A Minneapolis police officer accused of Tasering a compliant suspect to the ground has been fired from the force, a source close to the department said.
Todd Lappegaard, who faces a federal lawsuit over the April 30, 2009, incident, sent an e-mail to many in the police department in the past several days in which he said he had been let go. He said in the e-mail that he was proud to serve with the city department, according to the source.
Jesse Garcia, police department spokesman, said he could not confirm the termination due to rules regarding personnel matters. Lappegaard, who was hired in 1993, could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
The lawsuit stems from an arrest that took place shortly before midnight in which Rolando Ruiz, 18, was suspected of damaging a police cruiser parked at the Second Precinct on Central Avenue. The arrest, recorded by a video camera on Lappegaard's cruiser, began with Ruiz standing in front of Lappegaard's car with his hands on the hood. Lappegaard then places a Taser on Ruiz's neck and stuns him.
"As plaintiff Ruiz slumped to the ground, Lappegaard held his knee on the plaintiff's back to prevent him from avoiding the electrical shock of the Taser device," the lawsuit reads. "Lappegaard held his free hand on the squad car hood to brace himself as he pinned Ruiz to the ground and continued shocking him."
Along with the civil rights violations, the suit lists nine causes of action. Among them it cites a 2002 incident in which Lappegaard was driving a squad car that made contact with a sport utility vehicle driven by a woman fleeing police. She later drove the SUV off the street, hitting and killing a Richfield man who was jogging.
Ruiz has sued for damages between $75,000 and $400,000 as well as punitive damages. A jury trial has been placed on the U.S. District Court schedule for 2012.
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