Crime & Safety
Officer Cleared for Shocking Akron Woman with Taser
The Use of Force Committee deemed the Stow officer's actions were within policy guidelines.
A 90-pound Akron woman claimed police brutality after being shocked with by Officer Jesse Reedy Nov. 5 — but the Use of Force Committee found the officer was within policy guidelines.
Garrett, 23, was charged with reckless operation, a minor-misdemeanor, and obstruction official business, a second-degree misdemeanor by Stow and charged with a DUI in Akron for bouncing off a median wall on S.R. 8, hitting a vehicle in Akron and leaving the scene of the accident. When she was in Stow, she almost swiped a cruiser Nov. 5.
She pleaded not guilty to Stow's charges Dec. 13. She has a trial set for Jan. 30 in front of Judge Kim Hoover at .
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The 90-pound woman told Fox 8 she is a diabetic and took some over-the-counter cold medicines which made her in "a delirious state" during the incident earlier last month.
Reedy, who has been on Stow's force four and a half years, told the committee initially it did not seem like the woman was under the influence of drugs or alcohol or in diabetic shock.
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"Yeah, someone that size is not so much really that I think that she is a huge threat, but I realize that she can still hurt me, she can bite me, she can scratch me," said Reedy during an interview with the Use of Force Committee. "She knew what I was saying and she just didn't care ... she didn't want to listen to it."
According to the incident summary provided by the police department, Garrett "almost immediately opened her driver's side door upon being stopped and sat in her vehicle for 12 seconds. She then exited her vehicle and stood next to the driver's door for 35 seconds. She looked back into her vehicle three separate times."
Before shocking Garrett, who according to the report was "staggering," Reedy drew his weapon out when she got out of the car and then drew out his Taser while giving verbal commands.
The officer said he initially pushed Garrett to the ground instead of shocking her when she approached him because of her size, but after repeatedly not listening to his orders, he used the Taser, it says in the report.
Because Reedy gave verbal commands that were not obeyed and because the woman got out of the car and approached the officer which could be a threat, the committee ruled that Reedy handled the situation properly.
"If an officer perceives a threat through the totality of circumstances, he/she does not have to wait until they are harmed to deploy the Taser," the committee said in its ruling.
The Use of Force Committee is made up Lt. Jeff Film, Officer R. Schulz (who are both certified Taser instructors) and Sgt. Steve Dunton, who is in charge of the department's firearms training program.
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