IOWA CITY, Iowa — An Iowa judge criticized a former police chief for using his city-issued stun gun to shock guests at two parties in 2016.
District Court Judge Nancy Whittenburg called Armstrong Police Chief Craig Merrill’s actions an “immoral activity” and rejected his argument that his use of a Taser device at an off-duty, social setting was not a crime, according to The Associated Press.
Whittenburg, in a ruling dated May 27, said Merrill’s actions could have caused serious injuries or death, adding there was no justification for using the stun gun for entertainment purposes.
“Merrill did not have justification to use a defensive weapon with the intent to cause pain for entertainment purposes on compliant partygoers,” Whittenburg wrote in the ruling. “Merrill is exceptionally lucky that no one suffered a medical emergency or died at the party.”
The Martin County, Minnesota, sheriff’s office said Merrill, 43, was arrested Feb. 13 just over the border from Armstrong, the Des Moines Register reported. He was charged with two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon.
Judge rips Iowa police chief for using stun gun on partiers https://t.co/JI86GdxN9j
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Other counts include possession of $24,000 in checks for paid time off allegedly not earned and acceptance of an all-expense-paid vacation to the Black Hills of South Dakota by his political supporters, a violation of state law, The Estherville News reported.
Merrill is accused of using the stun gun against Armstrong’s then-maintenance director, Tylor Evans, and several others who attended parties at the police chief’s home in April 2016 and July 2016, according to the AP.
“Defendant Merrill announced that he knew he was ‘not supposed to do this,’ attempted to prevent partygoers from documenting the crime, and told partygoers he would lie to the City Council about whether the Taser darts had been deployed,” prosecutors said in a recent filing.
Prosecutors allege Merrill collected $30 from guests to pay for the city to replace the cost of the stun gun’s cartridge but never deposited the money, the AP reported.
At the second gathering in July, Merrill admitted he had shocked everyone who attended multiple times using the weapon’s drive-stun function, which delivers electrical shocks as a method of pain compliance, according to the AP.
In June 2017, during a special city council meeting, city officials voted to seize Merrill’s computer and stun gun, according to the News. Both were surrendered to the Emmet County sheriff, the newspaper reported.
Prosecutors also alleged that Merrill tried to erase the stun gun’s memory before it was seized, but a state official was able to extract data showing bursts of activity on the dates of the parties, according to the AP.
Authorities arrested Merrill in February along with his father-in-law, then-Armstrong Mayor Greg Buum, and former city clerk Connie Thackery, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office. Prosecutors said the arrests were the culmination of a probe into long-running and wide-ranging corruption in the small town of 900 people.
Merrill’s attorneys argued that Evans had signed a document consenting to be stunned and asked Whittenburg to dismiss the charges, according to the AP.
Whittenburg rejected those arguments, writing that consent is not a defense to assault and “Tasering will never be considered a proper sport or social activity.”
“Typical birthday party attendees do not expect the hired clown or magician to start electrocuting and incapacitating people,” the judge wrote.
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