By Ashley Meeks
Las Cruces Sun-News
LAS CRUCES, N.M. — The son of an elderly man suffering from terminal cancer has notified the county of a possible lawsuit after a sheriff’s deputy used a Taser on his father.
Robert Mattson said his father, 80-year-old Kenneth Graham, died nine days after an alleged battery, for which he went to jail.
“Graham never did recover from the Tasing, rough handling and trauma by (Deputy Sam) Rashe,” Mattson wrote in the tort claim notice provided to the Sun-News. “This event greatly diminished his quality of life in his last days and likely hastened his death.”
Deputy Rashe had been called to Graham’s home on the 12600 block of Frodo Place in Radium Springs for a welfare check on May 16, Mattson writes, and even after having been told “that Graham was in poor health due to terminal cancer and that they had believed he was dying that very morning,” used his Taser on the man.
Do-a Ana County has a policy of not commenting on pending or threatened litigation, but the deputy’s incident report says Rashe was sent to the home because Graham’s wife allegedly reported her husband had gotten violent with his family.
On arrival, Mattson told the deputy that Graham had swung at his two sons and allegedly warned the deputy his father was “very violent,” according to the report. Graham’s wife then allegedly told the deputy that Graham hadn’t hit her, but had been screaming and swearing at her, the deputy wrote.
When Rashe approached the house, Graham allegedly exited, yelling and cursing at him to get off his property and threatening Rashe if he didn’t leave. Graham said he was going to hit the deputy with a rock, and began to bend over to reach for a rock, according to the report.
That’s when Rashe used his Taser on Graham, dropped the man using an arm bar takedown, handcuffed him and arrested him, the incident report states.
Mattson writes that his father was “brought to his feet and roughly escorted by Rashe to his unit,” and that “During the escort, Graham fell once or more times.”
Graham allegedly refused medical attention from paramedics but was taken to Memorial Medical Center on the request of his personal physician, according to the sheriff’s office report. After he was evaluated, he was jailed.
The charges against Graham - assault on a household member and assaulting an officer - were dismissed on June 28, according to court records.
Because the matter involves personnel information and litigation, sheriff’s office spokeswoman Kelly Jameson declined to comment on if Rashe was suspended or investigated for the incident.
Copyright 2011 Las Cruces Sun-News, a MediaNews Group Newspaper