In February 2020, Officer Mary Hamilton was involved in a traffic stop that led to the death of John ‘Ernie’ Prudente. Prudente drove off after the stop, leading to a struggle at his residence where Hamilton used her Taser multiple times. Prudente became unresponsive and later died. An investigation concluded the officers had not committed a crime, and Hamilton returned to duty. Prudente’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit alleging unreasonable force and inadequate training. The city and officers sought dismissal, arguing the use of force was reasonable and the lawsuit was filed too late.
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