MOBILE, Ala. — A Washington County man who claims that a McIntosh police officer used a Taser on him and beat him without justification 3 years ago got his day in court Wednesday.
Rondald Lee Reed testified in Mobile’s federal court that he was driving from his job at the Olin Corp. chemical plant in McIntosh to a bank in Chatom when a police officer pulled him over on U.S. 43 near the Sims Chapel community. Reed told the jurors who will decide the civil case that he did not realize that Officer Blaine Barnett had been following him.
Reed said he pulled over as soon as he saw the flashing lights on the grill of Barnett’s unmarked sport-utility vehicle and started to put his pickup truck into park.
“I didn’t get it all the way to park. I got it neutral, and that’s when I felt the shock,“ he testified.
Reed told jurors that he once felt the shock of an electric fence and another time touched an exposed wire from a plug. Neither time, he said, was as painful or caused him to lose control like the Taser shot on the afternoon of March 14, 2008.
“It’s indescribable, but I’ll try,“ he said. “It’s like a feeling of paralysis.“
Reed sued Barnett, whose father is the former chief of the McIntosh Police Department. Barnett’s defense team maintains that officer’s actions were justified because Reed led him on a high-speed chase and because officers were on the lookout for an escaped jail inmate at the time.
Jurors saw a video clip from an NBC-15 news broadcast that reported on the incident. Reporter Andrea Ramey testified that she and a photographer were in the area covering the story of the escaped work-release inmate and thought the traffic stop might be related to that.
Reed testified that did not hear the siren from Barnett’s car until he was on the ground and that the officer said nothing before shocking him and gave him no chance to comply. What’s more, the plaintiff told jurors, Barnett punched him, slammed his head 2 or 3 times against the pavement and then shocked him again while he was in handcuffs. Reed said he was left bleeding from the assault and lost control of his bladder due to the second shock.
Reed’s lawyer introduced pictures showing injuries to the plaintiff’s face.
“Beat up, bleeding, bruised, weak and kind of disoriented a little bit,“ Reed said when asked to describe his condition.
Police filed charges of reckless endangerment and misdemeanor possession of marijuana against Reed, but those charges later were dismissed.
Under cross-examination, Reed acknowledged that he probably was speeding at the time. He also admitted that he threw a cigarette butt out the window while he was driving. Officers have said they saw the driver throw something out the window and thought it might have been drugs.
Defense attorney Buzz Jordan challenged Reed’s testimony that Barnett did not say anything before using the Taser. Jordan showed Reed his sworn testimony from a deposition in which the plaintiff testified that Barnett may have said something to him.
Jordan also got Reed to acknowledge that he did not go to the hospital or seek medical treatment after the incident.
“So, your medical records in this case amount to roughly nothing?“ Jordan said.
Answered Reed: “Pretty much.“
Jordan also demanded to know how much money Reed was seeking from the lawsuit.
“For the 6 seconds you say you were injured, how much money do you want?“ Jordan asked.
Reed would not offer a figure. “To me, it’s not really about the money; it’s about the principle,“ he said.
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