan, herself an employee at Abell school, spent 19 hours in jail before making bail. The entire episode represented government overreach at its worst, with officers substituting their judgment for parental authority despite having zero evidence of wrongdoing.
Jury Acquits Mother in Five Minutes
When Megan McMurry faced criminal trial in January 2020, the jury heard all the facts the officers knew when they seized her daughter and charged her with crimes. Their deliberation lasted just five minutes before acquitting her completely. This swift verdict demonstrated how baseless the charges were from the start. The family had done nothing wrong—Jade was homeschooled online, following her parents’ instructions to stay in their secure apartment during school hours while her mother worked and her younger brother attended classes. The officers manufactured a crisis where none existed.
Courts Dismantle Qualified Immunity Defense
The McMurry family filed a federal civil rights lawsuit in October 2020, alleging Fourth Amendment violations for unlawful search and seizure, and Fourteenth Amendment violations for denying due process. Both officers claimed qualified immunity, the legal doctrine that shields government officials from liability. U.S. District Judge David Counts rejected their defenses in June 2024, stating the officers “overruled parental instruction” without any legal process. When Weaver appealed, the 5th Circuit Court unanimously denied her immunity claim in June 2025. Judge Ho wrote a concurring opinion ridiculing Weaver’s argument that the family’s apartment somehow became a “school” during homeschooling, calling it absurd and without precedent.
Victory for Parental Rights and Constitutional Limits
This case reinforces the 5th Circuit’s precedent in Gates v. Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services, which established that government agents cannot seize children without a court order, parental consent, or genuine emergency circumstances. The McMurry family’s perseverance through years of litigation exposes the systemic problem of unaccountable government officials who believe they can violate constitutional rights with impunity. As Megan McMurry stated, these officers acted like “nobody will hold them accountable.” This jury trial represents exactly the accountability mechanism our founders intended when they wrote the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments to restrain government power and protect families from state intrusion into their homes and child-rearing decisions.
