Police to Pay Vermont Man $7,000 Over Taser Complaint

The Vermont State Police have paid $7,000 to settle a complaint about the use of a Taser on an uncooperative man with Down syndrome and other disabilities.

The money is going to 23-year-old Timothy Bernier of Coventry. The Burlington Free Press reported the settlement after filing a public records request.

The records show that on April 6 Bernier had resisted repeated efforts by mental health and police personnel to leave a Coventry home. Police were told Bernier’s conduct had made it “unacceptable” for him to continue to live there, and they were trying to take him to a shelter. Police eventually used a Taser on him. He was not injured and was later examined at hospital.