NATIONAL CITY, Calif. — National City agreed to pay $350,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by the children of a man who died after he was tased five times in 40 seconds by police.
The unanimous decision is slated to be announced Sept. 17, roughly three months after the council voted to settle.
The death of Tony Wilson
In 2019, National City Police Officer Johnathan Taylor shocked 61-year-old Anthony Wilson with a Taser five times in 40 seconds. He stopped breathing moments later. He was resuscitated at the scene but never regained consciousness.
Wilson died 16 days later.
Police responded to 911 calls on September 29, 2019, when callers said Wilson was trying to break into a home and destroy property. When the first officer arrived, Wilson was standing near a slew of broken items and glass. His hands were covered in his blood.
Wilson put his hands up and begged them not to shoot.
The next minute is a blur of screams and pleas from Wilson as two officers struggle to detain him. Officer Taylor warns they will "tase" him if he doesn't place his hands behind his back. Officer Taylor used the Taser five times on Wilson's body in just forty seconds while in "drive-stun" mode until Wilson finally stopped moving.
Minutes later, Officer Evan Davis realizes Wilson is unresponsive and helps drag him down the stairs to perform CPR. Paramedics took Wilson to a hospital in Chula Vista where he was placed on life support.
The San Diego County Medical Examiner determined he died due to a lack of oxygen in the brain. The autopsy determined methamphetamines, with cardiovascular disease also contributed to Wilson's death. The Medical Examiner did not mention the use of the taser.
District Attorney Summer Stephan's office ruled Wilson's death was accidental and there was no evidence of manslaughter.
Wilson's daughter feels differently.
CBS 8 sat down with Wilson's eldest daughter Sophia Bhandari in July to discuss her dad, the use of force that she believes killed her father that night, and how she and her siblings wish to use their lawsuit as a way forward.
She told CBS 8 he would still be alive if there wasn't an excessive use of force.
"I think that police officers, or anybody with that type of authority, need to be properly trained," she said in July. "They need to be trained on how to minimize situations so they do not escalate into somebody losing their life. I think, had they gone through their proper de-escalation techniques in our particular situation, he would still be alive."
'He deserved to live'
It's the end to a painful chapter for Bhandari and her siblings.
"It has never been about money," Bhandari says. "No amount of money you could offer will ever bring him back. No amount of money is ever going to make what's been wrong, right, because there's been no accountability."
Added Bhandari, "It's more than just seeking justice, you know, and making sure that people know, regardless of his choices that he made as an individual, he was still a human being, he was still somebody's son, he was somebody's father, he was somebody's grandfather, And he deserved to live."
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