Horrifying bodycam footage shows injured car crash passenger Jordan Rivero, 19, being repeatedly TASED by Florida cops – leaving him flatlining and fighting for life in a coma – after they find him sobbing next to wrecked truck
This is the horrifying moment an injured teenager is tasered by a police officer called to a car crash, sending him into an ambulance and then left fighting for his life in a coma.
Jordan Rivero was already bloodied, dazed and confused after the accident on the way home from a fishing trip in the Florida Keys with three friends in July 2022.
Police bodycam footage obtained by DailyMail.com shows the 19-year-old passenger crying uncontrollably near the wrecked pickup as he sits down on orders from Monroe County Sheriff’s deputies.
Disoriented and not suspected of any crime, he stumbles to his feet and complains that he can’t breathe because of his broken nose.
But then he is taken down by officers, before another struggle occurs during which he is told to ‘get on the ground’. That’s when Deputy Dyllon Hansen fires his Taser at the teen’s stomach.
Rivero sobs as he is shot again despite his pleas and appears to be felled like a tree on the roadway of US1 in Tavernier, Florida.
Jordan Rivero, 19, was tasered by police after he was in a car accident with three friends in the Florida Keys in July 2022
Bodycam footage shows him sobbing near the wrecked car before police fire a taser at the teen’s stomach
After the teen was tased, officers detained and arrested him. “He had swelling of the brain and suffered a traumatic brain injury,” his lawyer Dena Foman told DailyMail.com
Rivero was placed in an ambulance where he suffered a grand mal seizure, according to court documents in the case he just filed against the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.
Officer Dyllon Hansen fired his taser at the teen’s stomach
The panicked would-be firefighter lets out a piercing scream as he clutches his chest. His head hits the hard surface, bounces back, and slams back down as his body racks with tension.
Officer Hansen’s bodycam footage shows the teen still stunned by successive bursts of electricity as he cries in pain.
Instead of assessing the teenage crash victim’s medical condition, the footage shows police moving to hold him face down in a pool of his own blood, grabbing his arms behind him and his hands and feet to fetter.
At one point he desperately forces out the words, “I’m sorry, sir. I’m sorry sir. Please lord, please help me.” He also begs friend and fellow crash victim John Tyler Sanders, who appears largely unharmed, for help.
Rivero was placed in an ambulance where he suffered a grand mal seizure, according to court documents in the case he just filed against the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, Sheriff Rick Ramsay and three deputies, including Hansen.
“He had swelling in the brain and suffered a traumatic brain injury,” his lawyer Dena Foman told DailyMail.com of the horrors in July 2022. “He collapsed after they got him into the ambulance from the scene.”
Rivero, now 20, was rushed to Mariners Hospital in Tavernier. “But when he got there, he needed an emergency tracheotomy and they had to slit his throat in the parking lot,” the attorney added.
‘He had to be resuscitated two or three times and ended up in a coma. He’s very lucky to be alive.’
Mariners staff deemed Rivero’s injuries too serious for treatment there and he was flown to Kendall Hospital near Miami, where he was placed on a mechanical ventilator.
He was released five days later with debilitating injuries that ruined his chances of following in the footsteps of his father, a veteran firefighter, according to legal papers filed in the U.S. District Court Southern District of Florida.
Rivero, now 20, is suing the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, Sheriff Rick Ramsay and three deputies, including Hansen
In Hansen’s report, obtained by DailyMail.com, the officer says Rivero was “combative” after exiting the crashed vehicle and was told several times to sit down but refused
The crash victim, from Lantana, Palm Beach County, was with friends Daniel Klein, Jerome Harman and John Sanders when the Toyota Tacoma crashed into a concrete pole on US1 around 5:55 a.m. on July 3, 2022.
They took turns driving and Rivero was asleep in the backseat when the vehicle crossed from the northbound to the southbound lanes.
Police arrived within minutes and Rivero emerged from the wreckage “petrified, injured and disoriented.” Officers Hansen, Anna Coello and Sergeant Vaughan O’Keefe were among the law enforcement first responders.
“As Mr. Rivero began to wander, Officers Hansen, Coello and O’Keefe grabbed his arms and repeatedly told him to ‘stop’ and ‘just relax, man’ before pulling him to the ground and instructing him” to remain seated,” the legal complaint reads.
“As he tried to make sense of the horrific scene and struggled to breathe through his broken nose, which was covered in blood, Mr. Rivero continued to scream for help.
“Apparently when Mr. Rivero failed to comply with commands and aggressive handling of his person by Officer Hansen, Officer Coello and Officer O’Keefe to get on the ground, Officer Hansen proceeded to taser him for four cycles in a span of one minute after ordering Mr. Rivero to “get on the ground.”
“As a result, Mr. Rivero’s head struck the pavement as he fell, causing an already vulnerable victim to suffer traumatic head injuries.”
Lawyer Foman told DailyMail.com: ‘Jordan woke up and had blood all over his face, he was dazed and confused, he was crying. He didn’t know where he was, he was scared.
‘He didn’t know where he was and was wandering around the stage and when he wouldn’t sit down they tased him several times.
‘It was tragic. There was no crime, no suspicion of a crime. It was just a really bad car accident. I don’t understand why you would grope someone who was clearly already injured.”
One of Rivero’s friends involved in the crash is seen outside the mangle vehicle. He appears to have suffered few injuries
“I don’t understand why you would tase someone who was clearly already injured,” Rivero’s attorney said. Police are seen restraining Rivero
The white pickup truck the teens were riding in is seen mangled after the crash. Their Toyota Tacoma crashed into a concrete pole on US1 around 5:55 a.m. on July 3, 2022
She added: “The purpose of a Taser is to apprehend dangerous individuals and dangerous individuals who attempt to flee arrest. Jordan did not fit that description.
“We all hope that if we or our loved ones have an accident, the first responders will make sure we get medical care, that’s their job, that’s what we expect.
“And in this situation, not only did he not receive medical care, but it caused great harm to him. They changed this boy’s life.”
Foman disputes a report from the sheriff’s office that Rivero punched O’Keefe before he was tasered, saying, “The bodycam footage doesn’t show anything there.”
In Hansen’s report, obtained by DailyMail.com, the officer says Rivero was “belligerent” after exiting the crashed vehicle and was told several times to sit down, but he refused.
The teen was “helped to the ground with only necessary force,” but “returned to his feet and began actively pushing and pulling away from deputies.”
“Jordan withdrew from Sergeant V. O’Keefe’s control and then punched him in the face with a closed fist,” his report said.
“This officer (Hansen) deployed a Taser, the first discharge did not work. I reloaded the Taser and set a second time, causing his muscles throughout his body to contract and him to fall to the ground.
“Jordan continued to actively resist and required several more Taser cycles to gain compliance and control. He was put in handcuffs, which he continued to actively resist and continued to fight with officers on the spot.’
The lawsuit seeks a jury trial and damages of at least $75,000, the standard “jurisdictional amount” in federal court. Rivero’s side hopes the jury will award a significantly higher amount if he wins his case.
Monroe County Sheriff’s Office told DailyMail.com, “As this is an ongoing legal matter, we have no comment at this time.”