Police Tased Man To Death, Family's Lawsuit Against Suburban Indianapolis Town Claims

INDIANAPOLIS, IN — The family of a man who died last May after being tased 16 times by police filed a federal lawsuit against the officers and town involved Tuesday.

Charles Todero was walking home from his fathers funeral May 29, 2016 when he encountered officers from Indianapolis suburb of Greenwood. The 30-year-old was working as a landscaper and living in Trafalgar at the time and was walking home because he knew he was too upset to drive, his family said.

Lawyers for Todero's estate contend he did nothing more than jaywalk to provoke Lt. Brian Blackwell of the Greenwood Police Department to tase him. Citing logs showing he was tased a total of 16 times in three minutes for a combined 98 seconds of electrocution, they say he was tased for more than six times the manufacturers limit and more than twice the maximum duration ever tested on humans in a lab.

The lawsuit said Todero's heart had stopped within minutes of the tasing. Following the incident, Todero suffered a dozen heart attacks and organ failure before dying on June 11. It seeks damages for the use of excessive force, wrongful death, battery and other alleged offenses committed by Greenwood officers.

According to Greenwood police, Blackwell tased Todero to stop him from walking in traffic and causing an accident.

Police reported his behavior had been "strange and dangerous" and he was "walking in and out" of the roadway, according to WXIN.

Police also said multiple callers reported him to police for trying to get hit by cars, forcing drivers to brake and swerve to avoid him, according to the Daily Journal.

Greenwood officials issued the following statement Tuesday:

The City of Greenwood is aware of the lawsuit filed this morning by the Estate of Charles Todero and the incident giving rise to it. It received a copy of the complaint this morning from media outlets and has not yet been served. The City disputes many of the factual allegations contained in the Complaint and denies all of its claims. Due to the pendency of litigation, the City will have no further comment.

Todero is survived by his mother and five brothers. His estate is represented by attorneys Steven Art and Sam Heppell of the Chicago-based civil rights firm Loevy & Loevy.

Top photo | Charles Todero | Courtesy Todero Family