Taser incident prompts Rogers police chief to seek self-punishment
Posted on Wednesday, March 5, 2008
ROGERS - Lt. David Mitchell faces a 10-day suspension for using his police-issued Taser on a cow in Pea Ridge.
Rogers Police Chief Steve Helms might face a similar fate at his own request.
Following interviews with nine officers and civilians about the contents of a video Mitchell admitted to showing at the Rogers Police Department, Helms determined the lieutenant violated departmental policy by taking Taser cartridges, which had been taken out of service because they were faulty or defective, and using them without authorization.
But the incident has risen beyond the initial violation - misuse of police equipment - thanks to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, which pushed for disciplinary actions for alleged animal abuse.
Helms said the incident would not have caused as much embarrassment for the city had he acted when he first saw the video, and for that, he said, he must face disciplinary action as well.
"It did give us an image problem and a black eye," Helms said. "I will do what I can to rectify that. I told the mayor, ' I need something; I'm waiting for it. '"
Mayor Steve Womack said he would take steps to discipline Helms, but he would not say what that action would be.
"I'll deal with him separately," Womack said.
Helms said he saw the video, which showed Mitchell twice deploying his Taser. He did not focus on Mitchell shooting the cow, Helms said. Instead, he paid the most attention to a cartridge misfire that shocked Mitchell.
"I saw it; I laughed," Helms said.
Helms said he is now taking action that he should have taken immediately. "I should have taken action that this type of activity would not happen again," he said. "I didn't, but I am now."
While Helms did not remember much detail about the Tasing of the cow, others apparently did. According to the internal investigation documents, released by the department Tuesday, most officers said the cow showed little or no evidence of ill effects from Mitchell's use of the Taser. PETA had raised concerns that the Taser prongs were not removed from the cow. Helms said one prong fell out immediately, while the other one had disappeared when Mitchell checked on the animal a day or two later.
Because there did not appear to be long-lasting effects on the cow from the Taser, Helms said the incident did not rise to the level of animal cruelty as defined by state law, meaning Mitchell would not have been charged, even if the statute of limitations for animal cruelty had not expired.
Mitchell's 10-day suspension encompasses 10 working days or two calendar weeks. It started Tuesday.
Helms said the incident would prompt some new policies, specifically relating to cataloguing equipment that is removed from service.
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