Man paralyzed after being hit with a Taser while running from police in Colorado sues officer

DENVER — A man who said he was left paralyzed after being hit with a Taser while fleeing police in Colorado filed a federal lawsuit Thursday against one of the officers, seeking $100 million in damages.

Lawyers for Jacob Root, who was accused of stealing a car, claim Officer Robert Comstock fired a Taser at his back without warning, incapacitating him and preventing him from using his hands or arms to avoid his fall to the ground to break. Root fell face first and broke his neck after falling from a sidewalk onto the street during the May 16, 2022, incident, the complaint said.

Root can be heard asking officers, “I can’t move. Is that normal?” Shortly after the fall, captured on police body camera footage released by Root’s attorneys.

Colorado Springs police, who were not named as a suspect, did not learn of the lawsuit until it was announced in the media. The department is in the early stages of reviewing the facts of the case and declined comment for now, spokesman Ira Cronin said. Comstock still works for the department and has a “good reputation,” he said.

Comstock could not be reached for comment and the police union did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

According to the lawsuit, Root was pursued by a stolen vehicle task force made up of officers from several agencies after he was spotted driving a 2017 Ford Fusion. The car was previously seen unoccupied twice and police used a tracking device to track him, the report said.

After the car escaped police custody earlier in the day, police later spotted Root in the car at a gas station, the lawsuit said. It said he then went into the station store and officers waited for him to come out to arrest him. Root was hit with the Taser as he ran away, court papers said.