New lawsuit alleges Ferguson officers used Taser on mentally ill man in 2011, killing him

Aug. 20--Ferguson police officers restrained a mentally ill man and repeatedly shot him with a Taser, causing him to die of a heart attack, a federal lawsuit alleges.

The suit was filed Tuesday by Tina Moore, who says officers used excessive force in arresting her husband, Jason Moore, on Sept. 17, 2011.

It names as defendants the Ferguson police department; the city of Ferguson; Police Chief Tom Jackson; Ferguson police officers Brian Kaminski and Michael White; Mayor James Knowles III; and City Council members Mark Byrne, Kim Tihen, Dwayne James, Tim Larson, David Conway and Keith Kallstrom.

Kaminski and White responded to a 911 call at North Marguerite Avenue and Airport Road in Ferguson, where Jason Moore was naked and unarmed, the lawsuit says.

Kaminski was the first to arrive and saw Jason Moore walk from behind a building and stand on the curb. He "was suffering from a psychological disorder and demonstrated clear signs of mental illness," the suit says.

A witness said Jason Moore had been yelling "glory to God" and "I'm Jesus," according to a police report provided by Tina Moore's attorneys.

Kaminski ordered Jason Moore to put his hands in the air and walk toward him. When Jason Moore did so, Kaminski fired his Taser. One prong struck him in the left side of the chest near his heart and another prong hit him in the right thigh. Kaminski then shot him at least three more times with the Taser, the suit alleges.

White arrived during the altercation and restrained Jason Moore while Kaminski fired Taser shots.

Jason Moore stopped breathing and became unresponsive while being shot with the Taser, the suit says. He died of a heart attack.

He was 31, according to his obituary.

The suit alleges that police officers were not properly trained in using appropriate levels of force or how to identify people suffering from mental illness.

It also alleges that officers use Tasers without regard for whether a suspect poses an immediate threat, that they use the same "methods and levels of force" with mentally ill people as with criminals and that Ferguson police officers "conspire with one another to cover for and protect one another from criminal and/or civil sanctions that might arise from the violation of the constitutional rights of a citizen."

Efforts to reach a representative from Chesterfield-based public relations firm Common Ground PR, which is representing Ferguson, were not immediately successful. Tina Moore's attorneys also could not be reached for comment.

Leah Thorsen covers Jefferson and south St. Louis counties. Follow her on Twitter.

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