SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Utah man with a history of mental illness says jail guards used excessive force when they shot him with rubber pellets at close range after he refused to obey commands to leave his cell.
An attorney for 31-year-old Luis Carlos Prado announced Thursday that a lawsuit has been filed against Utah County after months of negotiations failed to produce a settlement.
According to the lawsuit, Prado of Orem was being held in the jail’s mental health unit in June 2017 when a deputy shot his knee using a shotgun with less-than-lethal rounds from about 6 inches (15 centimeters) away.
Utah County Sheriff Mike Smith says in a statement that they’ve investigated the incident and taken corrective action, but they disagree with the attorney’s characterization of what happened.
