Documents show Hurricane's payment for Taser death, but still scant details of settlement

Thanks to Utah's open-records law, we now know how much a Hurricane police officer's decision to use a Taser on a mentally ill man cost taxpayers.

As Brooke Adams reported, the southern Utah city paid the family of Brian Cardall $2 million to settle the family's wrongful-death lawsuit against the city. The settlement states that the city does not admit to any liability by making the payment.

In return, the Cardalls drop their suit against the city, Police Chief Lynn Excell and Officer Kenneth Thompson, who is accused of firing two 50,000-volt charges from his Taser pistol into Cardall, who was unarmed, naked and having a bipolar episode on the side of a southern Utah highway on June 9, 2009.

However, if you're looking for more details as to whether Thompson was disciplined or if he and his colleagues had to undergo training in dealing with people who are mentally ill or the proper use of "non-lethal" weapons, forget about it. Adams reports that the settlement precludes the parties from discussing any details, only acknowledging that the case was resolved.

The settlement does permit Cardall's family, including his father, former KSL-TV editorial director Duane Cardall, to continue working with the National Alliance on Mental Illness and police departments on how to help people with mental illness.