Former Quitman Police Captain Terry Bevill has been awarded $21.35 million in damages for a civil rights violation stemming from his termination from the department in 2017.

A jury in the Eastern District of Texas U.S. District Court in Sherman returned its verdict last Thursday following a trial that began Monday, Sept. 9.

Bevill filed suitin 2019 for civil rights violations against the city of Quitman and its then-mayor David Hobbs and Wood County and three former elected officials, Sheriff Tom Castloo, District Judge Jeff Fletcher and District Attorney Jim Wheeler.

In awarding damages, the jury determined that Bevill should be awarded $18 million in compensatory damages and $3.35 million in punitive damages.

The punitive damages were assessed against the individual defendants as follows: Fletcher - $1.5 million, Wheeler - $1 million, Castloo - $750,000 and Dobbs - $100,000.

The compensatory damages include $5 million each for impairment of reputation in the past, personal humiliation in the past and mental anguish and suffering in the past. An additional $1 million each was awarded for any further damages in those three categories in the future.

His attorney's had sought at least $33 million in damages.