Theresa Davidonis, whose significant other Macadam Mason died last month after Vermont State Police tased him, is suing the officer who pulled the trigger as well as the Vermont State Police.
In a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Orange County Superior Court, Davidonis accused Shaffer of negligence, trespassing and misuse of his Taser.
Thomas Costello, a Brattleboro lawyer representing Davidonis, said the lawsuit is still in its early stages.
“We haven’t served [the state] yet,” he said. But Costello says the State Police policy on Taser use fails to properly account for subjects in mental health crisis.
“The procedures of the state police should have been designed to accommodate an emotionally disturbed person,” he said.
Davidonis is seeking damages for “severe and extreme emotional distress” as well as attorney’s fees, according to the lawsuit. She demands a trial by jury in Orange County Superior Court.
Janet Murnane, assistant attorney general, said the office does not comment before seeing a case.
“We haven’t received the lawsuit. We haven’t received anything,” she said.
Once the state is served, Murnane said, “the case will be assigned in the civil division and we’ll work with public safety to review and defend the case.”
Davidonis refers to Mason as her “life partner” in the lawsuit. Though the two weren’t married, they had been living together in her small Thetford home for seven years.
Mason called Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center the day after an epileptic seizure, threatening violence against himself and others. The hospital then called state police, who responded and ultimately tased Mason. Mason died within minutes, and though his official cause of death has not been determined – the New Hampshire medical examiner’s office, which conducted the autopsy, is waiting on blood tests before they issue a determination – Davidonis has said in interviews that she is certain the Taser killed Mason.
“It was pretty evident that he was killed with the Taser, but we don’t have the autopsy and that hasn’t been established yet,” Costello said.
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the day the lawsuit was filed.
