(The Center Square) – The city of Pittsburgh finalized an $8 million settlement with the estate of a man who died after police stun gunned him in 2021.
The city council approved the settlement in two $4 million payments over two years at its Oct. 11 city council meeting.
According to the lawsuit, Jim Rogers was a 54-year-old man killed in a Pittsburgh neighborhood after a police officer used a stun gun on him as many as 10 times on Oct. 13, 2021.
Police responded to a 911 call in which the caller said she saw Rogers taking a bicycle from a neighbor’s porch.
After the stun gun was used on Rogers, emergency service personnel were called, but didn’t provide medical assistance, according to the lawsuit. Police only decided to take him to the hospital after they noticed he was unresponsive, court documents allege.
Rogers was no longer breathing and didn’t have a pulse when he arrived at the hospital. He died the next day, according to the city’s media release.
The city reached the settlement in April with the administrator of Rogers’ estate. At that time, Mayor Ed Gainey said in a media release the city would be reviewing police use of force policies.
Eight Pittsburgh police employees, including two supervisors, were disciplined over the incident, the city stated.
