A harrowing scene unfolded at a Palo Alto shopping mall last summer. A July 19 video shows a man being zapped with a Taser. He then collapsed and broke his neck.
Videos by Wide Open Country
The Man Dared the Guard to Use the Taser
As reported by the New York Post, the incident took place at the Stanford Shopping Center. In the clip, the bearded man was sleeping on a bench when an officer and a security guard woke him up.
The video shows the three of them arguing. Then the man stands up and reaches toward the officer, who tells him to back away.
The officer then says to the man, "You're going to get tased, dude. You're going to get tased."
The man replies, "Do it," and moves toward the officer.
The Taser is then fired and hits the man's chest. His body stiffens and he face plants.
The Man Fractured a Vertebra
The video shows the man lying on the ground. Blood oozes from his forehead for three minutes before he is eventually cuffed.
An emergency crew took the man to a hospital. He was found to have a fractured vertebra in his neck. He was later charged with resisting arrest, trespassing, and drug possession.
The man apologized for his behavior during the incident, according to City Manager Ed Shikada in an email to the Palo Alto City Council sent on Aug. 14. Shikada added that the police department's auditor would review the officer's use of force.
Law enforcement agencies in California are required by law to release audio and video recordings within 45 days of any incident in which an officer's use of force results in "great bodily injury." This includes broken bones.
The incident took place several weeks after a shirtless man in San Diego was tased at point-blank range by a bouncer. In June, social media footage showed a bouncer telling the man to leave the premises before another shoots him in the face with a stun gun.
The bouncer, identified as David Marquez, was booked into the Vista County jail on two felony charges — assault with a deadly weapon and assault with a stun gun.
