By Richard K. De Atley
The Press Enterprise
RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Riverside County has made a $500,000 settlement with a man who was struck by a Taser dart after sheriff’s deputies perceived he was resisting arrest when he was actually having a stroke, the man’s attorney and court records disclosed.
The settlement was reached in February from the 2009 lawsuit filed by Daniel Martin Torres against the county and several deputies. Torres’ attorney, Jerry Steering of Newport Beach, disclosed the federal court settlement this week.
Torres is described in 2009 court papers as a former police officer and Riverside County deputy sheriff who left the department 18 years ago. The incident took place late on Jan. 3 and the early morning of Jan. 4, 2007.
Torres, 47 at the time, felt ill while at a relative’s Indio home and decided to drive himself to get medical help. His condition worsened as he drove.
He managed to pull into Bermuda Dunes bus stop to get his car out of traffic.
Torres was unable to move his right side and could not speak understandably by the time deputies arrived and ordered him out of his illegally parked car. He could not reach a cell phone that had fallen to the front right side of the car’s floor.
Torres was struck by a Taser dart because he could not raise his right hand from the car’s center console in response to deputies’ commands to show both his hands.
Torres was hospitalized and kept unconscious for two months to avoid raising his blood pressure. He suffers “some paralysis” as well as pain in his left limbs, Steering claimed.
Attorneys for the county said in court papers that deputies did not know Torres was having a stroke and were following correct procedure by confronting a suspect who appeared to be under the influence and might resume driving.
John Porter, who represented the county in the case, declined comment Wednesday.
Copyright 2010 The Press Enterprise, Inc.