Fired Quitman Police Captain Was Not the Victim of a Conspiracy, Lawyers for Defendants in His Federal Suit Say

SHERMAN — When Terry Bevill was fired as the No. 2 cop in Quitman, Texas, then arrested for aggravated perjury, it ruined his law enforcement career, his standing in the small East Texas community, his bank account and, nearly, his health, Bevill testified Tuesday.

But none of that, according to lawyers for four East Texas public officials Bevill has sued, was the result of a conspiracy — as his federal civil complaint claims — to punish the 19-year law enforcement veteran for saying under oath that he didn’t think a friend could get a fair trial in Wood County, of which Quitman is the seat.