By Andy Stiny
Albuquerque Journal
TAOS, N.M. — A woman who was jolted with a Taser while handcuffed has filed a lawsuit in an attempt to hold the town of Taos accountable for what she claims was excessive force on the part of its police force.
This is the second court case filed on behalf of Felicia Erickson. It names three police officers and the town as defendants, and claims Erickson’s rights were violated when she was arrested and Tasered by police earlier this year.
The complaint alleges that:
The town of Taos failed to set police policies on when to use a Taser on handcuffed subjects.
It went along with police use of the device on “uncooperative and/or handcuffed arrestees.”
It failed to adequately train its officers on when it might be appropriate to Taser handcuffed persons.
The lawsuit was filed earlier this week in state District Court.
Assistant Town Attorney Jack Clough said he had not seen the latest complaint. “I’m not going to comment on it,” he said. “Anyone can allege anything.”
Erickson last week also filed a lawsuit asking the state Dis- trict Court take over her case from Taos Municipal Court, where she had pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges stemming from her arrest March 30. Police were called to a home because of a reported disturbance.
Erickson was a passenger in a parked vehicle in which she was preparing to leave when she was removed from the vehicle, according to the most recent lawsuit. Police reports said Erickson resisted arrest and refused to get up off the ground after she was handcuffed outside of her Taos residence.
In the earlier lawsuit, Erickson claimed she pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges in Municipal Court without understanding the consequences, and asked that state courts nullify the plea.
The latest lawsuit names Taos Officers Jani Davis, her training officer Robert Salazar and Gilbert Atencio, as well as the town, as defendants and alleges police used excessive force when they arrested her.
The lawsuit acknowledges that Erickson was intoxicated and shouted obscenities at officers. It says Salazar attempted to use “a pain compliance technique” on Erickson “by putting pressure on her left thumb” and “applied pressure to the handcuffs as punishment to (Erickson) for not getting up off the ground” during the incident. The officer then Tasered her.
Typically, a Taser incapacitates a person with 50,000 volts of electricity. The Taos police Taser policy does not address using the device on a handcuffed person.
Both lawsuits were filed by Taos attorneys Alan Maestas and Andria Cooper. Erickson, who moved to Colorado shortly after her arrest, is seeking a six-person jury trial in the second lawsuit and has asked for both compensatory and punitive damages.
Copyright 2010 Albuquerque Journal