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General News Borough police use taser to subdue man
CLARION - An open microphone night at the newly-opened Toby
Hill Bar & Grill in Clarion Borough was interrupted late March 28 when
police used a taser device to subdue an unruly patron. “We have had persistent problems with being called in for
noise violations,” said Justin Dudley, a partner at the new establishment.
“We changed a few things, like the setup of our speakers, and we tried to
eliminate the lower frequencies that travel far and annoy people the most. “Thursday we were having an open mic night. “It was just a couple of girls playing acoustic guitar
and singing over the PA, but the police were called and showed up at our door. “We invited them in while we sorted everything out,” “While they (police) were here, a visibly intoxicated
patron, who had already been shut off from purchasing anything else to drink,
approached (Clarion Borough Police) Officer (William) Scheckler and offered to
buy him a drink. “Scheckler followed protocol and told the patron he
needed to stay back while the police did their jobs and dealt with the problem. “The intoxicated patron didn’t listen and proceeded to
approach and possibly lay his hands on officer Scheckler. “Officer Scheckler had backup, but felt the need to shoot
the patron with two wired projectiles that pierced the flesh and induced about
30,000 volts, incapacitating the patron, but really creating an atmosphere of
hostility and terror,” “When the police left the atmosphere returned to fun and
frivolity, or business as usual for the Toby Hill.” “Toby Hill does not serve visibly intoxicated persons,
and will not allow any legal violations to happen on the premises, but if by
chance local law enforcement is needed, they always have 100 percent of Toby
Hill’s cooperation. We want to work to keep the town safe,” said “The subject was both verbally and physically
combative,” Clarion Borough Police Chief Mark Hall told the Clarion
News. Hall said the man was arrested and charged with several
violations. “Every officer in “The suspect doesn’t get hurt. They are incapacitated
for about five seconds, giving the arresting officer time to put handcuffs on
the subject. It’s really a win-win for both parties. No one gets hurt. “Had officers had to use pepper spray in the bar it
probably would have had to be closed the rest of the night to air out and there
would have been a lot of people with red, scratchy eyes. “The taser allows us to target only the subject in
question, and no one more.” Taser guns are used by an estimated 11,000 of 18,000 total
law enforcement agencies.
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