$90,000 for combination of taser and seizures!

County leaders paid a $90,000 settlement Thursday and agreed to tougher guidelines for deputies using Tasers after officers repeatedly used the devices to shock a man suffering from seizures.
Christopher Nielsen of Longmont collapsed and suffered seizures both before and after police zapped him with Tasers five times after a car crash in November.

The settlement comes five weeks after Ryan Michael Wilson died when Lafayette police shot him with a Taser to stop him from fleeing a marijuana bust Aug. 4.

Sheriff Joe Pelle did not return several calls for comment Thursday and Friday.

The agreement prohibits Nielsen from suing the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office. However, Nielsen is considering a lawsuit against Longmont police, who also fired a Taser at him during the incident, according to Nielsen’s attorney, Andrew Gibbs.

Nielsen, 37, apparently suffered a seizure while driving and crashed his Ford Expedition at 9119 Nelson Road on the morning of Nov. 27, Deputy John Appleman wrote in a report.

Officers found Nielsen standing outside his car. He did not obey police instructions, Appleman wrote, and police did not realize he had suffered a seizure.

“With each command, the individual appeared to pace more frequently and was becoming more rigid in his stature and apparently agitated,” Appleman wrote.

After warning Nielsen several times, Appleman shot the suspect with a Taser, a device that delivers an electric shock to immobilize its target, according to reports.

Nielsen stayed on his feet and attempted to rip the Taser electrode from his left hand, the report said.

Longmont Officer Kyle Miller, who also responded to the crash, reacted by shooting Nielsen with a second Taser, police said.

Nielsen continued to act strangely, and Appleman hit Nielsen with two more jolts from the Taser before Nielsen fell down, police said.

Lying on the ground, Nielsen reached for his pockets, so Appleman zapped him a fourth time, according to the report. Nielsen asked him to stop shocking him, police said.

Police took Neilsen into custody. Paramedics examined him, suspected he was suffering seizures and took him to Longmont United Hospital for treatment.

Earlier in the morning, Nielsen had visited LUH for medical advice about seizures, but no neurologist was on duty, officers later discovered.

Appleman ticketed Nielsen on suspicion of driving with a suspended license — a penalty for several unpaid traffic tickets — and obstructing a police officer. A prosecutor threw out the charges a few days later, court records showed.

As part of the settlement with Neilsen, the sheriff’s office revised its policy for Taser use on Aug. 2.
The new policy prohibits deputies in most cases from zapping suspects who engage in “passive resistance,” such as going limp, stiffening their body or refusing to move.

A deputy who uses a Taser on someone being passively resistant must be able to explain why the Taser was a better way to restrain the suspect than verbal commands or light physical force, the policy says.

In Longmont, an officer may not use a Taser on a suspect more than three times during an incident, or use a Taser on suspects who are very young, elderly, pregnant, sick or injured, Sgt. Tim Lewis said.

The weapons can cause health problems and death, but only in rare cases, he stressed. More often, they prevent officers from wrestling with suspects who resist.

“It’s still a valuable tool to us,” he said. “It reduces injuries to suspects and officers.”