Son's TASER Death Prompts Parents' $2 Million Lawsuit
By Richard Seward
Published on July 31, 2007
A wrongful death claim against the city of Gilbert was filed by Drew and Gina Athetis on behalf of their son, Andrew Athetis, who was 18 at the time of the incident. The claim is the first step in bringing a lawsuit against a governmental body. The city of Gilbert has 60 days to respond after which time the victim's parents will be able to proceed with filing the lawsuit.
In the claim, the parents allege that police officers acted negligently, and used excessive force in the January 17 incident when they attempted to subdue their son.
According to a police report, at the time of the incident, officers were investigating a robbery involving Andrew Athetis, who allegedly struck a woman in the chest and took her keys.
Officers located Athetis in a public fountain. Reports on the scene state that Athetis approached the officers but would not comply with their orders to stop. An officer fired his TASER device, striking Athetis, who fell with his hands and arms underneath his body. The officer shocked Athetis four additional times within a period of 33 seconds when Athetis would not comply with orders to stay down with his arms to his sides.
The claim filed by the parents states that by the fourth cycle, Athetis was not responsive to officers. He was coughing up green phlegm and was moaning but unable to speak.
According to the Maricopa County medical examiner, Athetis died 11 hours later from excited delirium – a condition characterized by an individual's heart shutting down in response to a stressful event it is unable to handle – associated with methamphetamine toxicity.
Athetis' parents claim that their son was mentally impaired and that officers used excessive force in using the TASER devices. They further claim that the officers did not monitor their son's condition and failed to recognize the signs of excited delirium; signs that the Gilbert Police Department confirmed officers are trained to recognize.
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