TASERED WHILE CUFFED 2008
A Baton Rouge police corporal was fired by the chief and then reinstated by the civil service board after dash cam video showed him tasing a man five times while the suspect was handcuffed.Chief LeDuff fired Corporal Charles O'Malley earlier this month, but that decision was later overturned by the Baton Rouge Municipal Fire and Police Civil Service. The board voted 4-1 to give the corporal his job back, saying he needed to be disciplined, but not fired.O'Malley is now back on the force, but the chief suspended him for 90 days. Chief LeDuff says he is appealing the civil service board's decision to reinstate the officer, meaning a judge will now hear the case. Another officer involved in the incident was suspended. The FBI is investigating the case.Corporal O'Malley stated in his report that he spotted a man walking down Sherwood Street and stopped him to ask about recent burglaries in the area. When the man noticed the police car, the corporal says he saw the man quickly reach for his mouth and shove something into his pocket. Video captured by the officer's dashboard camera shows that he and another officer, who was in training, exited the vehicle, approached the man, and instructed him to stand in front of the police car.At first, the suspect complied with the officer but then put his hands back in his pocket, the videotape shows. Both officers immediately try to restrain the suspect. That's when O'Malley says in his report that he noticed the suspect was hiding a partially-smoked marijuana blunt in his mouth. O'Malley commands the suspect to "spit the drugs out" and grabs the man's throat, the videotape shows. Corporal O'Malley then grabs the man's neck and tries to prevent him from swallowing whatever item he has in his mouth, the videotape shows. O'Malley then reaches for his metal flashlight and attempts to force it in the suspect's mouth. He said in his report that he used the flashlight because he did not want to be bitten. The officers used pepper spray on the suspect and wrestled him to the ground. O'Malley said the suspect kicked, then kicked him and his partner several times in the struggle.At that point, O'Malley said he decided to use his taser gun on the man. While the suspect was handcuffed, the corporal tased him at least five times while ordering him to lie on his stomach. The Baton Rouge Police Department does not have a policy against tasing a suspect in handcuffs. The policy states the officer can use the taser until he "gets compliance." The department admits the policy is intentionally vague to protect officers in all situations.The suspect declined to press charges against either officer. The suspect recovered from being pepper sprayed and tased, investigators said. He did have minor scratches, which paramedics treated, investigators said.