New York Police Officer Indicted, Accused of Utilizing Stun Gun 7 Occasions on Handcuffed Man

MOUNT VERNON, N.Y. (AP) — A police sergeant in a New York Metropolis suburb has been indicted on federal civil rights expenses, accused of utilizing his stun gun a number of instances on a handcuffed man in psychological disaster who was being involuntarily taken for medical remedy, prosecutors introduced Thursday.

Sgt. Mario Stewart, a commander on the pressure in Mount Vernon, fired his Taser on the man seven instances in two minutes, in response to the indictment. He’s charged with violating the particular person’s constitutional rights by utilizing extreme pressure.

“Stewart’s alleged conduct not solely betrayed his responsibility as an officer to guard these below his cost but in addition violated the regulation,” U.S. Legal professional Damian Williams stated.

Kevin Conway, Stewart’s lawyer, stated his consumer was doing his responsibility and didn’t violate anybody’s rights or commit against the law.

“He merely was discharging his responsibility in responding to a psychological well being name for a person who was in an agitated psychological and bodily state,” Conway stated.

The sergeant and different officers have been dispatched to a car parking zone in March of 2019 to help a person who was partially bare and gave the impression to be in misery.

Stewart, who was the supervisor on the scene, gave an order for the person to be handcuffed and brought all the way down to the bottom. Officers then tried to place him in a “restraint bag” for transportation. However they have been solely in a position to get it partially in place, in response to the indictment, as a result of the person was clinging to a strap on the aspect of the sack.

Stewart advised the person to let go, and when he did not, fired his stun gun repeatedly, prosecutors stated.

On the time, the person was on the bottom together with his arms cuffed behind his again and his legs secured within the bag.

Conway stated emergency medical personnel had unsuccessfully tried to get the person to conform to be transported for care, and Stewart had no selection however to make use of nonlethal means.

Stewart, of Brooklyn, pleaded not responsible at an look earlier than a federal choose in White Plains on Thursday and was launched on a private bond, the lawyer stated.

In an announcement, the administration of Mount Vernon Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard, who took workplace a number of months after the incident, stated “the alleged conduct predicating the Division of Justice’s expenses is abhorrent and erodes the general public’s belief within the hard-working women and men of the Mount Vernon Police Division.”

Mount Vernon is about 15 miles (20 kilometers) north of midtown Manhattan.

Emails looking for remark have been despatched to the police division and the police union.

Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This materials will not be revealed, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.