The parents of a teenager in Bastrop, Texas who is currently in a coma after being tasered by a school officer are suing the school district and county, according to Austin YNN.
Noe Niño de Rivera has been in a medically-induced come since Nov. 20 when he was tasered by Bastrop Sheriff Deputy Randy McMillan during a fight at his high school. According to the lawsuit, two female students were fighting in the hallway when McMillan called another officer for assistance to help him break up the fight; fearing that the skirmish would escalate before reinforcements could arrive, 17-year-old Rivera tried to breakup the fight.
McMillan reportedly told Rivera to back away. Court documents state that Rivera backed away with his hands up, at which point McMillan shocked him with a taser. (Last week, officials at the Sheriff’s office said Rivera was acting aggressively before the taser was used.) Rivera fell to the ground, hitting his head. Rivera developed a severe brain hemorrhage following the injury. Doctors induced the coma when Rivera arrived at the hospital via airlift.
The lawsuit argues that Rivera “posed no imminent threat of death or serious injury” to McMillan and also says that McMillan used a taser on a another student a year ago.
[YNN]