Cop Fired For Tasing Elderly Wheelchair-Bound Man

A South Carolina deputy sheriff lost his job after deploying a Taser on an unarmed 65-year-old man in a wheelchair.

Pickens City police and Pickens County Sheriff’s Deputies showed up at the home of Parker Mansell, Jr. around midnight to serve warrants on Mansell’s son Travis Mansell, 25.

Both father and son wound up being tased by officers in the encounter. Parker Mansell Jr. has been confined to a wheelchair since suffering a stroke many years ago.

According to various media accounts, the younger Mansell was uncooperative, reportedly told cops there was no way that he would go back to jail, and declared that they would have to kill him.

Unable to convince Travis Mansell to surrender, deputies eventually tased him to take him into custody, but not before his dad allegedly positioned his motorized wheelchair between the cops and his son in an apparent blocking maneuver.

“The deputy said he felt he needed to use his Taser on the father to prevent him from injuring the deputies who were arresting his son,” the Pickens Sentinel reported.

Parker Mansell fell out of the wheelchair and cut open his foot after he was tased.

Following an investigation of the February 20 incident, Pickens County Sheriff Rick Clark fired the deputy, Steven A. Ticknor, who used the taser on the older man.

“The father was confined to a wheelchair and was limited in mobility. Though he was verbally upset, he posed no significant danger to the Deputies as he was unarmed and made no overt threats. The decision to use the Taser on Mr. Mansell, Jr was inappropriate and not necessary to protect any party nor was it necessary to the complete the arrest of Travis,” the sheriff concluded in a statement.

Sheriff Clark determined that tasing Travis Mansell was appropriate and reasonable under the circumstances.

The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division will also be conducting an external review of the incident.

The warrants for Travis Mansell were for possession of stolen goods, resisting arrest, and driving under suspension.

“Cocaine possession and resisting arrest charges were added after he was booked into the [Pickens County] detention center in the early morning hours of Feb. 21,” the State reported.

Cops apparently are continuing an investigation into how the Parker Mansell and Travis’ girlfriend allegedly interfered with the arrest. The girlfriend reportedly told the officers on the scene that Travis was not home before they spotted him through a window.

[image credit: AndreasS]