State Trooper Sued Over Excessive Taser Use
A Utah man has filed suit against a state trooper, claiming she shocked him with her Taser during a routine traffic stop, while he was sitting in his car and asking to speak to his lawyer.
The plaintiff, Ryan Jones, claims that Patrol Trooper, Lisa Steed, pulled him over while he was driving March 28, 2009.
According to the court documents she checked his license and other paperwork and then asked him to take a breath test for alcohol. The suit claims that Mr. Jones merely asked if he could speak to his lawyer before taking any tests. He claims that Steed pulled out her Taser and threatened to deploy it if Jones did not get out of the car. Mr. Jones allegedly asked her not to fire the Taser; however, Officer Steed fired it anyway.
After Jones recovered, he again said he wanted to speak to his lawyer, the suit claims. Without further commands or warning, Steed deployed the Taser on his arm again, Jones claims. The lawsuit claims Steed used excessive force and violated Jones’ constitutional rights.
A Utah Highway Patrol spokesman would not comment on a pending case. “We know that troopers do get sued from time to time,: the representative also confirmed that Steed remains employed as a state trooper
