Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (PRWEB) August 21, 2012
A Reading, PA, man, Ernest Martin, who fell off a bridge in Reading’s West Shore Bypass area in April, has filed a lawsuit, Ernest Martin v. City of Reading, et al., against the local government and police alleging the unauthorized use of a taser gun and police cover-up. Mr. Martin has enlisted Philadelphia personal injury lawyer Edith Pearce of The Pearce Law Firm to help him recover for the serious injuries he sustained that day.
According to a complaint recently filed in Federal Court by The Pearce Law Firm, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Civil Action No: 12-3665, Reading Police allegedly shot Mr. Martin with a taser gun while attempting to arrest him, as he stood at the side of the West Shore Bypass, causing him to plummet approximately forty feet to the concrete below. In April, WFMZ-TV Channel 69 News interviewed a Trooper about the incident. According to Edith Pearce, the story offered by police to Channel 69 differs from the account explained in the lawsuit.
According to police, Martin paused at the railing and then jumped off, falling 40 feet to the ground below. They take no responsibility for his fall.
“Once he hit the curb, he bailed out of the vehicle, paused momentarily before jumping over the bridge, jumped over the bridge, and landed on the ground below,” Tpr. John Yount, Pa. State Police, told Channel 69 News after the incident.
To recover compensation for his extensive injuries, Martin hired an experienced police brutality and excessive force lawyer. Philadelphia attorney Edith Pearce of The Pearce Law Firm has filed a Federal complaint that accuses state and local police of covering up the alleged improper behavior by failing to preserve evidence and threatening a witness. According to the court documents from the lawsuit, Martin alleges that he did not jump by his own free will but rather fell because police officers acted with unnecessary force by shooting him with a taser. The fall resulted in a crushed pelvis, punctured lungs, and broken ribs, leaving him unconscious and in critical condition. The lawsuit requests damages in excess of $150,000.
Martin’s lawyer, Edith Pearce, told Channel 69 news, “We have information that is contrary to the published accounts.” According to Pearce, “The allegations are that, in fact, the tasering by police is what caused his fall.”
The Philadelphia personal injury lawyer says there is a witness to back up that claim. “The witness was disturbed by what she had seen and decided to make her observations known,” Pearce told Channel 69 news. The lawsuit also alleges police covered up the use of the taser and even attempted to intimidate an eye witness by threatening the witness with criminal perjury charges if the witness would not corroborate police’s version of events.
As lead attorney for The Pearce Law Firm, P.C., Edith Pearce has accrued experience in many complex cases. She has handled police brutality lawsuits against several Pennsylvania county police departments, the city of Philadelphia Police Department, and the Pennsylvania State Police Department. Edith Pearce was recently named to the 2012 List of Philadelphia’s Top Rated Lawyers, which appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Pearce intends to exercise all of her knowledge and experience to get justice for Mr. Martin’s allegations. “We intend to seek out the absolute truth because that is what Mr. Martin is entitled to,” she states.
To speak to a qualified Philadelphia personal injury lawyer, contact The Pearce Law Firm at (215) 557-8686 or at 1429 Walnut Street – 14th Floor, Philadelphia, Pa, 19102.
About Edith A. Pearce
Edith Pearce founded The Pearce Law Firm, P.C. in 2002. She began her career as a trial lawyer for an insurance company and later a defense law firm. She has received the highest peer rating “AV” through Martindale-Hubbell, America’s oldest and most respected lawyer rating service. In 2010, Edith Pearce was named a “Pennsylvania Super Lawyer,” a list published in Philadelphia Magazine and she is a member of the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum. She is also a member of Mensa, the international high IQ society.
