This summer Taser International will be asked to defend an important case in California.
The case concerns an incident that occurred in October 2006. Steven Butler, a man with a history of mental illness, boarded a bus in Watsonville, CA and appeared to be drunk. The bus driver asked Mr. Butler to get off the bus. When Mr. Butler refused, the bus driver called the Watsonville police who came to the scene.
A Watsonville officer allegedly shot Mr. Butler in the chest 3 times with a Taser Model X26 ECD subjecting Mr. Butler to 18 seconds of electrical current. Butler was unresponsive after the 3rd shot and paramedics were called to the scene. Paramedics allegedly found that Butler was in cardiac arrest and that his heart had stopped for about 18 minutes causing significant brain damage. He is now permanently disabled.
While Taser maintains that its products do not cause cardiac arrest, the company directed police officers to stop firing at people’s chests in September 2009.
If you have suffered a traumatic brain injury or other serious injury as a result of excessive police force then you may have the right to recover damages for your injuries. Dolan Law Offices handles cases involving Taser injury and death and offers free consultation.