Man hit by Taser by Independence cop awarded $6.5 million

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - A federal jury has awarded $6.5 million to a man who was severely injured when an Independence police officer shot him with a Taser.

The Kansas City Star reports the jury returned the verdict Friday in a lawsuit filed by Bryce Masters against the former officer, 35-year-old Timothy Runnels.

Masters was 17 in 2014 when he was stopped for a traffic violation by Runnels.

Dash cam video shows Masters refusing to get out of the car. Runnels tried to pull him out before shooting Masters with a Taser for about 20 seconds, and Masters became unresponsive.

After Runnels dragged him out of the road and dropped him face first onto the pavement, Masters suffered a cardiac arrest.

Runnels is serving a four-year prison sentence for violating Masters’ civil rights.

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Information from: The Kansas City Star, http://www.kcstar.com