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/