April 14, 2009 - Mother Sues City in Taser Death

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An Omaha woman is suing two police officers and the city over her son's death in a Taser incident. The civil lawsuit will be heard in federal court.

James C. Barnes, 21, died Aug. 4, 2007, four days after falling out of a second-story window at his home, where officers tried to arrest him on a warrant for misdemeanor traffic violations. Barnes was shocked with a Taser before he dropped from the window.

This would be the first Taser lawsuit against the city to reach trial since the Police Department began using Tasers in 2004, said Deputy City Attorney Tom Mumgaard.

A grand jury cleared the officers of criminal wrongdoing in October 2007. They returned to duty and remain on duty.

Barnes' mother, Jelitha McKenney, filed the lawsuit March 13, alleging that the officers violated the constitutional rights of her son, whom she said was mildly mentally retarded.

She seeks $26,488 in damages for the cost of her son's medical care, funeral and burial, as well as punitive and other damages.

"Its just unfortunate this young man suffered such a fate, all because of this attempt to be apprehended for a misdemeanor violation," said Clarence Mock, attorney for McKenney.

Police have said Barnes was pulled over July 20, 2007. He provided false information to the officer and fled.

The next morning, Officers Lance Harrison and Dawn Pollreis went to Barnes' home to arrest him on a warrant.

According to the filed complaint, the officers proceeded up a stairway and came upon Barnes in an upper story living area, near a window. He was unarmed.

The officers told Barnes they were going to arrest him. Barnes verbally protested, according to the complaint.

One or both of the officers deployed an electroshock weapon on Barnes, which struck him in the back, according to the lawsuit. He then fell out the window, suffering multiple skull fractures and brain injury in the fall, according to the lawsuit. Police have said Barnes was trying to escape and went through a closed window.

"The city will deny the allegations that excessive force was used," Mumgaard said.

The lawsuit says that Harrison and Pollreis did not have legal justification to enter Barnes' home and that the officers violated Barnes' constitutional rights to due process of law.

The city will also dispute that at trial, Mumgaard said.

In January 2007, an Omaha man filed a lawsuit against the city, alleging that a police officer shocked him at least 10 times while he was handcuffed. The officer resigned at the recommendation of then-Police Chief Thomas Warren.

The lawsuit was dropped after the victim, Monte Williams, 23, was killed in a shooting.

In 2005, David Moss Jr., 26, died after Omaha police hit him with a Taser. A Douglas County grand jury found no criminal wrongdoing in his death. An autopsy determined that he had a toxic level of PCP in his body when he died.