Anastopoulo Law Firm Files Lawsuit Against Pickens County Sheriff Who Tasered Autistic Teen 17 Times
[Greenville, SC. 8.10.22] – Poulin | Willey | Anastopoulo has filed suit against the Pickens County Sheriff’s Department, Sheriff Rick Clark, and Deputy Sheriff James Trotter, after non-verbal 17-year-old autistic teenager Aaron Vasquez was tased 17 times without justification. According to the Complaint [attached]:
“James Trotter, exercised extreme, excessive, and unwarranted force by tasing Plaintiff Aaron Vasquez, an unarmed, non-verbal, severely autistic minor, seventeen (17) times in approximately five (5) minutes despite the absence of any clear or present danger, resulting in severe injury to Aaron’s person and in violation of his constitutional rights.”
On the morning of August 30, 2021, Aaron was reported as missing from his home. Also that morning, police received a phone call indicating Aaron was walking down the road with pajamas on backwards, and not able to speak when the caller interacted with him. The caller commented “Ma’am he looks young.”
Nevertheless, Sheriff Trotter responded, calling Aaron various names like “Sanchez” and “Gomez,” but never by his actual name, and then repeatedly tased him when the non-verbal teenager could not respond. The video shows Aaron never posed a threat or attempted to flee. After another deputy arrived Trotter falsely reported that Aaron hit him and he was arrested facedown on the side of the road, with his pants pulled down.
This is not the first excessive tasing carried out by the Pickens Sheriff Department dating back to 2015 when an innocent 65 year old man in a wheelchair was tased in his own home. Deputy Trotter has since been arrested and charged with assault and battery, misconduct in office and relieved of his duties.
The complaint also states that Sheriff’s Deputy Trotter violated Vasquez’ civil rights, by “depriving Plaintiff of clearly established and well-settled constitutional rights protected by the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution.”
