Jury Awards $3 Million to Relatives of Man Who Died After Ferguson Police Taser Incident

A federal court jury awarded $3 million to the family of a naked unarmed man who died in 2011 after a Ferguson police officer used a taser on him four times.

Jurors found in favor of Jason Moore’s wife, mother, and son, and against the City of Ferguson and former Ferguson police officer Brian Kaminski.

Seven jurors found that Kaminski used excessive force on Moore, and Ferguson failed to monitor, supervise or discipline officers.

The lawsuit claimed that Kaminski fired his Taser four times, including three times after Moore was on the ground, without giving him time to respond to the officer’s commands.

Attorneys for Moore’s family, including Votava, Nantz and Johnson of Kansas City, said Moore was more at risk of death from the Taser because he was so slender, and because the Taser barb had lodged near his heart. The attorneys said Kaminski should have known that before deploying his weapon and considered that Moore was not resisting or fleeing.

Read media coverage of the case.