A man left paralyzed after being hit with a Taser while fleeing police in Colorado is suing an officer

DENVER (AP) — A man who said he was paralyzed after being hit by a Taser while fleeing police in Colorado filed a federal lawsuit Thursday against one of the officers, seeking $100 million in damages .

Lawyers for Jacob Root, suspected of stealing a car, allege that Officer Robert Comstock fired a Taser at his back without warning, incapacitating him and preventing him from using his hands or arms to stop his fall to the ground to intercept. Root fell face-first and broke his neck after falling from the sidewalk onto the street in the May 16, 2022 incident, the lawsuit says.

Root can be heard asking the officers: “I can’t move. Is this normal?’ shortly after the fall, which was captured on police body camera footage released by Root’s lawyers.

The Colorado Springs Police Department, which was not named as a defendant, did not learn of the lawsuit until it was announced to the media. The department is in the early stages of reviewing the matter and has declined to comment for now, said spokesman Ira Cronin. Comstock still works for the department and has “a good reputation,” he said.

Comstock could not be reached for comment and the police department union did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

According to the lawsuit, Root was pursued by a stolen vehicle task force made up of officers from various agencies after he was spotted driving a 2017 Ford Fusion. The car had already been seen unoccupied twice and police had used a tracking device to track it, they said.

After the car eluded police earlier in the day, police later saw Root in the car at a gas station, the lawsuit says. He then went into the police station store and the officers waited for him to come out so they could arrest him. According to court documents, Root was attacked with the Taser as he fled.