Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Taser Nuts

And people wonder why I don't want cops having tasers. Here's why:

Danny Wilson insists he never saw it coming.

On February 16, the Waffle House waiter was chatting with two Gwinnett County police officers when a third officer approached, his taser set on stun.

"I heard something behind me," says Wilson. "As I turned around to look, he put the taser to my back and I fell down.

"It was very humiliating."

Wilson says as the other officers laughed, Corporal Gary Miles denied using his weapon. Gwinnett Police say when their investigators stepped in, Miles changed his tune.

"He stated he regretted it happened," says Corporal Illana Spellman. "He said he did it because he thought it would be funny."

Wilson and his attorney waited until they had surveillance video of the incident to report it to Gwinnett Police. On June 9th, the department started a criminal investigation into their own officer.

Miles has resigned from the force, and is now facing charges of battery and violation of oath of office. The other two officers, Sgt. Joey Parkerson and Sgt. Christopher Parry, have also resigned in lieu of termination.

Danny Wilson claims before that stunning night, the three officers would come into the Waffle House to eat breakfast and use their taser guns like toys, sometimes pointing it in his direction.

"One time I was playing a song on the jukebox, and they said 'don't play any stupid songs, we're going to shoot you with the taser,'" says Wilson.

Wilson claims on one occasion, another officer got involved.

"We do want to know who this fourth officer is that pretended to shock Danny with the taser," says attorney Mike Puglese.

Gwinnett Police say if another officer used his taser improperly, they want to know.

"We're going to look into that thoroughly," says Corporal Spellman. "We're not going to tolerate any misconduct against a citizen."

District Attorney Danny Porter says once the police investigation is complete, he'll look at the evidence to determine if more charges should be filed against Miles or others.

This is how they get used. There have been too many incidents involving cops, tasers, and "joking" to deny that.