Miami Police Accidentally Taser Suspect In The Face, He Loses His Right Eye

A bizarre series of events in Miami involving a missing mother and child led to police mistakenly penetrating the eye of the mother’s ex-boyfriend with a Taser, damaging it beyond repair. Though the injury could lead to a lawsuit, Miami police are still hoping to question the man about his missing ex-girlfriend and her daughter.

According to the Huffington Post, 43-year-old Liliana Moreno and her 9-year-old daughter Daniela Moreno disappeared late last month, raising a lot of mysteries and media attention. Police tracked down Gustavo Castaño, the ex-boyfriend of Liliana and reportedly the last person to see the mother and daughter alive. But once they located Gustavo inside a truck parked at a shopping center, the questioning didn’t go quite as planned.

Almost immediately after confronting Castaño, the suspect produced a box cutter and threatened to kill himself with it. It didn’t take long for police to realize Gustavo wasn’t bluffing because he quickly began slicing into his own neck. Officers resorted to the use of a Taser to subdue Castaño to keep him from harming himself further.

Gustavo Castano was found behind HomeDepot off Okeechobee hurting himself. His daughter&her mom last heard from Mon. pic.twitter.com/tTxdppSPUz

— Liane Morejon (@LianeMorejonTV) June 3, 2016

“Once the detectives observed Mr. Castaño begin to cut his neck, they immediately broke the passenger window and utilized an electronic control device to take control of him and cease his attempts to commit suicide,” said a police spokesperson.

But the attempts to subdue the suspect didn’t go as planned either. The Taser shot Gustavo Castaño in the face and one of the ejected prongs pierced his right eye. According to police, the accident was partially a result of Castaño trying to block the Taser with the blade in his hand.

“As a result, one of the prongs struck Mr. Castaño in the eye,” said a police statement.

He was rushed to the hospital and informed that he would permanently lose vision in the damaged eye. Gustavo is expected to continue hospital treatment for another week.

In the meantime, the ex-boyfriend of the missing mother has hired a lawyer, Michael Grieco, and he appears to be interested in pressing charges against the Miami Police Department, according to WTSP News.

“I’ve got to tell you, as someone who has been involved with law enforcement for 16 years, I can’t believe the circumstances where tasing someone in the eyeball is appropriate,” said Grieco. “It is excessive and something we will deal with at a later point.”

In terms of Gustavo Castaño’s involvement in the disappearance of Liliana and Daniela Moreno, his attorney also claims that he had nothing to do with it. Grieco has not only accused the Miami police of using excessive force but also brutalizing an innocent man.

“I do fear that a rush to judgment by police and focusing on an innocent man has hindered their efforts. Mr. Castaño wants nothing more than to hear that Liliana and Daniela are safe and unharmed… The beating of my client and the excessive use of a Taser that led him losing his eye will be addressed in due time.”

As of this week, the disappearance of Liliana and Daniela Moreno still remains a mystery. Gustavo Castaño maintains that he dropped off the mother and daughter at the shopping center where the Taser incident happened on May 30. Nobody has seen them since. According to local news WFOR-TV, authorities have not ruled out foul play as a possible cause of their disappearance, nor have they given up plans to question Castaño further, despite causing him to lose an eye.

“At this time, investigators have reached out to family members and friends,” said Police Captain Carlos Arango. “None of them have been able to give us an exact count of where she may be and that raises our concern significantly.”

Do you think the police should face consequences for accidentally taking the eye of Gustavo Castaño with a Taser?

[Photo provided by Michael Grieco]