Elissa Jorgensen

The Dallas Morning News

(TNS)

Sep. 15—A trial date has been set for this year in a civil lawsuit accusing a Dallas Fire-Rescue paramedic of using excessive force on a man during a 2019 fire response.

According to Dallas County court records, the trial is expected to take place on Dec. 7.

The suit stems from an Aug. 2, 2019, incident in which body camera footage captured by a Dallas police officer and Dallas County sheriff's deputy showed DFR paramedic Brad Cox punching and kicking Kyle Vess along the Interstate 30 frontage road in West Dallas.

Additional surveillance footage obtained and released by police in October 2021 shows Cox getting out of a fire truck to stomp out a grass fire near where Vess was laying. About 30 seconds is missing before the next clip, where Vess is seen throwing an object toward Cox and then running at him before the two fight behind the truck.

When they come back into view of the camera, Cox is seen kicking Vess repeatedly as he lays on the ground in front of the truck.

Law enforcement officials arrive about four minutes into the incident, and the body camera footage starts with Vess getting kicked in the head as he tries to sit up. Cox then takes a fighter's stance and throws a punch that again strikes Vess in the head before two officers are seen pulling out tasers, one of which strikes Vess.

Vess is then put into handcuffs and loaded into an ambulance. He was charged at the scene with assaulting a public servant, but the case against him was dismissed by the Dallas County district attorney's office in 2021.

Police initially said Vess, who was homeless at the time, was setting grass fires near the roadway at the time of the altercation. At a 2023 civil hearing at Dallas City Hall, fire officials said the fire was not arson but was a fire code violation.

Vess was left with a fractured eye socket, cracked teeth and a fractured sinus, and the right side of his face is partially paralyzed, records show.

According to court records, Cox said he was acting in self-defense.

When the incident occurred, Cox was on probation for tampering with government documents related to a case where a homeless man died after Cox and another paramedic denied him medical care. His probation, which he completed in 2020, required him to avoid "injurious or vicious behavior."

Despite already being on probation, Cox wasn't fired from the department until October 2021. He was reinstated after the 2023 hearing, though he was demoted and no longer earns back pay.

Vess' family previously said he suffers from a mental illness similar to schizophrenia and a traumatic brain injury, which was aggravated by Cox's kicks and punches to his head.

The suit alleges Cox violated Vess' 4th and 14th Amendment rights by using excessive force and seeks recovery for the "excessive damages" he caused. The suit also claims Vess' injuries were a result of the city's failure to discipline Cox for his past violations.

In June 2022, the court dismissed Vess' claim based on the 14th Amendment, and a Dallas County grand jury chose not to indict Cox on a felony charge of injury to a disabled person.

Sean McCaffity, Vess' attorney, said though it has been a long road, their team is looking forward to the opportunity to hold Cox accountable in court.

"Public servants betray the trust of the public when they use unnecessary and excessive force against the helpless or the sick," McCaffity said on behalf of Vess' family. "The best way to ensure the public's respect and safety for both the public and for civil servants is through accountability."

The Dallas Morning News contacted Cox's attorney Tuesday for further information on the case's next steps but didn't hear back. The News also reached out to DFR to confirm whether Cox still works for the department, but DFR has not yet provided the information.

UPDATE, Sept. 16, 2026, 11:20 a.m.: This story has been updated with comment from Vess' attorney.

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