Family settles lawsuit with NCH police for man's stun gun death
Settlement gives family $650,000
The family of a Cincinnati father of eight who died after being shot in the chest with a Taser stun gun has settled their federal civil rights lawsuit against the North College Hill Police Department.
The family of Corey McGinnis, 35, agreed to settle their June 2013 wrongful death lawsuit against North College Hill police for $650,000. Policy changes were also put in place at the department regarding Taser use.
“The reform is what we wanted and the reform is what we got,” Corey McGinnis' niece Lisa McGinnis said.
Police were responding to calls about a fight and shots fired at a basketball game on the afternoon of June 26, 2012, when Corey McGinnis was shocked with a Taser.
Lisa McGinnis said her uncle had nothing to do with the fight and that the incident occurred in front of his four boys.
“It was a fight over a basketball game, and Corey and his children happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time,” Lisa McGinnis said.
Corey McGinnis collapsed from cardiac arrest at the Crutchfield Park and died five days later in the hospital.
“You know you always think in the back of your mind, what if ... what if ... and here I am living it,” Lisa McGinnis said.
The family said Corey McGinnis was shot in the upper torso and police had not regularly tested the Taser. Later testing showed it was emitting higher voltage than manufacturer specifications.
The family’s attorney, Al Gerhardstein, said North College Hill police agreed to change some of their Taser policies, including adding the manufacturer's preferred target zone and implementing reforms through a neutral expert, with input from Gerhardstein.
One of the biggest reasons Corey McGinnis' family sued was to help improve Taser policies and training.
Gerhardstein commended North College Hill police for agreeing to changes and hopes others will follow suit.
“We're trying to get all 47 law enforcement agencies in Hamilton County to do the same thing,” Gerhardstein said.
The family says the $650,000 settlement will help support Corey McGinnis’ eight children; however, his family said it was never about the money and the settlement two years after his death is bittersweet.
Referring to Corey McGinnis’ ashes, Lisa McGinnis said, “We shouldn't have to talk to a box, we shouldn't have to.”
The officer involved was investigated and cleared of any wrongdoing.