Thread: Lawsuit filed in case of Taser death at border

Lawsuit filed in case of Taser death at border

By Sandra Dibble
Wednesday, March 16, 2011 at 5:01 p.m.

The family of a Mexican citizen who died last May after being shot with a Taser gun by a customs agent at the San Ysidro border crossing filed a civil lawsuit Wednesday, seeking unspecified damages from the U.S. government.

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in San Diego, claims use of execessive force against Anastacio Hernandez Rojas, negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Eugene Iredale, an attorney for his family, said the litigation will allow his legal team access to previously off-limits information, including police reports, witness statements and names of the agents and agencies involved in the incident.

Hernandez, 42, had lived in the United States for more than two decades, with one previous deportation.

He was caught crossing back into California through mountains east of San Diego, and was being deported again when the Taser incident occurred. U.S. officials have said Hernandez struggled as they tried to remove him from a van, prompting the Taser use.

An autopsy by the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office determined that Hernandez died of a heart attack. Hernandez’s heart condition and methamphetamine use were listed as contributing factors in the report. Glenn Wagner, the chief medical examiner, said it was unclear how much blame should be assigned to the stun gun and how much to Hernandez’s agitated state.

Hernandez’s family filed an administrative complaint last year against the U.S. Border Patrol and Customs and Border Protection. It had six months to file a wrongful-death lawsuit if federal authorities rejected the complaint.

The case has caused outrage in Mexico, and Mexican authorities have closely followed the case, providing legal aid and consular support, and demanding a complete investigation.

In a statement, the Mexican consulate in San Diego said U.S. authorities have said the results of the investigation by the San Diego Police Department are being analyzed by the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011 ... -border-c/

wasnt this the guy whose autopsy said he was high on cocaine or meth that day ???

You resist arrest then you face the response by the police or law enforcement. He is a repeat offender, resisted and got what he deserved. That lawsuit should not get past the clerks desk. If anything make him a posterboy and put his picture up all along the border with the note saying if you come here illegally, then you could be the next person going home in a box.

Eugene Iredale, an attorney for his family, said the litigation will allow his legal team access to previously off-limits information, including police reports, witness statements and names of the agents and agencies involved in the incident.

Eugene Iredale: Prime candidate for ambulance chaser of the decade! His business cards should read "if I smell a buck, I'll take your case".

Hernandez’s heart condition and methamphetamine use were listed as contributing factors in the report. Glenn Wagner, the chief medical examiner, said it was unclear how much blame should be assigned to the stun gun and how much to Hernandez’s agitated state.

Sorry, this guy signed his own death warrant. Heart condition + meth+ resisting arrest = knowing what he was doing but didn't give a hoot!

Family of Dead Mexican Migrant Sues US Government
Thursday, March 17, 2011
By Staff, Associated Press

San Diego (AP) - A wrongful death lawsuit against the federal government charges that a Mexican man was beaten by immigration agents before one of them fired a stun gun several times as he lie on the ground.

The family of Anastacio Hernandez argues in its suit that agents used excessive force at a San Diego border crossing on May 28, killing the 42-year-old construction worker.

Family attorney Eugene Iredale said key evidence includes a witness' cell-phone audio of Hernandez crying for help and a witness telling agents to stop.

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in federal court in San Diego, seeks unspecified damages.

"This was a man who was frightened and who was really, at the time, pleading for his life," Iredale said at a news conference that was organized by the Mexican consulate in San Diego.

Jackie Wasiluk, a spokeswoman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, said she would not comment on pending litigation. San Diego police have said an unnamed customs and border officer fired the stun gun.

The San Diego County coroner has ruled the death a homicide. The cause was determined to be a heart attack, with methamphetamine abuse and hypertension listed as contributing factors.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon has vigorously denounced the incident, saying a death "with that degree of violence is a truly unacceptable violation." The consulate said in a statement Wednesday that the Mexican government "reiterates its strongest condemnation of the incident that led to the death of one of its citizens."

Iredale said the U.S. Justice Department's civil rights division was reviewing a San Diego police investigation.

The government denied the family's administrative claim for damages last month, a required precursor for a lawsuit. Iredale said he will now gain access to police reports and names of the agents involved.

Hernandez had lived in the San Diego area for more than 20 years, according to the lawsuit. He is survived by his partner, Maria Puga, and their five children, ages 4 to 20.

Relatives have told the American Friends Service Committee that Hernandez was deported last May after being stopped for a traffic violation in San Diego. He returned to the U.S. through the rugged mountains east of San Diego and was arrested by the Border Patrol. He was being escorted back to Tijuana, Mexico, when he was shot with the stun gun.


http://cnsnews.com/news/article/family- ... es-us-gove

Police Tasers should be banned in the United States, not because of their use by Border Patrol, but because of their use by any law enforcement agency. These weapons are lethal weapons, falsely advertised as non-lethal weapons, and have killed more than 400 innocent unarmed people in the United States since 2002. It's ironic that a lawsuit on behalf of an illegal alien may bring an end to taser use in the United States which is considered a form of torture by the UN Human Rights Commission on torture.

You know how much I oppose illegal immigration, but taser use is something else and no one, illegal alien, US citizen or anyone else, should be electrocuted to death by any law enforcement officer in the United States. If the person is armed or fleeing, use your gun. If the person is unarmed, then use your body or a club to subdue them.

I don't have much pity for this fool. People on drugs have been known to have super-human strength when provoked. This guy had it coming and I absolutely back the BP using a tazer on him. If you mess with the bull - you get the horns.

One thing I don't get tho - I thought/heard the Fed gov was un-sue-able. If this pukes family can sue them for this why can US citizens not sue them for failing to secure the border as was promised?

Originally Posted by Judy

Police Tasers . . . have killed more than 400 innocent unarmed people in the United States since 2002. . .

The 400 may have been unarmed, but I doubt that they were all INNOCENT.

Originally Posted by JohnDoe2

Originally Posted by Judy

Police Tasers . . . have killed more than 400 innocent unarmed people in the United States since 2002. . .

The 400 may have been unarmed, but I doubt that they were all INNOCENT.

Well, that may be true, but under our system of justice, a person is considered innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a trial in a court of law by a jury of peers, especially unarmed individuals, and for illegal aliens that would be at their deportation hearing or trial for violating previous deportations.

The taser issue is an American issue that needs to be resolved with a ban on their use by law enforcement. It's most unfortunate that the failure to resolve it here for the benefits of US citizens has now spilled over into international law and another lawsuit.

If a large muscular man is charging at a smaller female officer, or even a smaller male officer, they have every right in the world to defend themselves with whatever is available to them.
If they don't use a taser the alternative is a 9mm handgun, which tend to be very deadly much more often than a taser.