Parents of Dead Man Sue City, Police in Taser-Gun Case

The parents of a man who died after being shocked by police with a Taser gun have filed suit against the city and the San Diego Police Department.

Paul and Teresa Gastelum claim that their son Mario’s death was attributable to excessive and unnecessary use of the Taser, and to excessive restraints placed on their son.

Mario Gastelum, 24, suffered a heart attack, lapsed into a coma and later died after an encounter with police on Nov. 2 during which he was repeatedly shot with a Taser dart gun, which produces an immobilizing electric shock. A subsequent investigation by the district attorney’s office found no criminal wrongdoing on the part of police Sgt. Charles Mattingly, who used the Taser. However, the investigation also found that Mattingly acted “precipitously and without good judgment” when he chose to use the Taser a third time on Gastelum.

On the night of the incident, police were called to a house on L Street in Encanto by a resident who complained of a prowler. Gastelum was found underneath the house, dressed only in his underwear, behaving strangely, police said. The Taser gun was used on Gastelum twice while he was under the house, delivering a 50,000-volt burst of electricity each time, as officers attempted to get him to comply with their orders, according to the district attorney’s report.

Gastelum, in handcuffs and leg restraints, was being driven to Physicians & Surgeons Hospital when he reportedly turned violent, prompting Mattingly to use the Taser on him a third time.

Never Regained Consciousness

Gastelum was conscious when he arrived at the hospital, but stopped breathing within minutes, hospital nurses said. He was placed on life-support systems, but never regained consciousness and was pronounced dead three days later.

A toxicology report by the coroner’s office concluded that Gastelum’s heart attack was caused by cocaine and morphine intoxication. The coroner’s report said the use of the Taser did not directly cause Gastelum’s death, but the death certificate said cardiorespiratory failure occurred “during drug use, Tasering and restraint.”

The lawsuit, filed in San Diego Superior Court Aug. 30, charges the city, the police and Mattingly with wrongful death and negligence, and seeks an unspecified amount of punitive damages in addition to burial and funeral expenses. The suit also alleges product liability against the manufacturers of the Taser gun.

The lawsuit accuses the police and Mattingly of malice and oppression. The suit also alleges that the Police Department had advance knowledge of Mattingly’s “unfitness” yet failed to exercise reasonable care in supervising, instructing and controlling the sergeant, in effect authorizing and ratifying his “wrongful acts.” The suit also says that the police and the city were negligent in failing to instruct its employees in the proper use of a Taser gun.

A police internal affairs investigation found no criminal wrongdoing on Mattingly’s part, according to Cmdr. Keith Enerson. “The rest of it, however, is a personnel matter, and we can’t discuss it publicly,” Enerson said.

Attorney Ron Johnson of the city attorney’s office said he has not yet seen the lawsuit and could not comment.

Attorney Lionel Orderica, who filed the lawsuit on behalf of the family, did not return phone calls to his office this week.