Woman sues Taser maker over husband's death

LOS ANGELES - The wife of a California man who died after stun-gun shocks in a scuffle with deputies is suing Los Angeles County and the weapon's manufacturer.

Caroline Silva says in the lawsuit filed Tuesday in federal court that deputies went far beyond reasonable force to detain her husband, 32-year-old Cesar Silva. She's also suing Scottsdale-based Taser International Inc., saying the company failed to warn of the stun gun's danger.

Authorities say Cesar Silva fought with as many as five deputies responding to a call of a neighborhood disturbance near South Los Angeles in 2007 and injured two of them. The lawsuit says Silva was unarmed when deputies used the Taser on him more than 10 times.

An autopsy revealed Silva had been using cocaine and methamphetamine.

Sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore says the department looks forward to telling the whole story.