At trial last month, a Cortez police officer testified that he violated the department’s stun gun policy while arresting Shane French, 38, on Feb. 14, 2014. Eight officers responded to the scene, and police accused French of stabbing officer Casey Eubanks.
Charged with assaulting police officers, French was acquitted after utilizing a Make My Day defense.
Officer Boyd Neagle testified that he failed to issue a verbal warning before using his stun gun. He also admitted that he electrocuted French seven times, including five times in two-and-a-half minutes span, while French was in handcuffs.
“We have two years to file a civil suit,” said Glenn French, the defendant’s father. “We haven’t really decided yet.”
In an interview, Glenn French said he believes that the police were the criminals in the incident.
“They attacked our son,” he said. “I’ve never seen the cops act like that.”
The elder French also said he hoped the officers would be reprimanded or discharged. Eubanks was ordered to undergo anger management counseling, but no other officers were admonished, according to the Journal’s review of public personnel files. Police Chief Roy Lane said Neagle wasn’t at fault.
“I see no violation of policy by officer Neagle, and there will be no investigation or reprimand of officer Neagle by the Cortez Police Department,” Lane wrote in a email to the Journal.
In his email, Lane didn’t address the issue of deploying a stun gun on handcuffed suspects. He did say the department hasn’t required any additional stun gun training for officers since the jury acquittal on Dec. 5.
“Before it is assigned to each officer as part of their equipment, each officer is certified on the Taser,” Lane said.
Glenn French said the family hopes that the department would at least require better training on how to interact with mentally ill subjects. Shane French has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, his father said.
“Law enforcement needs better training on how to de-escalate situations – not use excessive force,” said Glenn French.