Man Left Paralyzed Sues LA Sheriff’s Office

A man who was left a paraplegic after a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy shocked him with a stun gun has sued the department.

Blake Dupree filed the federal lawsuit, alleging battery, assault and negligence.

The lawsuit states Dupree was standing on the top bunk of a jail bed with his hands raised defensively in February 2007 when a deputy stunned him with a Taser gun and he fell to the concrete floor.

Dupree’s attorney says a sheriff’s supervisor had authorized the use of the Taser because Dupree refused to submit to electronic fingerprinting.

According to the lawsuit, Dupree was dragged into another room after his fall instead of receiving medical treatment. He was left paralyzed from the chest down.

The 22-year-old Dupree had been arrested for allegedly taking his mother’s car without permission.

Tasers are manufactured by Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Taser International.