It was 2:51 a.m. on Aug. 29, 2022, when Alice Frankel awoke to the sounds of her fiancé suffering a seizure in the bed next to her in their Northern California home. Believing he might be having a stroke, she called 911. Bruce Frankel (left) was suffering a seizure when his fiancée and now-w ife, Alice Frankel (right, with Frankel) called 911 for help. Police arrived, tasered, and arrested him. (Photo: Body camera and KTVU-TV) Central Marin police arrived and, instead of treating it as a medical emergency, attacked the then‑61‑year‑old, tasering him and leaving him traumatized with several injuries. Last month, Bruce Frankel agreed to a $3.15 million settlement but has expressed regret about not bringing the case to trial to hold the cops accountable before a jury because the settlement allows them to avoid admitting wrongdoing. “I regret the settlement,” Frankel, who that night had suffered a tonic‑clonic seizure, formerly known as a grand mal seizure, told KTVU‑TV. ”It did not give me the opportunity that I was looking for to have our day in court and to properly hold these people responsible in public.” Body camera video, posted below, shows Central Marin police officer Kevin Sinnott entering the home and encountering Frankel acting erratically, slurring his words and having difficulty maintaining his balance. Sinnott then grabs him by the wrist in an attempt to restrain him, but Frankel instinctively pulls away, saying, “Leave me alone” — prompting the cop to escalate the situation. “Stop fighting with me,” he tells Frankel, who was not throwing punches but pulling away from the cop, still appearing disoriented. Sinnott then tasers Frankel as more cops arrive and eventually handcuff him. Frankel was first transported to the hospital for evaluation, where hospital staff told police he had suffered a seizure, then to jail on charges of resisting arrest and battery on a peace officer. The Marin County District Attorney then considered charging him with domestic battery, claiming that Frankel shoved his fiancée when Sinnott entered the room, but the body camera video does not show that. The district attorney ended up filing no charges, prompting Frankel to file a lawsuit on April 3, 2024. Watch the video below. Clueless Cops The incident was set in motion when Alice Frankel was awakened by her now‑husband moaning and snorting in their bed, with saliva and foam coming out of his mouth, his eyes rolling back, his arms were stiffly extended and his legs shaking — the telltale signs of a tonic‑clonic seizure, the complaint states. She called 911 and told the dispatcher that her fiancé was not responding to her and to send help right away. Sinnott was the first cop to arrive and immediately escalated the situation from a medical emergency to a criminal matter because Frankel was not immediately complying with his commands — even though he was in an altered state of mind. The first and only thing Sinnott asked Alice after entering the room was whether she had performed CPR on her fiancé, but the lawsuit states that it was not necessary for the medical emergency he was experiencing. According to the lawsuit: First, it was clear CPR was not necessary; plaintiff was standing (albeit unsteadily) and obviously not deprived of oxygen. Second, it was clear plaintiff was physically unstable: in a handful of seconds he bounced off the wall and fell onto the bed. He was in no condition to chase or attack anyone. Third, it was clear plaintiff was suffering from some form of altered mental status: his eyes were blank and did not fix on anything or anyone. Sinnott recognized this: he reported to the dispatcher, ‘He’s conscious but something is wrong with him.’ Fourth, and finally, plaintiff gave no sign he wished to harm anyone. The lawsuit also states that by the time the cops arrived, Frankel was entering the “postictal” stage of the seizure, when the brain is recovering, but the victim remains unaware of his surroundings and unable to understand directions. “People in the postictal stage often react instinctively to attempts to restrain them — by trying to escape,” the complaint explains. ‘Knowingly False Statements’ Listed as defendants are Sinnott and several other Central Marin police officers who are accused of participating in the cover‑up, including Cpl. Joel Heaps, Lt. Michael Legan, Capt. Hamid Khalili and up to 20 John Doe officers. The complaint accuses the cops of ignoring state training and their own policies on medical and mental health crises, using excessive force on an unarmed patient before submitting “knowingly false statements” to prosecutors recommending fabricated charges. “The submission of knowingly false statements by multiple defendants was the result of the unconstitutional policies, practices, procedures and unwritten customs in place in the CMPA regarding the use of force and responses thereto,” the complaint states. The $3.15 million settlement allows the Central Marin Police Authority to end the lawsuit without admitting “liability or wrongdoing,” which is likely why Frankel is expressing regrets. “Rather, it is a decision to avoid exposing taxpayers to the uncertainty and expense associated with continued litigation,” said Dan Schwarz, executive manager of the Central Marin Police Authority, in a statement to local media. Frankel, who spent more than $10,000 in legal fees defending himself from the fabricated charges, is now on medication but still experiences mini‑seizures. “The worst thing you can do to a seizure patient is to try to restrain them,” he told local media. “And tasing someone having a brain event is extraordinarily dangerous.” ‘Stop!’: Bodycam Shows California Cop Tasering Disoriented Man Having a Seizure, Then They Jailed Him on Fabricated ted Charges, But He Got the Last Laugh ...read more read less