A federal judge has yet to set a hearing date in a civil suit brought by a former MedLife supervisor injured in a hail of gunfire that followed the shooting deaths of two Bastrop Police Department detectives in August 2007.

David Glen Thomas is seeking $3 million in damages from the city of Bastrop, claiming the injuries he received were the result of rounds fired by members of the Bastrop Police Department.

Thomas' attorney, Jack Wright of Monroe, filed a complaint in U.S. District Court in Monroe on July 23, claiming his client's injuries were the result of “conscious disregard of harm to innocent parties” in the way BPD officers reacted after Detective Sergeants John Smith and Chuck Wilson were killed outside the Best Budget Inn on Aug. 10, 2007.

Briefs filed in support of the suit allege Thomas received permanent injuries as a result of the bullet which struck his arm, causing in “pain and suffering” and “severe emotional and psychological damage as a result of the incident.”

The papers state Thomas, who was operations manager for MedLife at the time, was in his office when dispatchers received a call around 1:30 p.m. on Aug. 10 about someone in the street near the Bastrop City Hall parking lot. Thomas left the office in his company vehicle, arriving just before the first ambulance. En route to the scene, records indicate Thomas heard on his radio that there may be another victim in the parking lot of the hotel, leading him to request a second ambulance.

As the first ambulance pulled toward City Hall, court records maintain that Thomas stopped his vehicle in the hotel parking lot and saw a Bastrop Police officer taking cover behind a patrol car. The officer came to Thomas' location and allegedly stated that Wilson was the victim near City Hall and that Smith was on a sidewalk at the west side of the hotel. The officer told Thomas the suspect in the shootings, later identified as Dennis Clem, was inside a room at the hotel. As the officer pointed to the area where Clem was located, Thomas maintains he saw someone “peeking out a window on the second floor.” His suit maintains that Thomas was “under the impression” the suspect in the shootings was located on the second floor.

Thomas looked toward the area where Smith was and noticed another Bastrop Police officer standing with his weapon drawn. The complaint states that the officer “yelled at Mr. Thomas that he had him covered and to come and attend to Officer Smith,” at about the same time the second ambulance arrived. Thomas and two EMTs went to attend to Smith with their backs to the wing of the hotel where the suspect was holed up. Thomas's suit maintains the officer said he “had them covered.”

At about that time, court records indicate additional shots were fired. Thomas maintains since he felt Clem was in a second-floor room “and therefore had a clear shot” on Thomas and one of the EMTs, that they sought cover under the second-floor walkway. The papers filed claim the EMT fell to the ground next to Detective Smith and the officer who previously said he “had them covered” then “ran back toward the motel office, shooting blindly over has back shoulder as he ran.” Thomas maintains one of the 18 rounds fired by the officer struck him in his right arm, which resulted in the injuries he received. Clem was killed as he exited the first-floor room where he retreated after shooting Smith and Wilson.

Among the allegations raised in the suit are that the city should be held liable for not securing the crime scene, for allowing civilians to participate in the crime scene and for not properly training police officers.

In its response to the complaint, the city - through its attornies Robert Baldwin and Johnny Huckaby - deny the allegations.

U.S. District Court Judge Robby James and Magistrate Karen Hayes will preside over the case.