City of Columbia, MO Settles w/ Suicidal Man Whom Police Tasered Off Bridge to Highway Below

Phillip McDuffy Agrees to settlement after 2008 Columbia, MO police pre-trial, extra-judicial death penalty attempt.

In July of 2008, a suicidal Black man, Phillip McDuffy, was out on the ledge of a bridge threatening to jump off. Little did he know, it was not necessary to jump, since the police were more than happy to push him with two or more electrical shocks from a 50,000 volt pre-trial, extra-judicial death penalty electrocution and execution gun. At the time, the Police Brutality Blog called it a "death penalty attempt" by the Columbia, MO police.

Now, according to the Columbia Tribune, the city has made a rare admission that police were wrong to shock the Mr. McDuffy under the circumstances:

City Finance Director Lori Fleming said that avoiding a potentially lengthy and expensive jury trial merited the outlay of taxpayer dollars.

“We obviously believe it is in the best interest of the city in the long run,” Fleming said.

“Given the courts and what can happen, it was best to just get this issue behind us, ” the finance director said.

Hopefully, this settlement will show other cities the financial risks involved with electrically shocking members of the public under circumstances that would also shock a jury. The Columbia Tribune reports:

Claim is settled in ’08 incident.

By T.J. Greaney, Thursday, December 10, 2009.

The man injured after falling 15 feet from a highway overpass when police shocked him with two Tasers has reached a cash settlement with the city of Columbia.

The city Finance Department agreed last month to pay $300,000 to 46-year-old Phillip McDuffy to settle a claim he made out of court. About $66,450 of that settlement will go to the Family Support Payment Center to cover back child support that McDuffy owes.

McDuffy’s attorney, Todd Johnson of Kansas City, had proposed a $500,000 settlement to close the matter, indicating in a December 2008 letter to the city that Johnson would receive 40 percent of the settlement for his work. Neither Johnson nor McDuffy could be reached this morning for comment.

City Finance Director Lori Fleming said that avoiding a potentially lengthy and expensive jury trial merited the outlay of taxpayer dollars.

“We obviously believe it is in the best interest of the city in the long run,” Fleming said.

“Given the courts and what can happen, it was best to just get this issue behind us, ” the finance director said.

On July 25, 2008, McDuffy walked along the outside ledge of a pedestrian overpass on Providence Road and threatened suicide by jumping to the Interstate 70 pavement below.

Standing outside the fenced-in walkway, McDuffy refused to leave his perch during a 90-minute confrontation with police. The episode brought traffic on Providence Road and I-70 to a halt in both directions, drawing a large crowd of onlookers.

In an attempt to end the incident, two Columbia police officers fired Taser devices at McDuffy, who was shocked and fell limply to the ground. McDuffy spent eight days in intensive care at University Hospital and had three surgeries, including two that required pins to repair broken bones.

Last year, Johnson said, McDuffy’s medical bills totaled about $167,000, but the lawyer said that total did not include physical therapy. Johnson also claimed McDuffy was experiencing stress headaches and double vision.

An internal investigation by Columbia police found the Taser use was proper.

However, the incident and others in the region prompted Columbia police to adopt new, more restrictive guidelines for Taser use. Still, critics say, the settlement should be a warning that the devices are more trouble than they are worth.

“How much more money is the taxpayer going to have to pay before they realize that when we weigh the pros and cons of this weapon, it’s just not worth it,” said Mary Hussman of Grass Roots Organizing, which has been critical of Columbia police Taser use. “We’re accepting a tremendous liability when we allow these weapons in the hands of our police officers.”

Hussman said McDuffy is disabled and unable to work. He previously held a job at a fast-food restaurant.

Reach T.J. Greaney at 573-815-1719 or e-mail tjgreaney@columbiatribune.com.

This article was published on page A1 of the Thursday, December 10, 2009 edition of The Columbia Daily.