COLUMBIA, MO. -- Should the Columbia Police Review Board dismiss complaints against two officers accused of using excessive force? That's the question the board will discuss during a meeting Wednesday evening.
Eight residents filed a complaint against the officers after they tased a suspect twice during an incident in November.
Police have said the suspect was trespassing at a Starbucks Coffee Shop on Ninth Street.
According to officials, the officers confronted the man at a nearby sandwich shop, where he was tased twice. The suspect was taken to a local hospital for injuries. Then, he was cited for resisting arrest, but officials said he was never officially arrested.
Columbia Police Chief Ken Burton said in a written statement that the citizen's complaints were unfounded.
Columbia Attorney Dan Viets was one of the individuals who filed the complaint.
"It appears that a man was tased repeatedly because he didn't hang up the phone quick enough," Viets said. "In other words, it appears that his failure to comply with a fairly with a fairly insignificant order quickly enough resulted in teh police using force that could have been deadly."
The use sparked controversy across Columbia. When police released their 2010 use of force statistics, it was revealed that they used TASERs 39 times in 2010.
The meeting takes place at 7 p.m. on Wednesday in the new Council Chambers in the addition of Columbia City Hall.
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