Montgomery County settles with family of man who died after being shot by Taser - $1.75 Million

Montgomery County officials have settled a civil rights violation claim with the family of a Gaithersburg man who died after county police officers shot him with a Taser during a 2013 arrest.

The county paid the family $1.75 million but admitted no liability, the county’s chief of litigation, Patricia Via, said Thursday. The amount was approved by the finance director and covered by the county’s self-insurance program. It does not require approval by the County Council, she said.

The settlement was reached in June.

The family alleged in a recent letter written to county officials that officers violated Anthony Howard Sr.’s civil rights during the April 19, 2013, arrest...

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/bs-md-taser-settlement-20170810-story.html

Family files wrongful death suit in Montgomery Co. stun gun death

The family of a Montgomery County man who died after police deployed stun guns to subdue him filed suit in federal court Thursday, alleging the officers acted improperly as part of a larger pattern of misuse of the weapon within the department.
Anthony Howard Sr. was dancing barefoot on top of a vehicle in Laytonsville while neighbors watched and laughed in April 2013 when police arrived on scene, according to the complaint, filed in U.S. District Court...

http://thedailyrecord.com/2016/10/14/montgomery-county-police-stun-gun-death/

Balt. Sun on Mont. Co. Use of Tasers: The repeated stunning that Howard received from the Montgomery County police is part of a troubling pattern across Maryland, a six-month investigation by The Baltimore Sun has found.

As two Montgomery County police officers slowly closed in with Tasers pointed, Anthony Howard retreated up a small step and backed himself against the front door of a townhome on a quiet cul-de-sac in the Washington suburb of Gaithersburg.
Minutes earlier, the 51-year-old man had asked an officer: "Are you gonna kill me?"
High on cocaine, Howard started the standoff by dancing barefoot on an SUV roof, barking and muttering gibberish on the late afternoon of April 19, 2013. Two dozen neighbors gawking at the bizarre spectacle laughed when Howard jumped off the Ford SUV to avoid an officer's stream of pepper spray, and they taunted police, urging them to use their stun guns.
Police said in a report on the incident that Howard had thrown "boulders" and charged at officers. But a 17-minute video taken by a resident and obtained by The Baltimore Sun shows that when officers approached Howard for the last time, he was standing still, holding a child's scooter. Officers fired two Tasers, shooting electrified darts connected by long wires into Howard's body...

...Anthony Howard's sister, Robbin, said that she and her family have been asking questions about his death but have gotten few answers. The family abandoned legal action against Montgomery County after police declined to turn over any videos they had obtained from neighbors who recorded the incident on their mobile devices. Two bystanders told The Sun that when police returned their devices, their videos had been erased...

 http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/investigations/bal-tasers-in-maryland-story.html

Video Report:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/bal-shocking-force-tasers-in-maryland-20160318-premiumvideo.html