Read more: Local, Crime
COLUMBIA -- Columbia police investigators have closed the case on a complaint by a man Tasered by officers earlier this month outside of the Berlin Café Restaurant.
Carl Giles, 27, filed his complaint after he was pepper sprayed, Tasered and arrested for urinating in public.
Giles insists he did not urinate in public and the officer had no right to use a Taser.
Police determined that the dashboard videotape shows Officer Jared Fielding originally wanting to check Giles for any arrest warrants and was going to give him a warning for urinating in public. They said that the tape shows that Giles became verbally and physically aggressive toward Fielding.
“There was an argumentative nature to Mr. Giles," Columbia Police Captain Tom Dresner said. "He was arguing points of law that he had a right to stand where Fielding was telling him not to stand. At one point, you can hear Officer Fielding say, 'You are making me nervous by standing too close to my car.' Giles said 'I understand I am making you nervous but it is not illegal for me to make you nervous.'”
Police chief Ken Burton told Columbia Council members last night the situation could have been avoided if Giles had simply obeyed the officer.
“There’s just evidence again and again the decision to use force is solely based on the actions of the people we are in contact with," Dresner said. "If there is cooperation, there is no need for force at all.”
A citizen group against the use of Tasers said that reasoning goes against Taser standards adopted by the department, noting that Giles did not have a weapon.
Police administrators said their internal investigation of this Taser incident is completed. That investigation shows both officers involved with the arrest of Carl Giles conducted themselves properly.
Giles was released from jail earlier this month on a $1,000 bond.
