A Pittsburgh man who is on the autism spectrum is suing city police, alleging they shocked him with a Taser and arrested him without cause two years ago.
Kevin Matthew Dunn, 24, of Pittsburgh’s Westwood neighborhood said in the complaint filed last month in federal court that no criminal charges were ever lodged against him.
“What happened to Kevin should not occur in a just society,” attorney James Tallman, who represents Dunn, said Tuesday. “It was a terrifying experience that continues to impact his life and was a direct consequence of the city of Pittsburgh police officers’ lack of training and understanding in dealing with neurodivergent and autistic individuals.”
A message requesting comment from the city was not returned.
In addition to the city and police bureau, the lawsuit names as defendants Officers Seth A. Tessmer, Jordan M. Price and Anthony F. Rosato and Cmdr. Raymond Rippole.
The complaint, filed Feb. 20, includes claims for excessive force, unconstitutional seizure, arrest and false imprisonment, assault and battery.
It also alleges the police bureau failed to properly train and supervise its officers in their use of Tasers, as well as in deescalation measures.
According to the complaint, Dunn was walking around his neighborhood in Pittsburgh’s West End about 4 p.m. Feb. 22, 2024, like he did on most days.
Dunn carried a small stick in his hand for what is known as stimming, or self-stimulating behavior marked by repetitive movements often seen in people with autism.
Dunn had originally been heading to a friend’s house that afternoon. His friend wasn’t home, though, so he began walking toward his aunt’s house when multiple police cars with their lights on began following him, the lawsuit said.
The officers got out, surrounded Dunn and began shouting at him, the complaint said.
Officers told Dunn he was being detained, the complaint said, and he ran away from them.
The lawsuit asserts that Dunn did not threaten the officers or make any violent outburst.
“Plaintiff displayed unusual mannerisms stereotypical to those with autism,” the complaint said, including running with an unusual gait. “Plaintiff’s response and mannerisms would indicate to any reasonable person that he was neurodivergent and autistic.”
When Dunn got to his aunt’s front porch, officers wrestled him face down to the ground, the lawsuit said, and shocked him with a Taser. An officer also kneeled on his back, the complaint said.
Dunn was terrified and was shocked multiple times, the lawsuit claimed, before police took him to UPMC Mercy for medical treatment.
After the incident, neighbors told officers Dunn is autistic.
Once Dunn was released from the hospital, police officers returned him to his father’s home, the complaint said.
No charges were filed.
The lawsuit asserts that Dunn’s detention was a “manifest miscarriage of justice.”
“This case is an example of a rush to judgment and a failure of the system on a grand scale,” the lawsuit said. “It is an example of the systemic injustice routinely faced by neurodivergent and autistic individuals in Pittsburgh and the United States of America.”
In October 2021, a 54-year-old unhoused man died the day after he was shocked with a Taser at least 10 times following an encounter with a Pittsburgh police officer in Bloomfield.
In that case, the city paid the family of Jim Rogers $8 million to settle a federal lawsuit.