Independence teen who was Tasered during traffic stop sues offic - KCTV5

A police officer’s son who was Tasered and dropped face first onto the concrete during a traffic stop is suing the former officer and the police chief.

Bryce Masters is also suing the City of Independence and the CEO of Taser International, claiming the device can cause cardiac arrests. 

Masters nearly died after he was shot in the chest with a device. The incident happened after he was ordered out of his car by former officer Timothy Runnels in Independence. 

Masters, the son of a police officer, wanted to know why he was ordered out of his car. 

He never got an answer during the car stop. Instead, he was hit with a Taser current directly on his chest, placing him in cardiac arrest. 

"His brain was denied oxygenated blood for 8-9 minutes," said John Burton, one of the attorneys for Masters. "The officer then dragged his lifeless body over to the curb and threw it on the concrete, smashing his mouth." 

Burton said it was a miracle Masters, who was 17 years old at the time, survived the ordeal. 

On why Masters is suing the City of Independence, he said the city and the police chief should have never hired an officer with a troubled past. 

"They never should have hired Runnels," Burton said. "He was forced to resign from the Kansas City Police Department for poor judgment and bad temperament."

Also included in the lawsuit is Taser International. 

They accuse the company of knowingly manufacturing a X26 Taser that has four times the electrical current of previous Tasers. 

Masters and his father also say the company ignored evidence that Tasers should not be used on someone's chest. 

"He (Masters' father) is furious over the fact that he and so many of his fellow officers have been misled about the dangers of this device," Burton said. 

Andrew Sauer, a University of Kansas Hospital Heart Failure and Transplant cardiologist, said the device is dangerous if electricity is directly applied to the heart.  

"If it is not safe, if it is not engineered correctly, or if there is a concern that it is not safe. we need to look a lot closer at this," Sauer said. "we know electricity can be very dangerous."

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