Black Exec John Harmo Sues Hamilton County Sheriff & Deputies for "Tasering & Pummeling at Traffic Stop

John Harmon, a black business owner in Cincinnati, sues Hamilton county police department & others after being tasered and pummeled by deputies at traffic stop.

SHAME: John Harmon, a resident of Anderson Township in the Cincinnati area, has filed a lawsuit against the Hamilton County police department after he was pummeled and tasered just after midnight in October 2009. Harmon, a diabetic, said his blood sugar level had dipped to dangerously low levels, causing him to weave into a another lane. According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, Harmon's weaving was spotted by a sheriff's deputy on Clough Pike and he was suspected of drunk driving. Harmon said the deputies broke the window of his SUV, shocked him several times with a Taser, cut him out of his seatbelt and wrestled him to the ground, which led to his elbow being dislocated and caused trauma to his shoulder and thumb, the Enquirer said.

Well, Harmon and his wife Stephanie, filed a civil rights law suit in U.S. District Court on Dec. 20th against Hamilton County, the sheriff's office and four deputies -- Ryan Wolf, Matthew Wissel, John Haynes and Shawn Cox, as well as their supervisor, Sgt. Barbara Stuckey. The fact that during this brawl, Chris Sanger, a state highway patrol trooper allegedly pulled one deputy away from Harmon speaks volumes. He or she must have felt the force being used was excessive. It is unconscionable that even after the deputies learned that what happened to Mr. Harmon was a medical emergency, the still went ahead and charged him with resisting arrest and failing to comply with a police officer's order, the newspaper said. Even though an investigation into the matter proved the officers used excessive force, the officers involved were not terminated. That sends a terrible message and reinforces the mistrust many have of police officers.

For violating the sheriff's office rules on use of excessive force, Haynes was suspended 10 days without pay. Wissel was suspended five days and Wolf for two days. Stuckey was suspended for 10 days for violations related to the paperwork about the incident and for wrongly authorizing formal charges. No wrongdoing was found on Cox's part.

The patrol officers - who all earn about $56,000 a year - are still at work, reassigned to Colerain Township, said Lt. Edwin Boldt, the sheriff's lawyer. Stuckey appealed her suspension to an arbitrator, who has yet to make a decision. She still works in Anderson Township and earns $65,930 a year. Source: Cincinnati Enquirer

Thankfully, the state trooper was on hand and saw what transpired or Mr. Harmon would have a criminal record for something that was beyond his control. He would not have a case and the officers would have gotten away scot-free. Think of all the people out there who have been beaten by officers and nothing came out of it.

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