A Tallahassee Police Department officer has been placed on administrative leave after a video showed him stunning a woman.
Tallahassee Police Chief Michael DeLeo announced this morning announced Officer Terry Mahan has been placed on administrative leave following an incident where he used his stun gun to stop a woman during his efforts to take her into custody.
The incident took place at 5:22 p.m. on Tuesday in the 500 block of Dunn Street. According to a press release by TPD, the agency's Community Oriented Policing and Problem Solving Squad was working in the area due to recent complaints from citizens about open air drug sales.
Officers detained three individuals when 61-year-old Viola Young approached police inquiring about one of the people arrested. An officer advised her to stay back and a second officer approached Young and attempted to place her under arrest. The video shows Young turning away, and Mahan stunning her in the back. The incident was captured on video by a citizen and obtained by the Police Department.
Warning - This video contains strong language.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8BQakQ7rPY
"Based on the video, I have enough concerns to call for an internal investigation and have put Officer Mahan on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation," said Police Chief Michael DeLeo. "We will conduct a thorough investigation into this incident. We want to be transparent with the community by sharing what we can at this point, including the video."
"The investigation will determine if the officer's actions were legal, and if those actions were consistent with the expectations I have set for our officers in terms of how we respect and treat our citizens," said DeLeo.
The Tallahassee Police Department has been under scrutiny for its use of force. The City of Tallahassee recently settled a claim against the police department in the case of Christina West, who suffered broken bones and bruises during her 2013 DUI arrest.
Correction: This story has been edited to correct the age of Viola Young. An earlier version of the report said Young was 62.
