Man Says Cops Used Taser Like a Toy

SALT LAKE CITY (CN) - Cops just love those Tasers. A man who complained that his truck had been booted unfairly claims two Logan City policemen slammed his head into the truck, handcuffed him and Tasered him "for what seemed like several minutes," then asked him if he "had enough," and laughed at him.

Marvin Fluckiger says he suffered permanent nerve damage and a severe neck injury in the attack by Logan City police Officers Bryan Hawkins and Nathan Argyle.

Fluckiger says he called Logan City police after his truck was booted while parked in a marked stall at a friend's condo. He could not resolve the dispute with the booting company, he says, and needed police assistance.

When the cops arrived, he says, Officer Hawkins "grabbed plaintiff and slammed him onto the hood of Plaintiff's truck.

"During this process, the impact of plaintiff being slammed into the hood area broke the bug shield on the hood of his truck.

"While on the hood of the truck and handcuffed, plaintiff asked the officers what they were doing. Defendant Hawkins stated that he was going to Taze plaintiff, whereupon he shoved his Taser into plaintiff's ribs and proceeded to hold it there for what seemed like several minutes. During the Tasing, defendant Argyle restrained plaintiff on the truck. While being Tased, plaintiff again asked the officers what they were doing, requested they stop, and repeatedly stated he felt he was going to have a heart attack.

"Near the end of the Tasing, Defendant Hawkins asked Plaintiff if he had 'had enough,' whereupon the officers began laughing."

The cops took him to jail, where he was released, and then went directly to a hospital emergency room, Fluckiger says in his federal complaint.

He says the two cops "used force or violence when no such force was remotely necessary. Plaintiff was unarmed and not resisting. No crime had been committed."

After his unlawful arrest, Fluckiger says, he had "severe bruising on his arms and wrists, a skin injury on his neck from the windshield wiper, as well as two lesions on his chest from where he was slammed into the truck and where he was Tazed."

He says his right arm was permanently damaged by the officers' "egregious and outrageous actions," and he needed disc surgery.

"Plaintiff has experienced regular severe neck pain, permanent headaches, as well as numbness and decreased movement in his right arm. ... Plaintiff's arm has continual twitches and spasm and he has lost much control over the appendage," the complaint says. He also says he is no longer able to work.

He demands compensatory and punitive damages and attorney's fees.

He is represented by David Brown.

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