Jack Bruce is grabbed by a Hercules police officer on April 1, 2024. Photo: Bodycamera video
HERCULES, Calif. - A federal judge on Monday set a trial date in a case where a young man is suing the Hercules Police Department after officers were seen on video using a Taser on him to get out of his car while he was suffering from a medical seizure.
U.S. District Court Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland set the trial for July 27, 2026, while simultaneously telling the lawyers for Jack Bruce and the city of Hercules and Contra Costa County to head to mediation with Magistrate Sallie Kim in the meantime.
She said she'd check in with them on how things were going on Feb. 23, 2026.
The 22-year-old Bruce sued Hercules in February of this year, alleging excessive force, battery, false arrest, negligence, defamation and violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Body camera video obtained by his attorneys, Craig Peters and David Fiol, shows officers using the stun gun on him on April 1, 2024, after he didn't comply with police orders to get out of his car.
He had just driven off the road down a small embankment in Hercules while on his way home from visiting his grandmother. It turned out he was having a grand mal seizure – his first – and wasn't comprehending what was being asked of him, he told KTVU in a prior interview.
Richard Osman, the attorney representing Hercules, filed court documents denying the city's legal responsibility for Bruce's injuries.
He also denied that any of the officers were negligent or breached their duty, as alleged in the complaint. He is representing police officers Angel Garcia, Michael Thompson, and Joshua Goldstein.
Bruce also sued the Rodeo-Hercules Fire Protection District, specifically for the actions of paramedic Daniel Collyer, who is alleged to have authorized the police force to remove him from the car. Collyer is being represented by Contra Costa County Deputy County Counsel Sean Rodriguez, who has filed a motion to dismiss the case. He argued that Bruce did not "comply with multiple requests to exit his vehicle," preventing Collyer from evaluating him.
Both the Hercules and county lawyers signaled to the judge that they would be arguing for "qualified immunity," a legal term that protects government officials from liability in civil lawsuits unless their conduct violates someone's constitutional rights.