×

City reaches $50,000 settlement with man over traffic stop lawsuit

T-R FILE PHOTO — The city of Marshalltown and local man Elder Soto Tejada have reached a $50,000 settlement over allegations that MPD officer Ryan Dehl tased him without cause last March.

As part of the consent agenda during Monday night’s regular biweekly meeting, the Marshalltown city council unanimously approved the authorization of a $50,000 settlement to be paid to Elder Soto Tejada and the Parrish Kruidenier Law Firm stemming from a lawsuit filed last September alleging that MPD Officer Ryan Dehl shot him with a stun gun without cause in March of 2022.

As previously reported in the T-R, Soto Tejada, now 18, was driving home on March 21 when Dehl began to follow him in a patrol car. When Soto Tejada reached his home and went inside, Dehl allegedly parked behind Soto Tejada’s car, exited his patrol vehicle and then proceeded to “loiter around” the house in the driveway. Soto Tejada claims he walked outside to speak to Dehl, asking “What do you want from me?”

While standing several feet apart, the two then discussed a traffic violation that Dehl claimed Soto Tejada had committed. Soto Tejada, attempting to end the interaction, asked Dehl to get off his property, and then he turned around to re-enter his home.

The lawsuit alleges Dehl followed Soto Tejada as he was walking away, and while Soto Tejada’s back was still turned, Dehl unholstered his Taser, pointed it at Soto Tejada and said “Don’t move or I’ll tase you.”

At that point, Soto Tejada claims he turned around with his arms still at his sides, and Dehl then fired a Taser dart into his chest. Soto Tejada allegedly collapsed to the pavement, and while on his hands and knees, yelled “OK, stop, stop, stop, stop!”

According to the lawsuit, Dehl then backed away from Soto Tejada, putting about eight to 10 feet of distance between them, and when Soto Tejada began to stand up, Dehl allegedly “reactivated his Taser.” Soto Tejada then fell back to the pavement while shouting, “OK! Stop!”

Soto Tejada was then handcuffed, escorted to Dehl’s patrol car and placed inside. Criminal court records indicate that Soto Tejada was then ticketed for reckless driving and failure to yield to an emergency vehicle, with both resulting in a guilty plea and a fine.

The lawsuit alleged that it is unconstitutional for law enforcement to use excessive force against an individual who is neither fleeing nor resisting arrest. Marshalltown Police Chief Mike Tupper told the T-R he “fully supported” the actions of his police officers, including Dehl.

“We thoroughly investigated the concern and didn’t find any law or policy violations,” Tupper said. “We look at every use of force situation that occurs, and we always try to learn from it. That’s certainly the case here, and I just have to reiterate (that) I support our police officers. They have a difficult job, and I support the officer that was involved in this issue as well.”

Benjamin Bergmann, the attorney representing Soto Tejada, said the law firm was “happy to get justice for Elder” and that he “is fully on his way to recovery.”

According to the terms of the settlement, the city is required to pay a $5,000 deductible to the Iowa Communities Assurance Pool, which provided legal representation on the matter. Soto Tejada will receive $30,000, and the Parrish Krudeneier firm will receive the other $20,000.

The agreement also stipulates that Dehl, Tupper and the MPD are “fully released and forever discharged” of any and all liability arising from claims related to the traffic stop, adding that the involved parties “deny that they have done anything improper or illegal concerning

the incident described in this Release, and this Release does not constitute an admission

of liability on the part of any person or entity.”

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $4.38/week.

Subscribe Today