A federal judge has dismissed a wrongful death and excessive force lawsuit filed by the family of an Alabama man who died in 2023 after being repeatedly shocked with a Taser by police.
U.S. District Court Judge Kristi K. DuBose on Tuesday ruled in favor of the city of Mobile and two police officers, concluding the case. Following the dismissal, the federal court unsealed body camera footage related to the incident, which had not been previously released to the public.
Jawan Dallas, 36, died on July 2, 2023, after officers deployed a Taser multiple times during an attempt to detain him, an event that sparked protests in Mobile.
Judge DuBose noted that a medical examiner determined Dallas primarily died from “acute myocardial ischemia and cardiorespiratory failure caused by mixed drug toxicity – including toxicity from the presence of methamphetamine.”
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“Unfortunately, Mr. Dallas died from a heart attack approximately twenty minutes after he was handcuffed,” DuBose wrote. She wrote that the use of force against Dallas was objectively reasonable.
Lawyers for his family disagreed with the decision and said they plan to appeal to the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.
“The video evidence is striking. Jawan Dallas endured a taser/drive stun for about 44 seconds, which is longer than the recommended time, and tragically lost his life though he was not the person accused of trespassing,” lawyers for the Dallas family said in a statement.
The medical examiner found three abrasions on Dallas that were consistent with dry stun injuries and six punctures on Mr. Dallas’s back, four of which were consistent with “deeper” Taser probe injuries, according to the Tuesday ruling.
Officers approached Dallas after responding to a report of a possible burglary and trespassing at a trailer park. Dallas was in his vehicle. An officer demanded Dallas get out of the car and produce his identification. Dallas appears to tell the officer, “That’s illegal.” He is then pulled from the car and a scuffle ensues.
“Please, please, I can’t breathe,” Dallas is heard saying on audio from the body camera footage.
Lawyers for the officers and the city had argued that Dallas resisted arrest. An expert hired by the Dallas family said he was not resisting but reacting to the burning pain from the Taser.
