Caught On Tape: Cops Tase Man In Case of Mistaken Identity, Joke About Planting Drugs On Him

Two Seaford police officers pulled over a Dagsboro man on the night of his 43rd birthday, fired a stun gun into his ribs and roughly handcuffed him, mistakenly believing he was someone else, according to a federal lawsuit complaining about the 2011 incident.

After the man protested that he had done nothing wrong, officers were heard laughing on a surveillance video after one suggested placing drugs in the man’s car, according to the lawsuit filed by Reginald G. Johnson. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Wilmington last week against the city and two officers, alleges excessive force and malicious prosecution, among other charges.

[...]While Johnson was being held, officers searched his car and an officer, identified as Cpl. Aaron Mitchell, could be heard on the video saying, “Somebody drop the dope in here.” That was followed by laughter in an apparent reference to planting drugs in the car, according to the suit.