A police officer in New York has been indicted on federal civil rights charges for allegedly using his stun gun seven times on a handcuffed man.
On Thursday, prosecutors announced that the man put in handcuffs was facing a mental crisis and was being involuntarily taken for medical treatment.
According to the indictment, Sgt Mario Stewart,44, a commander on the force in Mount Vernon, fired his Taser at a man multiple times in just two minutes.
He has now been charged with violating the person’s constitutional rights by using excessive force.
“Stewart’s alleged conduct not only betrayed his duty as an officer to protect those under his charge but also violated the law,” United States Attorney Damian Williams said.
Mr Williams added: “My Office is committed to protecting the constitutional rights of all New Yorkers, including those experiencing mental health crises, and to holding law enforcement officers accountable when they abuse their authority.”
However, Mr Stewart’s attorney, Kevin Conway, said that his client was doing his “duty” and added: “He merely was discharging his duty in responding to a mental health call for an individual who was in an agitated mental and physical state.”
What happened at the scene?
In March 2019, Mr Stewart and six other officers were dispatched to a parking lot to assist a man who was partially naked and who appeared to be in distress.
According to a press release from the US Attorney's Office Southern District of New York, Mr Stewart was assigned to the MVPD’s Emergency Services Unit, which is responsible for (among other things) responding to individuals who are experiencing a mental health crisis.
At the time, Mr Stewart was supervising the scene and gave an order for the man to be handcuffed and taken down to the ground. The other officers at the scene then put the man in a “restraint bag” for transportation, but they were “unable to pull the restraint bag over the Victim’s chest” as the man was holding onto the strap of the bag.
Prosecutors said Mr Stewart told the man to let go, but when he didn’t, the officer proceeded to fire his stun gun repeatedly.
The man was on the ground with his hands cuffed behind his back and his legs secured in the bag.
“Stewart’s actions caused bodily injury to the Victim,” the indictment said.
Mr Conway said emergency services tried to get the man to be transported with care, but they were unsuccessful and Mr Stewart had no choice but to use such measures.
Mr Stewart pleaded not guilty at an appearance before a federal judge in White Plains on Thursday and was released on a personal bond, the lawyer added.
In a statement, the administration of Mount Vernon Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard, who took office several months after the incident, said: “The alleged conduct predicating the Department of Justice’s charges is abhorrent and erodes the public’s trust in the hard-working men and women of the Mount Vernon Police Department.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
