A former Independence police officer was not protected by qualified immunity after he seriously injured a teenager with a Taser and by dropping him face down on the pavement, a federal appeals court has ruled.
The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last week upheld a $6.5 million jury verdict against former officer Timothy Runnels over the confrontation with Bryce Masters during a traffic stop in 2014, KCUR reported.
The court ruled Runnels had violated Masters’ rights by using a Taser on him for up to 20 seconds after Masters, who was 17 at the time, refused to get out of his car. Runnels dragged the unconscious teenager several feet before dropping him on the pavement.
Masters suffered a convulsion and cardiac arrest from the prolonged Taser use, and four fractured teeth from being dropped on the pavement. First responders revived him, but he suffered oxygen deficiency to the brain.
