Cleveland Plain Dealer: Officer wants day in court on Taser-use assault charge

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

A Cleveland police officer requested a jury trial Monday in Municipal Court for a misdemeanor assault charge.

Patrolman James Hummel, 41, who pleaded not guilty this month, is accused of firing his stun gun at a gas station employee in December.

Hummel said he fired the Taser accidentally. He said he jokingly told the gas station employee to "hit me with two packs of smokes." The employee tossed the cigarettes at the officer, and he responded with some playful banter, according to a police report.

The employee continued with the banter. Hummel warned that he would fire his stun gun. He displayed the Taser and removed the cartridge but had no intention of firing the weapon, the report said.

Hummel then switched off the safety and pointed the Taser at the man under the counter. As Hummel activated the Taser so it could produce voltage, the man moved toward the officer and "his large stomach protruded under the counter and made accidental contact," Hummel wrote in a report. He then immediately deactivated the weapon.

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stupidity reigns.

Man, that's a doozy! He thinks a jury's gonna buy that?:rofl:

:scared:

It would be fun to convict this guy...assuming what we were told in court was the same thing.

... (and I'm not saying I believe it), it proves only that he was recklessly irresponsible with the weapon. Why would he want a jury to hear that?