Moment car thief is left permanently quadriplegic by taser blast

A Colorado Springs man has filed a $100m lawsuit against a police officer he says tased him and left paralyzed for life.

Jacob Root, 27, has filed the claim against Officer Robert Comstock over the 2022 incident - which happened after Root hit an unmarked cop cruiser with a stolen car, according to police.

Bodycam footage shows the moment Root was zapped with a taser and fell off the curb, his head and breaking his neck as he tried to flee the scene.

Root and his lawyers say the fall during the arrest left him a a quadriplegic.

'That officer pretty much made a choice for me to be a prisoner in my body,' Root said, per KKTV. 

Jacob Root has filed a $100million lawsuit against Officer Robert Comstock over the 2022 incident which happened after he hit an unmarked cop cruiser with a stolen car, according to police

'I’d rather have gone to prison than be in this chair,' he added. 'I was free and now I’m stuck.'

In the federal lawsuit, filed in May, Root claims he is not independent and relies on others to feed himself. 

Colorado Springs police, on their part, have said they are standing by the results of two internal probes that exonerated officer Comstock of any wrongdoing.

The department said in a statement: 'Officer Comstock is a valued employee and is in good standing with the department.'

Bodycam footage shows the moment Root was hit with a taser and fell off the curb, hitting his head and braking his neck as he tried to flee the scene

Root and his lawyers say the fall during the arrest left him a a quadriplegic

Police officers first made contact with Root after they located a stolen car outside as Super 8 Motel and put a tracking device on it, per Fox 21.

Officers followed the car to another location before trying to keep it from leaving the parking lot by blocking its path with a cruiser.

But Root managed to get around the police car while damaging it.

Police did not pursue the car but tracked it to a gas station, where they saw Root exit the vehicle and go into the convenience store. 

Root took off running as he came out and saw the officers.

His attorneys claim he was 'running down the elevated slope dividing the gas station from the sidewalk on Airport Road. The slope dividing the gas station from the sidewalk was covered in dirt and uneven rocks.'

The lawsuit claims Root did not follow police policy when he did not specifically warn Root that he would use the stunt gun, and also for using it while Root was on an uneven surface.