New details in Lewes taser suit

A Milton man who says he suffers permanent health damage after a Lewes Police Department officer used a Taser stun gun on him has filed an amended complaint in federal court.

Chad Tylecki is seeking $500,000 in damages “and further relief as appears reasonable and just,” court documents state.
The lawsuit names the City of Lewes, Lewes Police Officer James Azato, former Lewes Police Department Chief Ronald Gooch, Delaware State Police Cpl. Matthew Blakeman, Taser International Inc., Lewes Mayor Jim Ford and Lewes City Council members Stephanie Tsantes, Ted Becker, Barbara Vaughan and Victor Letonoff.

Tylecki’s attorneys, Philadelphia-based Patrick G. Geckle and Wilmington-based Barbara H. Stratton, filed the lawsuit Jan. 7 in U.S. District Court, District of Delaware, in Wilmington.

The case stems from a Jan. 13, 2008 incident that started in the marsh area off Savannah Road near Fisherman’s Wharf.

Court documents filed by Tylecki’s attorney state that while waiting for his mother to pick him up, Tylecki was confronted by Azato and Blakeman.

The lawsuit contends the officers ordered Tylecki out of the marsh, and he complied without resistance. Court documents state the officers violently threw Tylecki to the ground, pushing his head and face into the asphalt.

Tylecki’s attorneys said he did not resist being taken into custody, and the officers did not ask him to get on the ground where he was handcuffed behind his back and had his legs shackled, court documents state.

Tylecki was taken in a police cruiser to Beebe Medical Center where Azato told him he wanted a blood draw. Tylecki said he would not consent to the procedure. On hearing his refusal, Azato shocked him multiple times with the Taser although he was still handcuffed and shackled, the suit states. A Taser is a stun gun – designed, manufactured and sold by Taser International Inc., court documents state.

The weapon can be used in a mode that fires wired darts that cling to an individual’s clothing and deliver a shock. The Taser can also be used in “drive stun” mode with the weapon held in contact with the individual, which results in a stronger shock. Tylecki’s attorneys said Azato used the weapon in drive stun mode.

The attorneys allege Taser International “negligently, defectively and fraudulently designed, manufactured, failed to warn, misrepresented and/or concealed the fact” that the weapon used on Tylecki “was defective and unreasonably dangerous.”

Tylecki’s attorneys in court documents said Taser International officers and directors and training materials for the Taser Model X26 misrepresented, failed to disclose or failed to warn the City of Lewes and its police officers by stating the weapon would not cause seizures, and falsely representing that after initially deploying the Taser, the officer should be prepared to deliver additional shock cycles.

Taser training materials also state multiple discharges from the weapon present no greater health risk than a single discharge. Tylecki’s attorneys said the company also failed to warn that the Taser is potentially lethal and to disclose that when in drive stun mode, multiple shocks from the weapon increase the risk of kidney failure, skeletal muscle breakdown and grand mal seizures, all of which are conditions Tylecki is said to suffer. His attorneys said as of the end of 2007, at least 286 people had died in North America after being stunned by the Taser’s 50,000-volt discharge.

In testing the Taser, the National Academy of Forensic Engineers found the weapon delivered 39 times more power than the company specified, court documents state.

The lawsuit alleges the arresting officers and Gooch acted in concert and conspiracy in depriving Tylecki of his constitutional and statutory rights.

Tylecki’s attorneys argue that he was deprived of his right to be free from unreasonable and excessive force, and from unlawful search and seizure.

They said Tylecki continues to suffer harm in violation of his constitutional right to due process, right against the invasion of his body and civil action for rights, privileges or immunities secured by the U.S. Constitution. His attorneys said to his detriment, Tylecki has suffered physical injuries, emotional harm, and loss of liberty and financial loss.

His attorneys said under Delaware law, Azato and Blakeman’s conduct constitutes assault and battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

They also contend Taser International did not test its weapons on people who were under the influence of drugs or alcohol and did not perform adequate testing with regards to multiple shocks from the weapon.

Tylecki’s attorneys also said police department administrators didn’t monitor officers who were suffering from emotional or psychological problems that impaired their ability to function.

They said police department administrators also failed to take disciplinary action against officers who were the subject of prior citizen or internal complaints of misconduct.

Tylecki’s attorneys said he didn’t present a risk of harm to Azato, and he was not attempting to escape. Within hours of being placed in a cell at Sussex Correctional Institution, Tylecki suffered a grand mal seizure, which required taking him back to Beebe where he suffered two more grand mal seizures.

At the hospital, he continued to suffer seizures and has been diagnosed with renal failure, skeletal muscle breakdown, epileptic seizure disorder and other injuries, court documents show. Lawsuit documents state that Tylecki continues to require medication for the seizure disorder and continues to suffer physical and psychological harm, pain and suffering, some of which may be permanent.

The lawsuit contends the defendants acted in concert and conspiracy and their actions deprived Tylecki of his rights.

In an answer to the amended complaint, Daniel A. Griffith, an attorney with Whiteford Taylor Preston LLC, denies any wrongdoing on the part of his clients the City of Lewes, Azato and Gooch. Griffith, in court documents, said Tylecki did not comply with verbal requests to come out of the marsh. He said Tylecki fled to the marsh after committing a criminal offense.

Griffith said the injuries Tylecki suffered were the result of his resistance to detention and arrest, and he argues that Tylecki’s constitutional rights and civil rights were not violated.

Griffith said state and federal laws bar Tylecki’s request for punitive damages against the City of Lewes, and he asked the court to dismiss the amended complaint and to award costs and fees incurred by his clients.

Taser’s attorney Mark R. Owens of Barnes & Thornburg LLP in documents filed April 6 with the court, repeatedly answers most of the more than 60 charges against the company using a couple of statements. The plaintiff and defendants have requested a jury trial but no date has been set.