Nemesis
06-09-2004, 08:08 PM
Posted on Wed, Jun. 09, 2004
By GLENN E. RICE The Kansas City Star
A Northland man is accusing Clay County detention deputies of repeatedly stunning him with a Taser, according to a federal lawsuit against the sheriff's office.
In the lawsuit filed last week, Gary N. Stevens of Kansas City, North, is seeking $600,000 in damages for the incident, which he says occurred Jan. 15.
Stevens said that after he was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving, he was taken to the detention center. Once there, Stevens said, he was strapped in a chair rigged for restraining prisoners.
An hour later, Stevens got into an argument with a deputy. The deputy left the room and returned moments later with four other detention deputies. The officers removed Stevens from the chair and held him to the floor, and the deputy repeatedly stunned Stevens with the electronic device, according to the lawsuit.
A Taser transmits pulsed energy into the central nervous system of a target, causing incapacitation.
The suit claims that Stevens did not provoke the altercation and posed no threat.
Scott Sullivan, an assistant Clay County counselor, said county officials denied the allegations.
“We are very confident in our staff, their training and the equipment they use,” he said.
Stevens' attorney, Stephan Caruso, said the deputies used excessive force and did not receive proper training on how to use the Taser, nor were they trained properly to defuse confrontational situations.
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/local/8874417.htm
By GLENN E. RICE The Kansas City Star
A Northland man is accusing Clay County detention deputies of repeatedly stunning him with a Taser, according to a federal lawsuit against the sheriff's office.
In the lawsuit filed last week, Gary N. Stevens of Kansas City, North, is seeking $600,000 in damages for the incident, which he says occurred Jan. 15.
Stevens said that after he was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving, he was taken to the detention center. Once there, Stevens said, he was strapped in a chair rigged for restraining prisoners.
An hour later, Stevens got into an argument with a deputy. The deputy left the room and returned moments later with four other detention deputies. The officers removed Stevens from the chair and held him to the floor, and the deputy repeatedly stunned Stevens with the electronic device, according to the lawsuit.
A Taser transmits pulsed energy into the central nervous system of a target, causing incapacitation.
The suit claims that Stevens did not provoke the altercation and posed no threat.
Scott Sullivan, an assistant Clay County counselor, said county officials denied the allegations.
“We are very confident in our staff, their training and the equipment they use,” he said.
Stevens' attorney, Stephan Caruso, said the deputies used excessive force and did not receive proper training on how to use the Taser, nor were they trained properly to defuse confrontational situations.
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/local/8874417.htm