Greenwood officials say policies were updated after 2016 tasing incident

Greenwood officials say the police department revised its training and procedures following the 2016 tasing incident that a Trafalgar man’s family says resulted in his death.

Charles “Charlie” Todero, 30, died on June 11, 2016, about two weeks after being stunned with a Taser 16 times in three minutes by police during an incident on May 29, 2016. Todero’s family filed a lawsuit in federal court in May 2017, and the lawsuit named the city of Greenwood and three police officers — Brian Blackwell, Renee Elliott and Elizabeth Laut — saying the department violated Todero’s civil rights.

Both Elliot and Laut were later dismissed from the case because Todero’s family did not present any evidence of wrongdoing on the part of either officer, city attorney Sam Hodson said in an email Friday.

A $2 million settlement in the case was reached in October 2021, with the funds being split among members of Todero’s family. The settlement was negotiated and paid by the city’s insurance carrier, Hodson said.

The incident began on May 29, 2016, after police responded to reports of a man walking in and out of traffic on Madison Avenue near Camby Street. Multiple callers reported that Todero was attempting to get hit, and cars were braking and swerving to avoid him, according to accounts police gave of the event at the time.

When an officer first arrived on the scene, Todero was sitting on a curb reading a Bible, Steve Art, an attorney representing the family from the Chicago-based civil rights law firm Loevy & Loevy, said in 2016.

Police accounts conflict with the events outlined in the lawsuit. Police described Todero’s actions as dangerous and erratic, and that an officer had no other options after Todero would not follow commands and after an officer tried to restrain him. That’s when the Taser was used the first time, officials said.

Police say the 15 additional times the Taser stun was administered were due to a weaker charge from the Taser because only one prong had entered Todero’s skin and he allegedly had continued to try to stand up. Police also stated that Todero had held up his Bible and claimed to be Jesus Christ as the Taser was being administered.

Attorneys for the family dispute this account, saying that the first charge from the Taser rendered Todero subdued.

Footage from the scene was only recorded after the tasing concluded. Elliot and another responding officer captured part of the scene, but arrived after the tasing, according to court documents. Blackwell, who tased Todero, was not wearing a body camera and was not required because of his rank of lieutenant, per the city’s policy at the time.

The police department’s body camera policy requires officers to turn on their cameras during traffic stops, though there are exceptions if the privacy of the suspect or third parties may be compromised. In some emergent situations, officers may not remember to turn the cameras on, Hodson said.

“In this case, the responding officer responded to a situation in which a pedestrian was in danger of being hit by traffic and third parties were in danger of being hit by cars trying to avoid him,” he said.

Following Todero’s death, police said an investigation found that officers hadn’t done anything wrong. An autopsy identified two pre-existing conditions — liver disease and Hepatitis C — as having led to swelling in Todero’s brain and having caused his death, officials said.

Attorneys for the family described those claims as “utter nonsense” at the time, saying that the symptoms of excessive Taser use were physiologically present in Todero during the two weeks he was in the hospital before he died.

City officials still maintain that the tasing did not cause Todero’s death, citing a Marion County coroner report.

“(The coroner’s) conclusion was supported by an expert hired by the law firm retained by the insurance carrier,” Hodson said.

Training and procedure protocols have been modified since the incident. The department currently uses procedures developed by Lexipol, a risk management solution company for public safety and local government. Lexipol develops comprehensive, continuously updated policies for public safety agencies, along with online training, wellness resources, grant services and an electronic police management platform, according to the company’s website.

The current procedures are considered state-of-the-art and are used by over 3,500 police agencies in 35 states, Hodson said.

The policy in effect at the time of the incident told officers to not refire a taser unless the suspect continued to resist, and that engaging the weapon after the suspect had been subdued “may be mistaken for mistreatment of the offender,” the policy said.

The most recent version of the department’s policy manual, approved in March, says officers should apply the device for one standard, five-second cycle, and then evaluate the situation before using it again. If the first application appears ineffective, officers should evaluate the situation and consider certain factors before using the taser again, including whether:

• It is reasonable to believe that the need to control the individual outweighs the potentially increased risk posed by multiple uses;
• The probes are making proper contact;
• The individual has the ability and has been given a reasonable opportunity to comply;
• Verbal commands, other options or tactics may be more effective.

The policy also specifies that tasers cannot be used:

• As a tool of coercion, punishment or any other unjustified use not necessary for the officer’s or other’s safety, or to subdue and restrain the subject.
• When a prisoner is handcuffed, unless the use would prevent the prisoner from inflicting serious bodily injuries to another person, or the escape of the suspect.
• To escort or jab individuals.
• To awaken unconscious or intoxicated individuals.

It’s also explicitly forbidden to use a taser excessively when subduing a subject, the policy shows.

In an interview with the Daily Journal on Tuesday, Teresa Todero, the mother of Charlie Todero, said officers mocked his condition after he was taken to the hospital. One text message said, “‘OH MY BACK, MY BACK!!!!!!’” according to court documents.

Other text messages between officers showed them joking about meeting Jesus.

The authors of the text messages were admonished by then-Police Chief John Laut. Additionally, the message referencing someone’s back was likely directed at Elliot, not Todero, Hodson said Friday.

City officials declined to comment on Todero’s possible mental health problems, and said the city was careful to avoid public statements about him during litigation in deference to his mental health issues, Hodson said.

“(The city) will not comment on his problems or the help he failed to receive now,” he said.