Where Curiosity Tased the Cat, Immunity Denied
Police may be liable for using a Taser on a man who asked, “What are you doing to Jack,” as he watched officers wrestle with his suicidal neighbor, the 9th Circuit ruled Friday.
Donald and Kristi Gravelet-Blondin stepped outside in slippers one May night in 2008 in Snohomish, Wash., to find out what was going on at their neighbor Jack’s house. The police were trying to get Jack out of his car, which, in an apparent suicide attempt, had a hose running from the exhaust pipe into one of its windows. Jack reportedly had a gun, and when he refused to show his hands after turning off the car, officers moved to put him in handcuffs, Tasing him twice.
The Blondins got within about 37 feet of the scene, heard Jack moaning and saw him pinned on the ground. Donald Blondin said, “What are you doing to Jack?” and faced a barrage of orders to get back. When he didn’t move, or didn’t move enough, Sgt. Jeff Shelton rushed him with Taser drawn.
A witness said that Blondin seemed to be “frozen with fear.” Shelton warned Blondin that he was about to be Tased, but fired before he finished saying it, according to the ruling.
“Sgt. Shelton tased Blondin in dart mode, knocking him down and causing excruciating pain, paralysis, and loss of muscle control,” the ruling states. “Blondin, disoriented and weak, began to hyperventilate. Sgt. Shelton asked Blondin if he ‘want[ed] it again’ before turning to Ms. Blondin and warning, ‘You’re next.’”
Blondin was later charged with obstructing a police officer, but the case was dropped. The Blondins then sued the city of Snohomish and Shelton for excessive force, unlawful arrest and various violations of state law, including common-law outrage for causing a wife to watch her husband being shot with a Taser
U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik granted the city summary judgment and Shelton qualified immunity on all of the Blondins’ claims. A divided appellate panel reversed on Friday.
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