Chesterfield County Settles Excessive-Force Suit Over Taser That Ignited Crash Victim's Clothing
After trial: The case settled before trial, so there was no verdict or appeal. The county's commercial insurer and its self-insurance fund funded the payment.
Won by Marks & Harrison.
In February 2015 a Chesterfield County, Virginia police officer fired a Taser at Miles November, a 27-year-old man trapped in a wrecked car soaked in gasoline after a police chase. His clothing ignited and he suffered burns over most of his body, followed by months in the hospital and more than 30 surgeries. He sued the county and the officer in federal court in Richmond. The case settled in 2018 for $6.5 million, paid by the county's commercial insurer and its self-insurance fund.
What happened
Around midnight on the night of February 7, 2015, Miles November, then 27, led Chesterfield County police on a high-speed chase that ended when his car rolled several times near Jefferson Davis Highway and Chester Road. The wrecked car was leaking gasoline. He was later convicted of drunken driving, eluding police and driving on a suspended license, and the judge also found him guilty of felony assault on an officer for striking one during the rescue.
Officers pulled him from the car and tried to restrain him on the ground. Officer Ryan Swope fired a Taser at him. Court filings described a strong smell of gasoline at the scene and said other officers knew a spark could start a fire. The electrical discharge ignited the gasoline on November's clothing and body, and he burned for roughly 30 seconds before officers put out the flames. Swope shouted a warning for other officers to move away before he fired. A department review found that he followed its use-of-force policy, and he was dismissed from the force about seven months later over alleged ties to an outlaw motorcycle gang.
The burns covered about 86 percent of November's body. He was hospitalized from February to October 2015 and underwent more than 30 surgeries. His legal guardian sued the former officer in 2016, and in February 2017 a federal suit in Richmond also named Chesterfield County. John Shea of Marks & Harrison and Mark Krudys appeared as counsel for November on the federal docket.
The suit argued that a man trapped in an overturned, inoperable car, near gasoline, posed no reason to be shocked with 50,000 volts. It also challenged the county's Taser policy as allowing deployment without a warning or a chance to comply, and cited the officer's disciplinary history before he returned to duty.
Liability was hardly one-sided. November had caused the chase and the crash, and his criminal convictions for it were entered in March 2017, while the civil case was pending. The county still agreed to pay.
The parties told the court in early March 2018 that they had settled, and the case was dismissed with prejudice on March 29, 2018. The settlement was $6.5 million. Commercial insurance covered $5 million and Chesterfield County's self-insurance fund paid the remaining $1.5 million. The settlement became public in late May 2018 when local media reported the county's payment.
Sources
This account is drawn from contemporaneous public reporting and the court record.
- 1.U.S. District Court, E.D. Va., November v. Chesterfield County, No. 3:17-cv-00113, docket
- 2.Associated Press via WHSV, 'Police stun-gun lawsuit settled for $6.5 million in Virginia', May 2018·Archived copy
- 3.WTVR CBS 6, 'Man who caught fire after being Tasered sues ex-Chesterfield officer', March 8, 2016·Archived copy
- 4.Bacon's Rebellion, 'Does Miles November Deserve a $6.5 Million Settlement?', May 25, 2018·Archived copy
- 5.Reason, 'Virginia Cop's Taser Set This Man on Fire', March 20, 2017·Archived copy
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