Marin Co. man suing police after bodycam video shows him getting tased, arrested during seizure
By: A Marin County man is suing police, claiming officers assaulted him while he was having an epileptic seizure.
ABC7 News Reporter Luz Pena spoke to the victim's attorney, who said police tased the man and then tried to cover up their response.
In the middle of the night on Aug. 29, 2022, Alice Frankel woke up to her husband having an epileptic seizure. She called 911 for help. The first to respond was a Central Marin Police Authority officer.
"He is unconscious," said Alice Frankel to the officer as he tried to arrest Bruce Frankel.
In the bodycam video, Bruce can be seen disoriented and struggling to communicate.
In the background, his then fiancée -- now wife -- yells to police trying to explain that Bruce was not able to comprehend and needed help.
Two minutes or so into the struggle, the officer threatens Bruce.
"Stop fighting. Do you want to get tased? Put your hands behind your back," said the officer.
A minute later, Bruce was tased.
"Sir, you are going to get tased. You are going to get tased," said the officer.
The officer accuses Bruce of playing with him.
"I'm trying to get him in cuffs. He has been playing with me. Get on your stomach," said the officer.
Today, the couple is filing a lawsuit against the Central Marin Police Authority and the officers accused of assaulting Bruce.
"Instead of getting help, they got what turned out to be a police caused catastrophe. They led with force instead of coming in and trying to do some fact-finding -- instead of figuring out what was going on," said Craig Peters, trial attorney and partner at Altair Law.
After EMTs and other officers arrived, bodycam video captured an officer acknowledging that Bruce was having a medical episode earlier.
"I was trying to control him, because it just seemed like a medical aid more. He has something going on," said the officer.
While Bruce was being treated officers agreed on the police report:
"Yeah, what do you think? Medical only and we do the report? Yeah. There is nothing criminal here. No, I don't think he is competent to commit a crime," said one of the officers.
But minutes later, Alice was given a different story.
"We are going to issue him a citation instead. As of now, my plan is to issue him a citation for battery on a police officer as opposed to taking him to jail," said one officer.
Alice challenged the officer: "I mean, he is not conscious. Why the citation?"
The officer said, "In lieu of taking him to jail."
Now the couple's attorney is accusing police of a cover-up.