Steven Butler was drunk on that fateful night in October 2006. He was also off his psychiatric medication. He refused to get off a bus, and a policeman who was called to the scene used a Taser X-26 electronic taser to prod him, but that only exacerbated the situation. Butler suffered a cardiac arrest, and it took 18 minutes to revive him. By then, he had suffered irreversible brain damage, including decreased mobility and motor skills and a loss of short-term memory. As a result of his injuries, Butler sued Taser.
The liability case was settled this week, with Taser agreeing to pay Butler $2.85 million in damages. As part of the agreement, however, Taser does not accept any responsibility for the brain damage Butler suffered, saying that they were caused by pre-existing conditions. While Taser has scientific evidence that there are no adverse affects to the electric shock people get from their products, Butler’s lawyers have pointed out that most of the studies have been funded by Taser itself. Read more at Santa Cruz Weekly.
