Tased again and again in Vista parking lot

The County of San Diego has agreed to pay $3 million in damages to a man who suffered a severe brain injury and multiple amputations after a Sheriff's deputy repeatedly fired his taser at him during a June 2014 incident.

As first reported by the Reader in February of this year, Marcial Torres agreed to settle his lawsuit against the county and Sheriff's deputy Dylan Haddad.

On that night in June 2014 dispatch received a call from a woman in Vista claiming that a group of Hispanic men threatened her. Before the threat, Torres was at the woman's house visiting her son. He left on foot shortly before the call had been made.

Deputy Haddad later spotted Torres in a nearby parking lot and suspected Torres was one of the males who had threatened the woman. As Haddad approached, according to the May 2015 lawsuit, Torres threw a glass object on the ground and continued to walk away from the deputy. Haddad responded by tasing Torres three times. Torres collapsed. His heart stopped. Haddad, according to the complaint, then fired several more charges into Torres' body.

Video cameras at the scene reportedly show Haddad had unholstered his stun gun before approaching Torres.

Reads the May 2015 complaint, "Haddad then repeatedly and relentlessly tased Torres, despite Torres begging for mercy, 'Stop, stop, stop!' Torres stopped breathing. Deputy Haddad did not render any aid to Torres. [Deputy] Chase Fisher saw Torres blue in the face and foaming but failed to render aid. Vista paramedics finally arrived, resuscitated Torres, and transported him to Tri-City Hospital. Torres remained in critical condition for several weeks, falling into a vegetative state."

Torres spent five months in a coma, had both legs and several fingers amputated, and suffered severe loss of brain function as a result of the altercation.

On April 3, 2017 federal court judge Cathy Ann Bencivengo dismissed the case with prejudice, ordering that each party bearing their own costs. In a follow-up call, an attorney for Torres confirmed the $3 million settlement amount.