Police Officers Plead Guilty To Tasing A Mentally Disabled Woman Eight Times

Two former South Carolina police officers pleaded guilty to using excessive force when detaining a mentally disabled woman, tasing her eight times.

On Monday, April 27, Franklin Brown and Eric Walters, both former officers at the City of Marion Police Department, were sentenced for the incident that took place in April, 2013.

According to the FBI, each man plead guilty to one count of “deprivation of rights under color of law for using unreasonable force for their role in repeatedly tasing the victim when she posed no threat to either officer.”

The altercation took place on April 2, 2013. Walters had been patrolling the Marion area when he saw 40-year-old Melissa Davis walking through a yard of a home that was for sale. Walters proceeded to question Davis about why she was in the yard, thinking that she may have broken into the home. He then tased her, according to court documents.

Davis fell to the ground and was ordered to put her hands behind her back. However, before she could respond, Walters tased her four more times. Even though she was not fighting the officers or trying to escape, when Brown noticed one of her hands had slipped from the handcuffs, he tased her as well. He then tased her two additional times and told her he would let her go if he could tase her forehead.

“The defendants abused their authority as law enforcement officers by repeatedly tasing a defenseless, compliant victim,” Acting Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta for the Civil Rights Division said. “The Justice Department will continue to vigorously prosecute those who cross the line to engage in acts of criminal misconduct.”

“Law enforcement officers are entrusted with the state’s police powers to maintain and restore order,” U.S. Attorney Bill Nettles for the District of South Carolina said.

“In this case, the officers abused that authority, and purposefully hurt the victim who at the time posed no threat to these officers or anyone else. No just society can tolerate this sort of abuse by those who wear the badge. I’d like to thank the Federal Bureau of Investigations, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division and the team in my office who worked together to ensure that these officers were held accountable for their misdeeds.”

Brown was sentenced to 18 months in prison, and Walters was sentenced to a year and a day in prison, according to the Huffington Post. Brown received the longer sentence because he tased Davis after she had been handcuffed.

Do you think their sentences are long enough? Leave your comments below.

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