CHESTERFIELD, Va. – Miles November is suing the Chesterfield County Police Department for $95 million, after he was severely injured following a police chase and crash in February of 2015.
His lawsuit also claims that the department’s Taser use of force policy is unconstitutional.
After he was removed from the vehicle, investigators said November began to resist arrest, and an officer fired a Taser.
November’s clothes caught fire, and as a result, his body was severely burned.
November’s lawyers said the Taser should not have been deployed, because officers at the crash scene were aware of spilled gasoline and gas vapors.
Miles November was severely burned in Feb. 2015.
The lawsuit also alleged that the officer who fired the Taser was unfit for duty, in part because he had previously been placed on disciplinary leave due to two separate incidents.
The suit stated that seven months after this particular Taser incident, that officer was dismissed from the department when the Chesterfield Police Chief learned of his association with an outlaw motorcycle gang.
Regarding the broader Taser policy, the lawsuit lists several other incidents in which they claim people were subject to unjustifiable deployment of the Taser by Chesterfield Police officers.
The suit also claimed the policy allowed officers to use Tasers without constraint, pause, warning, and an opportunity to comply.
A police review found that the officer who fired the Taser at Mr. November, and the other officers at the scene, fully complied with the use of force policy.
Back in September 2016, November pleaded guilty to driving on a suspended license, eluding police and Mmisdemeanor DUI.
He was also charged with assault and battery of a law enforcement officer and will go on trial for that next week.
November has alengthy criminal history 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.
CBS 6 reached out to Chesterfield police about the accusations made in the lawsuit, but they will not comment on pending litigation.
