Man who was shot and shocked with Taser sues

A man who was shot in the stomach and repeatedly shocked with a Taser by police officers is suing Pembroke Pines for excessive use of force.

Abel Martinez, 40, was charged with battery of a police officer and resisting arrest at the time of the June10, 2010, incident in his southeast Pembroke Pines home. He was acquitted of both charges, the battery at a 2011 trial and the resisting arrest on appeal in late 2013.

Theuse of forcewas “justifiable and in compliance with department policies and procedures” because Martinezwas acting aggressively and violently, according to the Pembroke Pines Police Department shooting review of the incident.

But Martinez claims therewas no reason for two Pembroke Pines police officers to use the amount of force they did. He is seeking at least $15,000 for pain and suffering, according to a lawsuit filed in May. He’s spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on medical and legal bills over the past four years, said Martinez’ attorney, Carl Bober.

Martinez had just had a seizure for the first time in his life, Bober said, and the lingering effects of the seizure caused him to speak incoherently and move around “in an erratic fashion” after police and fire rescue arrived in response to his wife’s 911 call for help.

Police should have known that’s what was wrong, or at least not shot a man whowas unarmed and clearly disoriented, Bober said.

“Hewas unarmed, and in his underwear,” Bober said. “If you think about it, this is aman whowas in his home, having a seizure, and he winds up getting shot.”

A jury in 2013 acquitted Martinez for the charge of resisting arrest because his behavior was the result of being in a postictal state, the state of disorientation that follows a seizure, said Shlomi Presser, a Fort Lauderdale-based attorney who representedMartinez in his appeal.

He struggled with police repeatedly, and fled from them when they confronted him in his bedroom, all the while shouting for his grandmother (who lives in Cuba) and other relatives, according to attorneys and the shooting review.

He hit OfficerKevin King in the head with a pair of handcuffs police tried to strap on him, drawing blood. The Pines shooting review says he did this by “punching” King, but Presser said Martinez was “flailing” and “struggling” in his confused state.

The Taser shocks had no effect on him, according to the shooting review. He even kept fighting after he’d been shot.

But “there’s a lot of other ways besides shooting someone to restrain a guy who’s having a seizure,” Bober said.

“He’s been experiencing anxiety and depression ever since, he lost his job, they tried to foreclose on his home, he’s scared in hisown house, he’s scared how this will affect his family and kids who were present at the time, he’s afraid how this will his marriage,” Bober said. “It’s cost him everything, in addition to almost costing him his life.”