Federal civil rights lawsuit filed against City of Pittsburgh in Jim Rogers' death

The estate of a man who died in October a day after being tased by Pittsburgh police filed a federal wrongful death lawsuit Monday against the city and the officers on the scene that day.

The complaint, filed by James Frierson, who is serving as the administrator of Jim Rogers’ estate, also includes claims against Pittsburgh’s emergency medical services and unnamed officers for deliberate indifference to medical needs.

Rogers, 54, died on Oct. 14 — a day after he was shocked by a taser at least eight times by Pittsburgh police officer Keith Edmonds.

Police had been called to Harriet Street in Bloomfield after a person reported a man had taken a bicycle from a neighbor’s porch. Edmonds was the first officer on the scene.

According to a Pittsburgh Police internal Critical Incident Review Board report obtained by the Tribune-Review, Edmonds was the first officer on scene. He deployed his taser at least 10 times in less than four minutes.

After Rogers was tased repeatedly, he was handcuffed and placed in the back of a Pittsburgh police vehicle where he remained for 17 minutes, asking for help, including saying repeatedly, “I need a hospital, I can’t breathe.”

He repeatedly asked for medical attention, and even though EMTs were called to the scene to decontaminate officers who got Rogers’ blood on them, they did not check on Rogers.

He was taken to UPMC Mercy, but became unresponsive on the way there.

Rogers died the next day.

The Allegheny County investigating grand jury has been tasked with hearing the case. It is expected to meet again on Thursday.

The lawsuit alleges excessive force; deliberate indifference to medical needs; false arrest; conspiracy to violate Rogers’ Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights to due process; negligent hiring, training, discipline and supervision; assault and battery.

According to the complaint, the evidence of excessive force includes: the lack of the severity of the crime involved since, at worst, police were called for the theft of a bike; the lack of any threat to the safety of officers or the public and the lack of any active resistance to arrest.

“The short gaps between bursts of tasing (suggest) that Mr. Rogers was not given the chance to comply,” the lawsuit said.

The complaint also alleges that Edmonds had no probable cause to arrest Rogers and therefore was not entitled to detain him in the first place.

“Mr. Rogers did not pose a threat to the safety of Officer Edmonds or any other officer or civilian so as to justify the repeated use of the taser,” the lawsuit said.

Defendants include Edmonds; now-retired Lt. Matt Gauntner; Patrick DeSaro; Gregory Boss; Jeffrey Dean; Paul Froehlich; Neyib Velazquez; Colby Neidig; Carol Ehlinger; Leroy Schrock and Robert Pedley.

“Officer Edmonds’ brutal attack on Mr. Rogers through the repeated use of a taser on an unarmed, nonviolent, older gentleman was without cause or justification and undertaken recklessly, wantonly and with gross negligence,” the lawsuit said.

It alleges that the officers knew or should have known that Rogers was in medical distress but did nothing to assist him.

Last month, the city announced that it had terminated five officers involved in the incident. However, it refused to name them.

In a statement, city spokeswoman Maria Montaño said that state law prohibits the police bureau from releasing body worn camera footage and that it is exempt from Right to Know requests.

“A lawsuit must be filed in order to allow the family to view the footage from the police worn body cameras and other discovery,” she said.