Fort Worth family sues police in man’s death

The family of a man who died after being shocked with a Taser by Fort Worth police filed a federal lawsuit Monday, claiming that Jermaine Darden’s death was unnecessary and alleging that officers joked about the lack of fried-chicken restaurants as they drove through the black neighborhood where he lived.

The officers were headed to Darden’s home for a no-knock drug raid. When they arrived, police said, Darden resisted arrest and was shocked with a Taser.

Darden, 34, who had cardiovascular disease and weighed 340 pounds, was pronounced dead at a hospital. He died from “sudden cardiac death” caused by heart disease and “application of restraint,” according to the Tarrant County medical examiner’s office.

The lawsuit says officers with the Zero Tolerance Unit can be seen and heard on police video making racial jokes and laughing as they approached Darden’s home in the 3200 block of Thannisch Avenue in southeast Fort Worth on May 16, 2013, according to the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.

“The racially insensitive comments were made only minutes prior to Darden’s death,” the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit names the city and Fort Worth police officers W.F. Snow and J. Romero as defendants.

Police said they could not comment on pending litigation.

In March 2014, a grand jury declined to indict a Fort Worth police officer who shocked Darden.

“I think the entire criminal justice system in Tarrant County needs to be held responsible,” Darden’s sister, Angela Tyson, said Tuesday.

“The prosecutors who did nothing to push for an indictment of the officers involved, the police whose investigatory techniques fed officers faulty intelligence that told them there was a dangerous situation when there was not, the justices who approved the signing of a no-knock warrant when none was warranted and the city for allowing poorly trained officers and officials to carry out this military-style raid all need to be held accountable.”

The family had previously filed a notice of claim with the city, alleging police brutality.

“This is a nationwide issue,” said Daryl K. Washington, the Dallas attorney representing the Darden family. “This is a huge systematic problem, and it all relates to a lack of proper training.”

The lawsuit says Snow wrestled Darden to the ground for no apparent reason after police forced open the door with a battering ram. As Darden gasped for breath, several individuals inside the residence yelled at officers that he couldn’t breathe, but those pleas were ignored, the suit says. Snow then shocked Darden with his Taser more than once, according to the lawsuit.

An autopsy report shows that Darden was shocked twice — for five seconds each.

“After being Tasered a number of times, a nonresponsive Darden was placed into a seated position and it was apparent that he was either dead or taking his last breath,” the lawsuit says.

Tyson previously told the Star-Telegram that officers did nothing to help Darden as he was in distress.

“What was so important in that house that one of them could not have stopped to give my brother CPR?” Tyson asked. “They do it for animals during house fires.”

The lawsuit alleges that the actions of Snow, Romero and other unidentified officers resulted in Darden’s unnecessary death.

“In addition to the ill-advised use of the Taser, Officer Romero struck Darden numerous times and placed his knees on his neck, making it difficult and/or impossible for Darden to breathe,” the lawsuit says. “The deadly force was used on Darden although he did not pose a threat of danger and/or harm to the arresting officers.”

The lawsuit alleges that city officials should have trained police not to employ the practices used in the no-knock raid and should have known that these actions would lead to disastrous consequences and were not justifiable.

“Darden was 34 years old when he was killed by Defendants Snow and Romero,” the lawsuit says. “He had a reasonable life expectancy of living at least 50 more years to age 84. Darden’s life ended with his tragic death. He leaves behind two sons and a wife.”

This story was originally published March 24, 2015 at 4:54 PM with the headline "Fort Worth family sues police in man’s death."