Two Colorado cops are being sued by a 79-year-old disabled man who says they tasered him twice and threw him to the ground after he sat in a section of a McDonald's that was closed off due to COVID-19.
Clayton Shriver waited for his partner at a McDonald's inside a Walmart in Westminster, Colorado on May 15, 2020.
Restaurant staff said he had to buy something or leave, but he couldn't make out what they were saying because of his various impairments, including hearing loss and previous traumatic brain injuries, according to the lawsuit.
An officer who was already in the store was called over. When Shriver tried to walk to his car, he was tackled to the ground and tasered, he says. A second officer who arrived for backup allegedly tasered him again.
The incident left Shriver with right hip pain and limited motion in his right shoulder.
The Westminster Police Department says the incident, which was caught on video, was reviewed by a civilian review board and independent witnesses who found no evidence of excessive force. The two officers involved, Michael Owen and Tyler Farson, resigned last year for 'unrelated' reasons, police said.
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Clayton Shriver, 79, was tackled to the ground and tasered twice by two officers after he suffered a medical emergency in a Walmart McDonald's in 2020, according to a lawsuit. Above, Shriver holds a bloodied shirt from the incident
Video from the incident shows Shriver sitting in a stool while speaking to a Westminster officer
Shriver says he was walking away to go to his car when the officer tackled him and tasered him
The retired sub-station engineer was taken to the hospital with multiple injuries (above) including severe right knee and elbow pain, a right knee abrasion, and a right elbow contusion
'It defies common sense that two healthy officers in good physical condition reasonably took down and twice tased 78-year-old Mr. Shriver, who suffers from significant debilitating and limiting medical impairments,' according to the lawsuit, which was filed last week in US District Court in Colorado.
Shriver is suing the Westminster Police Department and the two officers for excessive force, malicious prosecution and failure to train and supervise. He is asking for unspecified damages.
'At no time did Mr. Shriver pose an immediate threat to the safety of the Defendants or anyone else in the McDonald's or Wal-Mart,' the lawsuit states.
Video of the incident released by police shows Shriver, a retired sub-station engineer, standing in the McDonald's wearing a grey shirt and a green neck gaiter.
'We ask the public to review every situation based upon the unique set of facts and circumstance specific to that particular event and not make comparisons to other incidents,' police said in a description of the video, posted on "Youtube on Wednesday.
Shriver appears to briefly speak to an officer before turning around, pointing at a witness behind him and approaching him, prompting the officer to pull him back.
He sits back down and speaks to the officer from a stool before he gets up to walk away.
Shriver says he was tasered once by Officer Michael Owen and again by Officer Tyler Farson, causing him bleeding. Above, Shriver holds a pair of bloody underwear
Shriver says he posed no threat and that officers couldn't understand him because of his various medical conditions
The incident took place at a McDonald's inside a Walmart in Westminster, Colorado (above) on May 15, 2020
The officer grabs him and a struggle ensues as customers crowd around them.
Shriver remains on the ground for several minutes as the officer is seen pointing a taser at him and rifling through his wallet.
'I have no idea why it escalated. … I think it was really hard for the officers and the workers to understand him because he’s in the middle of a medical emergency, and so, I don’t think he was clearly communicating, but
