(04-27) 15:50 PDT WOODACRE --

Marin County has agreed to pay $1.9 million to settle a lawsuit filed by a man who accused sheriff's deputies of shocking him with a Taser when he refused to go to the hospital after he fell.

The county Board of Supervisors voted in closed session Tuesday to approve the settlement to Peter McFarland, 66, for an incident that "was not consistent with department policy," said County Counsel Patrick Faulkner.

"Federal law surrounding the use of Tasers is more restrictive today than it was in 2009, when deputies used a Taser to help take Peter McFarland in custody," Faulkner said.

McFarland and his wife, Pearl, are happy with the settlement, said his attorney, Ethan Balogh.

McFarland hurt himself June 30, 2009, in a fall at his Woodacre home. His wife called 911, but when paramedics arrived, McFarland refused to be taken to a hospital and signed forms declining medical assistance.

Sheriff's Deputies Justin Zebb and Erin Mittenthal arrived at the home shortly thereafter "without consent and without a warrant," said McFarland's suit, filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco. Deputies are automatically dispatched to most medical calls.

County officials said McFarland made a comment to the deputies about shooting himself. His attorneys have said an embarrassed McFarland was joking about his fall.

After McFarland ordered the deputies to "get out of (the) house," Zebb pulled out his Taser and told McFarland to come with him to the hospital, the suit said.

When McFarland got up from his sofa, the deputy shocked him several times.

McFarland was initially arrested on suspicion of resisting arrest, but the case was dropped. The incident was captured by cameras that are activated when the Taser's safety latch is removed.