Gypsy Jan
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Lawsuit filed in fiery Taser-related death
From The San Diego Union Tribune
By Greg Moran
SAN DIEGO - "The family of a 25-year-old Texas man who died in a fiery explosion more than a year ago after the car he was driving was stopped by the
Border Patrol near Pine Valley has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the government.
The lawsuit filed Friday in San Diego federal court blames the government for Alex Martin's death the night of March 15, 2012.
An unknown number of Border Patrol agents had tried to stop Martin after he was spotted driving the wrong way on Interstate 8 near Buckman Springs
Road.
Agents used a spike strip to deflate the tires on his rental car when Martin exited near Old Highway 80. His car came to a stop. An unidentified agent
then fired a Taser dart into the vehicle, which exploded in flames.
Martin died in the fire. Why a Taser was fired has not been revealed. The Border Patrol said in a statement shortly after Martin's death that he had
not obeyed commands to leave the car.
The lawsuit, filed by San Diego attorney Eugene Iredale on behalf of Martin's parents, Karen and Craig, said the makers of the Taser say it should not
be used where flammable gases or fumes could be present.
The suit said the spike strip or the rough terrain where the car came to a stop off the side of the road could have led to the release of flammable
materials from a gas tank line rupturing.
"The Taser manufacturer is very, very clear," Iredale said in an interview Monday. "In an area where there are or could be fumes or flammable liquids,
you don't use it."
The Sheriff's Department has been investigating Martin's death for more than a year. A spokesman said last month that laboratory analysis of some
materials taken from the car concluded there was nothing flammable on them, and the investigation is continuing.
The county medical examiner's report on the death is sealed.
The Border Patrol also has not identified any of the agents involved nor provided more information on the event, referring all questions to the
Sheriff's Department.
A U.S. Department of Justice spokesman said Monday the suit had not been served and declined to comment on the allegations."
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow mindedness.”
—Mark Twain
\"La vida es dura, el corazon es puro, y cantamos hasta la madrugada.” (Life is hard, the heart is pure and we sing until dawn.)
—Kirsty MacColl, Mambo de la Luna
\"Alea iacta est.\"
—Julius Caesar
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durrelllrobert
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" A spokesman said last month that laboratory analysis of some materials taken from the car concluded there was nothing flammable on them"
Duh, everything was burned in the explosion that killed him.
"An unidentified agent then fired a Taser dart into the vehicle, which exploded in flames."
Bob Durrell
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Ateo
Elite Nomad
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Can't wait to hear what Mr. Bill M has to say about this.
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MrBillM
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For those who just can't wait .................
Like Ateo.
I SAY .............
Who Cares ?
Other than the family and those involved, of course.
It sounds like a rare anomaly.
I'm unaware of any other offenders turned to Crispy-Critters by L.E. Tasers.
Whatever facts there are will come out in the course of the investigation and litigation. A decision will be rendered. A Pot-Of-Gold will be
realized.
Or NOT.
Such is life and the (Darwinian) termination thereof for the Doltish.
They say we should "Walk (or Drive ?) in the Shoes of Others" but, I can't envision being THAT Stupid so empathy is unwarranted, IMHO.
NOW, those who care KNOW what I have to say.
And, So What ?
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DaliDali
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If you run from an officer on foot or a motorized vehicle.....then fail to yield and STOP your running......fail to follow orders....in the dark..in
the middle of nowhere...your life expectancy greatly diminishes.
This particular man found this out the hard way.
"I fought the law and the law won"
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