Ryan Wilson's Dad Sues Lafayette For Taser Death

Ryan Wilson's dad is holding Lafayette and the manufacturer responsible for the death of his son last year.

The father of a man who died after being shot with a Taser stun-gun by a Lafayette police officer is suing the city and gun manufacturer.

Jack Wilson, in a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Boulder County District Court, seeks an unspecified amount of money for economic and non-economic damages, attorney fees and interest following the death nearly a year ago of his son, Ryan Wilson.

Wilson, 22, was fatally shot by Officer John Harris in a field north of 2000 W. South Boulder Road as he ran from police, who were investigating a report of marijuana plants growing in the area.

The Boulder County Coroner’s Office ruled that Wilson died of an irregular heartbeat caused by a combination of the exertion from running from police, the Taser shock and a heart condition present since birth.

Harris — who also is named in the lawsuit — was cleared of any wrongdoing by prosecutors and his department, where he now holds an administrative position. He did not return a call for comment from the Camera.

Bill Hayashi, a lawyer in the Lafayette city attorney's office, said that he has not yet seen the lawsuit.

"It's not unexpected," Hayashi said.

The suit alleges that Harris did not warn Wilson that he was going to use his Taser gun, as department protocols require, and either he or the department destroyed taped evidence of the event from a video recorder in Harris’ police truck.

“By deploying the Taser, Officer Harris willfully and wantonly used more force than was necessary to restrain Ryan Wilson,” attorney Garry B. Blum wrote in the complaint.

Boulder Daily Camera