KILLEEN, Texas — Three Killeen Police officers and the City of Killeen are the subject of a federal lawsuit regarding a 2021 arrest where a man was reportedly tased six times after he suffered from a seizure.
According to the lawsuit, officers Edward Urena, Franklin Melendez and Joshua Plowick used "excessive force" against Truman McCollum Jr. and "violated his individual rights under the Fourth Amendment." It further alleges the City of Killeen failed to give officers proper training when it came to medical episodes.
On Jan. 16, 2021, McCollum had a seizure while sitting in the drive-thru of a Burger King located at 3809 E. Stan Schlueter Loop, according to the lawsuit.
The three officers named in the lawsuit were called out to the restaurant because of the accident, the lawsuit reads. When they arrived, the found McCollum unresponsive on a stretcher with Killeen EMS, the lawsuit adds.
The lawsuit said McCollum was placed inside an ambulance where he later woke up "confused, not knowing where he was or the circumstances to which he'd awakened restrained to a bed as opposed to his last known position of being in his car, and tried to get up."
As McCollum tried to get up from the stretcher, the officers then "attempted to force" him back onto the gurney, which added to McCollum's confusion, the lawsuit alleges.
"At no time was he threatening or menacing the paramedics or the City of Killeen police officers," the lawsuit reads. "... At this point and at no point during these events transpiring in the ambulance did either of the Defendants make Mr. McCollum aware that they were attempting to detain or arrest him."
While this happened, Melendez reportedly requested one of the officers get their taser. Urena then grabbed his taser and tased McCollum, the lawsuit says.
"McCollum, clearly in distress, is attempting to comply, saying 'ok man... come on, man... please" before the officer tased him another five times, according to the lawsuit.
At some point, officers handcuffed McCollum and removed him from the ambulance and walked him to the police car. A Burger King employee then showed the officers footage of the accident saying 'I zoomed in on another shot, and it looked like he started seizing. He starts shaking," according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit further alleges that the officers were aware they were called out because of the accident and appeared "clearly uncertain on what, if any, criminal charge they can arrest Mr. McCollom for."
Though the City of Killeen didn't issue a formal response, it did file a motion last Friday to dismiss the lawsuit. In the motion, the city says McCollum was charged with resisting arrest and DWI after testing positive for methamphetamine.
"Because Plaintiff’s basic argument is that he was having a medical event, rather than displaying signs of intoxication, and thus there was no probable cause to arrest him, his DWI second charge works to bar his case and claims as well," the city said.
McCollum's lawyer, Matthew Manning, told 6 News they were aware of the city's motion.
"I want to be exceedingly clear. The city has moved to have the case dismissed. There has not been a decision based on that," Manning said. "There are certain legal standards that apply to that. We are confident that we are going to vigorously repel that decision to dismiss. That is not indicative to a weakness of the lawsuit."
6 News reached out to the Killeen Police Department for comment. Though they acknowledged that two officers -- Melendez and Plowick -- still work for the department, Killeen PD said they wouldn't comment pending litigation.
The other officer, Urena, no longer works for the department. On Jan. 25, he filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy unrelated to the incident.
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