WACO, Texas (KWTX) A new lawsuit filed in the Twin Peaks incident seeks $1 billion in damages for four plaintiffs who were arrested after the fatal gunfight on May 17, 2015.

Beaumont lawyer Brent W. Coon, representing plaintiffs Jim Albert Harris, Bonar Crump, Jr., Juan Carlos Garcia and Drew King, all of the Austin area, filed the lawsuit in Waco’s federal district court on Monday that names Waco police Officer Manuel Chavez, Chief Brent Strohman, now retired, Sgt. W. Patrick Swanton, District Attorney Abel Reyna, Justice of the Peace Walter H. “Pete” Peterson, the City of Waco, McLennan County, Peaktastic Beverage, LLC, dba Twin Peaks Restaurant, Front Burner Restaurants GP, LLC, Twin Peaks Restaurant Investment Co., and John Does.

Coon filed a second issue Tuesday demanding a jury trial for his clients.

None of the plaintiffs has been indicted.

The first paragraphs in the lawsuit are aimed at describing Baylor University as a puritanical force that rules and pervades Waco and that is responsible for the city being a backwards Texas town.

“While there is nothing wrong in and of itself with this brand of Christianity or these religious restrictions, they are arguably behind the times of the rest of the communities in Texas and around the country and again reflective of a non-tolerant culture which permeates Waco to this day,” the lawsuit says.

“It is against this backdrop that what happened at Twin Peaks on May 17, 2015, is better understood. In the town where alcohol use is least frowned upon, outsiders are
arguably treated, or at least viewed more harshly, and motorcyclists are viewed by law enforcement as being troublemakers, something like the Twin Peaks tragedy was likely to happen sooner or later.”

The lawsuit names several causes of action, beginning with a violation of the plaintiff’s U.S. Constitution 4th Amendment rights, which requires individual probable cause for arrest.

A second cause of action is based upon a violation of the plaintiff’s 5th Amendment rights against self-incrimination.

The third cause of action listed claims police and investigators were not properly trained in issuing arrest warrants.

The fourth cause of action mentions violations of the 8th Amendment that protects against excessive bond.

A fifth cause of action names violations of the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act and as support for this claim “Plaintiffs would show that these state actor defendants conspired in multiple different manners together to damage plaintiffs, falsely arrest plaintiffs, falsely detain plaintiffs, deprive them of their constitutional rights, falsely charge plaintiffs, defame, slander and libel plaintiffs, and cause negligent, grossly negligent and intentional acts of malfeasance upon Plaintiffs.”

The lawsuit also claims restaurant owners could have averted the shootout if they had just heeded warnings from Waco police who told management that the possibility of such an event was looming.

The lawsuit, assigned to U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks, in Austin, but no hearing date has yet been set.