User:Twilson101/sandbox

Jaylin Hughes
Jaylin Hughes being only 19 at the time, was sitting in a car with three friends at a McDonough apartment complex on June 12, 2019, when police responded to a call about the four young men smoking marijuana. Multiple patrol cars responded and at least one officer emerged with his gun drawn, according to the federal lawsuit filed. Hughes exited the vehicle and took off running, authorities said previously. “Jaylin is afraid of police. He didn’t want to have any problems,” said Hughes’ uncle, Sidney Hughes. "I’m having problems trying to understand how a minor incident leaves a kid paralyzed.” According to the suit, he managed to scale a 5½-foot fence when former Lt. Douglas Miller deployed his Taser, sending Hughes head first into the ground below with no way to brace his fall. His attorney, Harold Spence, spoke of Jaylin Hughes having the dream of becoming a physical therapist. Body camera footage made public this week captured the aftermath of the fall and it displayed him lying motionless in the grass, Hughes can be heard begging the officers for help. “Sir, I feel like I’m going to die,” he said. “Please help me, I think I’m going to die.” An officer believed to be Miller can be seen reaching down,  touching Hughes’ hand and asking if he could feel it. The teen’s voice broke as he replied, “No, I can’t.” According to the lawsuit the family is filing, the fall fractured five of the seven vertebrae in Hughes’ neck, collapsed his lung and left him paralyzed from the shoulders down. A 12-day hospital stay at Grady Memorial and two months of inpatient therapy at the Shepherd Center, Hughes’ family has incurred nearly $1 million in medical expenses so far, the number of fees only increasing. According to the attorney, Miller should have known better than to use his Taser on someone in an elevated position. In this case, he said, Hughes had no way to protect himself as he toppled over the fence.Hughes, now 20, still faces misdemeanor marijuana and obstruction charges in connection with the June 2019 chase. Hughes was charged with the marijuana possession as he got into the ambulance. The marijuana was found in his sock. Jailyn Hughes misdemeanor case is now heading over to state court.

Cited Sources
- Proctor, Aungelique. “Paralyzed Georgia Man's Pot Case Bound over to State Court.” FOX 5 Atlanta, FOX 5 Atlanta, 22 Jan. 2020, www.fox5atlanta.com/news/paralyzed-georgia-mans-pot-case-bound-over-to-state-court.

- Michael Seiden, WSBTV.com. “Teen Critically Injured after Incident with Police; Family Questions Officer's Actions.” Ajc, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 19 June 2019, www.ajc.com/news/national/teen-critically-injured-after-incident-with-police-family-questions-officer-actions/Lntxn9zvhHhSA8B6hsPnGN/.