Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Claim says deputies used excessive force

Overabundance of caution and/or taser zaps fried Mark Adkins

The widow of a man who was tasered to death by sheriff's deputies in May 2017 has filed a wrongful death claim against the County of San Diego. The claim is the first step before filing a civil lawsuit.

In the November 15 claim acquired by the Reader, Collette Adkins says deputies fired multiple charges into Mark Adkins. He died later.

Deputies were called to an apartment complex off of Lemon Grove Way in Lemon Grove on the morning of May 20, 2017, to investigate calls that a man had hopped a fence into a private backyard. When deputies arrived they found 54-year-old Adkins sitting in a outdoor common area at the complex.

Sponsored
Sponsored

According to reports, Adkins refused to follow the deputies' orders. Adkins’s failure to comply, says the complaint, prompted several deputies to begin firing their tasers at him.

"During this encounter, the unidentified deputies repeatedly deployed their electronic control devices against Mr. Adkins, causing him to collapse on the ground, and continued to use their tasers against Mr. Adkins as he lay on the ground with his hands in the air, pleading for them to stop. The powerful electronic currents delivered by the Taser barbs caused Mr. Adkins to seize, spasm, and convulse for an extended amount of time. The unidentified deputies knew or should have known that continuous and repeated deployment of a powerful weapon such as an electronic control device can result in serious bodily injury or death."

A neighbor in a nearby unit recorded the incident and told reporters that he had heard three charges fired during the altercation.

The claim alleges that deputies then pinned Adkins down and called for medical assistance. Adkins soon became unresponsive and later died.

"The use of these Tasers in this manner and these circumstances constituted excessive force in violation of Mr. Adkins's civil and statutory rights, and his untimely death was directly and proximately caused by the unlawful conduct described above."

The San Diego County Sheriff's Department and the County of San Diego have been sued over the use of tasers before. In May 2017, as reported by the Reader, the county agreed to pay $3 million to a man who had to undergo multiple amputations and suffered brain damage and was paralyzed after deputies repeatedly tasered him in a Vista shopping-mall parking lot.

The county has 45 days to process and investigate the claim. If it is denied then a lawsuit can be filed.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

San Marcos Harvest Fest, The Distinct Modernism of San Diego

Events October 13-October 16, 2024
Next Article

Vista imagines car-free downtown

Following Encinitas and Pacific Beach

The widow of a man who was tasered to death by sheriff's deputies in May 2017 has filed a wrongful death claim against the County of San Diego. The claim is the first step before filing a civil lawsuit.

In the November 15 claim acquired by the Reader, Collette Adkins says deputies fired multiple charges into Mark Adkins. He died later.

Deputies were called to an apartment complex off of Lemon Grove Way in Lemon Grove on the morning of May 20, 2017, to investigate calls that a man had hopped a fence into a private backyard. When deputies arrived they found 54-year-old Adkins sitting in a outdoor common area at the complex.

Sponsored
Sponsored

According to reports, Adkins refused to follow the deputies' orders. Adkins’s failure to comply, says the complaint, prompted several deputies to begin firing their tasers at him.

"During this encounter, the unidentified deputies repeatedly deployed their electronic control devices against Mr. Adkins, causing him to collapse on the ground, and continued to use their tasers against Mr. Adkins as he lay on the ground with his hands in the air, pleading for them to stop. The powerful electronic currents delivered by the Taser barbs caused Mr. Adkins to seize, spasm, and convulse for an extended amount of time. The unidentified deputies knew or should have known that continuous and repeated deployment of a powerful weapon such as an electronic control device can result in serious bodily injury or death."

A neighbor in a nearby unit recorded the incident and told reporters that he had heard three charges fired during the altercation.

The claim alleges that deputies then pinned Adkins down and called for medical assistance. Adkins soon became unresponsive and later died.

"The use of these Tasers in this manner and these circumstances constituted excessive force in violation of Mr. Adkins's civil and statutory rights, and his untimely death was directly and proximately caused by the unlawful conduct described above."

The San Diego County Sheriff's Department and the County of San Diego have been sued over the use of tasers before. In May 2017, as reported by the Reader, the county agreed to pay $3 million to a man who had to undergo multiple amputations and suffered brain damage and was paralyzed after deputies repeatedly tasered him in a Vista shopping-mall parking lot.

The county has 45 days to process and investigate the claim. If it is denied then a lawsuit can be filed.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Frank Zane has already won

But don’t call former Mr. Universe retired
Next Article

Our riparian woodland begins to look like fall, Orb Weavers help decorate

Comet of the century?
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader