A California man with epilepsy has accused police of accidentally shooting him with a Taser while he was drunk while he was having a seizure in his home, according to reports.
In August 2022, disturbing footage showed Bruce Frankel being shocked and arrested at his home in the San Anselmo suburb of San Francisco. KTVU reported.
He filed a lawsuit against Central Coast Guard officers, accusing them of fabricating a false cover story for resisting arrest and assaulting his wife Alice.
“If the police had asked Alice two questions: ‘What’s going on?’ and ‘Has this happened before?’ We wouldn’t be here today,” Frankel said. told the media.
“But that police officer did none of that. He thought he knew what was going on and attacked me.”
The horror story reportedly began when Frankel’s wife, 61, called 911 in panic, saying he wasn’t breathing.
When police arrived at the home, they found Frankel, who by then was recovering from the attack, standing in his underwear, rammed near the bed, the footage shows.
He is then seen stumbling, tripping over the curtains and falling onto the bed, before rushing officers intervene to restrain him.
“Stop resisting,” an officer can be heard saying as he struggles with Frankel. “Stop fighting. Get on your stomach. I want to help you. Stop fighting or you’ll get taped. Do you want to get taped?”
Ms. Frankel screamed and moaned during the ordeal and repeatedly told the officers to “leave me alone.”
The officer then quickly pulled out a Taser, knocking Frankel unconscious and causing him to fall to the floor, body camera footage shows.
Frankel was arrested for resisting arrest and assault, police said, and was later taken to a hospital, where doctors said they determined he had suffered a grand mal seizure.
A few days later, Frankel claims he received a call from the local district attorney informing him that he was also charged with domestic violence against his wife.
He has now hit out at Central Marin police with a lawsuit alleging assault, false arrest and defamation over the ordeal, which was caught on camera.
In a lawsuit filed this week, Frankel alleges that police concocted a cover-up story to arrest him on false charges to justify the excessive use of force seen on video. .
Police said in a police report that Frankel resisted arrest for more than two minutes and the officer fired a Taser after warning him multiple times because he feared for his safety.
Police Chief Michael Norton said in a statement that the department “regrets that the department has chosen to file a lawsuit against us for our alleged improper emergency medical response to Mr. Bruce Frankel.”
He added that the department “intends to vigorously defend against this senseless and factually inaccurate lawsuit.” Unfortunately, this person has decided to litigate his case first in the media rather than in court, where we believe the officers’ actions will be justified. ”
