Taser use prompts suit against police

What started as a minor traffic accident last summer has turned into a civil lawsuit filed against the Redmond Police Department over the use of a Taser.

The lawsuit was filed Friday by Leila Fuchs, 34, a Microsoft technical writer.

Fuchs said she was driving north on 148th Avenue Northeast at Redmond Way, or Northeast 85th Street, on July 10 when she came to a red light and began applying the brakes.

At the same time, she suffered a "diabetic episode" and failed to stop, rear-ending a 2005 Honda Civic that had stopped for the red light, according to the filings.

Officers arrived and ordered Fuchs from the car, but she was unable to respond, according to the lawsuit.

An officer broke the passenger window, leaned into the car, issued a Taser warning, and fired a Taser charge into Fuchs, the suit states.

A police videotape of the incident made from a patrol car shows Fuchs being removed from the driver's seat, falling to the ground, and then standing and being led away.

The department declined comment.

A report by one officer entered as part of the court record says that when police arrived, they thought they were dealing with a drunken driver who wouldn't cooperate and unlock her car doors.

The lawsuit contends police used excessive force and were negligent and that Fuchs, who earlier had undergone a kidney and pancreas transplant, suffered extreme distress and mental anguish.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages.

Peyton Whitely: 206-464-2259 or pwhitely@seattletimes.com