The Austin Police Department (APD) has suspended an officer for 20 days, after he allegedly used a stun gun to shock a suspect who was not resisting arrest. The suspension is from June 14 through June 26, 2017. In addition, the officer has agreed to undergo evaluation by an APD psychologist. Police Chief Brian Manley says the officer is also under departmental probation for one year. If, during that time, the officer repeats the alleged behavior or does anything like it, he faces losing his job, with no right to appeal.
The officer who allegedly stun-gunned a suspect who wasn’t resisting at the time has been with APD since 1994. On January 17, 2017, he was working the Property Crimes Task Force. He and other officers were trying to locate a burglary-of-a-habitation suspect who had an active warrant. In northeast Austin, they found the man and attempted an arrest. The man managed to escape in an automobile. Later the suspect was trying to escape police on foot, and that was when he was captured.
Chief Manley says the suspect had been handcuffed and was face-down on the ground. He was not trying to assault an officer, and he was not actively resisting arrest. During this time, the now-suspended police officer allegedly took an action without first advising the suspect or other officers. He ran over to the suspect and allegedly held the stun gun to the man’s back for five seconds, which is referred to as “drive-stunning.”
Chief Manley wrote that the officer did not use the stun gun in an objectively reasonable manner. The United States Supreme Court has determined that excessive force claims are to be examined based on objective reasonableness.
A video of the alleged drive-stunning incident was released on the Internet and went viral, causing widespread public outrage.
–Guest Contributor
