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Missouri Man Awarded $300,000 Following Taser Incident
In December 2009, officials in Missouri City, Missouri agreed to pay a $300,000 settlement to prevent future litigation relative to a July 2008 incident in which Phillip Lee McDuffy, 46, was critically injured after being Tasered by police.
Kansas City attorney Todd Johnson of Baty, Holm & Numrich, P.C. represented McDuffy and argued that the incident was handled incorrectly by police insofar that McDuffy was Tasered while on a pedestrian walkway 15 feet over an Interstate, and established policy for the device forbids its use against individuals standing near a ledge. When McDuffy fell from the walkway after being Tasered, he suffered an orbital fracture, two broken arms and a broken jaw.
This incident, along with many others, led a group of concerned citizens to announce plans in October 2009 to attempt to ban the use of Tasers within the city limits by introducing a ballot initiative to resolve the issue. The city settled with McDuffy before a lawsuit was filed.
Source: The Missourian
Kansas City attorney Todd Johnson of Baty, Holm & Numrich, P.C. represented McDuffy and argued that the incident was handled incorrectly by police insofar that McDuffy was Tasered while on a pedestrian walkway 15 feet over an Interstate, and established policy for the device forbids its use against individuals standing near a ledge. When McDuffy fell from the walkway after being Tasered, he suffered an orbital fracture, two broken arms and a broken jaw.
This incident, along with many others, led a group of concerned citizens to announce plans in October 2009 to attempt to ban the use of Tasers within the city limits by introducing a ballot initiative to resolve the issue. The city settled with McDuffy before a lawsuit was filed.
Source: The Missourian
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