The American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas said Tuesday that it is sponsoring a federal lawsuit over purported police abuse during an arrest in Dover.
Rita Sklar, executive director of the group, said at a news conference in front of federal court in Little Rock that Eva Robinson and her teenage son were both stunned with Tasers after being detained when the youth, then 16, waved at an officer passing by near their home in September 2011.
The officer deemed the wave suspicious, questioned the pair about drugs and then placed the family members in a patrol car until backup officers arrived.
"Matthew attempted to get out of the car as ordered, but with his large frame size, and size 16 shoe stuck under the front seat, he struggled to extricate himself and reached up to an officer for help," Sklar read from a prepared statement. "Instead of helping Matthew, the officer stunned Matthew with a Taser, later saying he thought Matthew's move was an act of aggression."
Matthew Robinson, now 18, was stunned six times. His mother was also stunned when she moved to protect her son, Sklar said.
The group says no formal internal investigation was initiated despite requests.
The suit, which names as defendants the involved officers of the Dover Marshall's Office, Arkansas State Police and Pope County sheriff's office, contends the stop was without probable cause and it violated the Robinson's constitutional rights.
"This family was completely innocent of any wrongdoing," said Holly Dickson, ACLU legal director. "And the constitution requires before police stop, detain, question, haul down to the station to identify any individual, they must have reasonable suspicious or probable cause that a crime was committed. They did not have that here and they violated the Robinson's constitutional rights when they snatched them off the street."
Matthew Robinson, who stood with both his parents during the news conference, said he is still shaken by what happened.
"Before all this happened, I thought all the police just tried to help everybody," he said. "This changed my view. Every time I see a policeman or a Taser or anything, I think it could happen to us again or even worse to some other family. It doesn't need to happen."
His father, Ron Robinson, said there should also be a change in the system in which an independent agency can investigate purported police abuse instead of having an agency investigate itself.
"The system itself failed," he said of the case.
The suit, originally filed last year, is scheduled to go to trial in 2014. On Tuesday, Matthew Robinson was formally added as a plaintiff and the ACLU as a sponsor.
Dickson said the suit seeks compensatory and punitive damages. She said the amount would be "up to the jury."