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Man who caught fire after he was Tased by police has history of assaulting officers

Posted at 9:56 PM, Feb 09, 2015
and last updated 2015-02-10 07:22:50-05

CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. -- A man charged with eluding police after a weekend chase was found guilty in Hanover County in 2008 of assaulting officers when he was pulled over for suspected DUI, according to court records. Chesterfield Police charged 26-year-old Miles November on Monday with eluding police and driving after forfeiture of license after a weekend police chase that ended when November's car flipped and he was Tasered by an officer.

The suspect, who was the only person inside the car, was trapped inside after the crash. Police managed to free November from the wreckage,  but said that once he was outside the car, he struggled with officers. As a result, one officer discharged his Taser, which caused November’s clothing to catch fire.

Miles November's crashed car

Miles November's crashed car

Firefighters doused the flames and November was transported to the VCU Medical Center. November is in critical condition, and family members said he has burns covering 85 percent of his body. CBS 6 legal analyst Todd Stone said, based on what we know so far, the officer had every right to use the Taser.

“Police use them routinely when they have to stop someone,” Stone said.

Stone added that it would be hard for November to sue the department.

“Even if there was some fault on the part of the police, if he is at least one percent at fault, he can`t collect anything,” Stone said.

November has a lengthy criminal history, especially in Hanover County. Court documents show he was found guilty back in 2008 for failing to stop immediately after getting into an accident where someone was injured or killed. Also in that year, November was found guilty of assaulting three Hanover County deputies when they pulled him over for suspected DUI. Court records showed his blood alcohol level (BAC) in that case was twice the legal limit, and it was his second DUI in five years.

“A judge is going to look at that and say, well, look, he's already done this before,” Stone said.

Stone said those records will not come into play if November goes to trial for Sunday’s incident, but, he said they could be pivotal if he is found guilty.

“That is the exact type of thing that could really aggravate his sentence in this case,” Stone said.

One of November’s family members sent CBS 6 the following message over Facebook:

“He may have a bad reputation but he is a human being that is loved by many. No one deserves this to happen to them!”

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