He is set to be placed in a medically-induced coma, having already been in hospital for 10 weeks
A man was left fighting for his life when he was shot with a stun gun that caused an explosion at a gas station, his lawyers have claimed.
Jean Barreto, 27, has been in hospital with third degree burns on around 75 percent of his body ever since the incident on February 27, with his lawyer saying he was “cooked alive.”
The incident took place when the electric charge from a stun gun fired by a cop is thought to have ignited an explosion at the gas station.
Barreto was reportedly on his way home from a biker gathering that police had broken up and had stopped at the Wawa station.
According to police he was one of a number of people who were pointing guns at others.
Barreto’s lawyers say an Osceola County sheriff’s deputy tackled the man from behind, knocking him and his motorbike to the ground and spilling petrol.
When at least three more officers arrived, one of them used their stun gun on Barreto, sparking a “fireball.”
In a press conference on Thursday addressing the incident, Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez announced that both Barreto and the deputy who fired the stun gun would face charges.
Lopez also played CCTV and aerial footage of the incident.
In a statement, Barreto’s lawyers said: “This fireball, caused by the reckless, foolish, unnecessary and deadly tasing leading to the horrific explosion, engulfing the two of them and injuring two other deputies with minor burns.”
They said the motorcyclist “is still undergoing potentially lifesaving but excruciatingly painful treatment” and “he is without skin on most of his body, his skin having been burned off”.
The lawyers added that he was set to be placed into a medically-induced coma this week to undergo further treatment. He has already been in hospital for 10 weeks.
