Two former police officers in South Carolina will spend at least a year in prison for shocking a mentally disabled woman at least eight times with a Taser without giving her time to follow their orders, officials say.
Franklin Brown, 35, and Eric Walters, 39, both former police officers with the city of Marion Police Department in Marion County were sentenced to serve 18 months and one year and one day in prison, respectively, Monday in federal court in Florence by U.S. District Court Judge R. Bryan Harwell for repeatedly Tasing a former local female resident during the course of her detainment.
For both defendants, three years of supervised release will follow the prison sentences and they each face a $100 special assessment. Brown and Walters previously pleaded guilty to violating the victim’s civil rights during this incident.
Walters was patrolling in Marion early on the morning of April 2, 2013 when he saw 40-year-old Melissa Davis walking out of the yard of a home for sale. He asked her what she was doing, thinking she might have broken into the home, then shocked her with his Taser, according to court papers.
According to court documents, in the course of detaining the victim, Walters tased the victim causing her to fall to the ground and injure her head. Once she was on the ground, Walters continued to Tase the victim multiple times.
Brown subsequently arrived on scene and proceeded to Tase the victim as she was seated on the curb, restrained in handcuffs and surrounded by law enforcement. Walters and Brown admitted there was no legitimate law enforcement purpose for repeatedly tasing the victim as she did not pose a threat to the officers.
Brown told the other officers at the scene he shot Davis with the Taser because he “did not want to touch that nasty (obscenity),” according to his plea agreement.
Prosecutors said the officers should have known Davis had a diminished mental state, and a lawsuit filed by her caretaker against the officers and the city of Marion said she was well known around town.
The civil suit said along with the physical pain and suffering from the shocks and their after-effects, Davis also continues to need help to deal with mental anguish from what happened. Her lawsuit is seeking a minimum of nearly $2 million.“The defendants abused their authority as law enforcement officers by repeatedly tasing a defenseless, compliant victim,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta of the Civil Rights Division. “Today’s sentence is a reminder that this type of abusive and dishonorable behavior will not go unpunished.”
“I thank the Marion Police Department, the FBI and the Civil Rights Division,” said U.S. Attorney Bill Nettles of the District of South Carolina. “Due to their collective efforts in concert with our office, the officers in this case were brought to justice.”
Monday’s sentence resulted from the investigative work of the FBI’s Myrtle Beach Division. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Henry Leventis and Nicholas Murphy of the Civil Rights Division, and Assistant U.S. Attorney John Potterfield of the District of South Carolina.