A man has taken legal action against police officers from two suburbs of Chicago, alleging that an officer Tasered him when he involuntarily struck an officer in the midst of a diabetic seizure.
The Raw Story Reports that 40-year-old Prospero Lassi, an employee of Southwest Airlines filed suit over the incident, which occurred on April 9, 2009. Policed originally arrived at the scene after his roommate found him having a seizure and called 911. When police officers helped paramedics move an “unresponsive” Lassi to the ambulance, he suddenly hit one of the officers in the arm.
Lassi’s account of the police response to his apparently involuntary action is detailed in the lawsuit:
Reacting to Mr. Lassi’s involuntary movement, one or more of the LaGrange and Brookfield Defendants pushed Mr. Lassi to the ground, forcibly restraining him there. Defendant Pedota then withdrew his Taser, an electroshock weapon that uses electrical current to disrupt a person’s control over his muscles and electrocuted Mr. Lassi eleven times.
Mr. Lassi remained immobile on the floor and was unable to defend himself during this attack. None of the other LaGrange and Brookfield Defendants attempted to interrupt Defendant Pedota’s repeated use of the Taser.
Lassi is seeking unspecified damages in a trial by jury over the attack, which saw him shocked eleven times over the space of one minute, for a range of injuries including “permanent scars on his skin, including a scar on his face and “neurological and musculoskeletal injuries, among other injuries.”
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[Source: Lawsuit (PDF), Image]
Wow, that is really messed up. I know the job peace officers do is a challenging one, but it is no excuse for blatant brutality. I think the same standard should be held for all citizens, civilian or not.
I think this is just inexcusable. I have not heard both sides of the story, but I live in San Jose, CA where police use of excessive force is commonplace.
calling them peace officers really isnt appropriate is it?