Chicago — So, what do you think would happen if a police officer fired their Tazer and one prong went into the person they were trying to tase, and the other prong went into the buttcheek of the cop’s partner?
Well, thanks to a couple of Chicago police officers and a man they were trying to arrest, we now have the answer. And it’s on video.
The Tazer two-fer happened on September 27 as the cops tried to arrest 38-year-old Joseph Sangster on a misdemeanor assault complaint outside the Falcon Fuel service station, 7900 South Lafayette, in Chatham.
One of the store’s employees had previously filed the assault report against Sangster, and they called 911 when he returned to the station, prosecutor Rhianna Biernat said.
But Sangster pulled away from the officers and brandished a knife as the cops tried to arrest him, according to Biernat. One of the officers held Sangster at gunpoint and ordered him to drop the knife. He eventually dropped it but then became uncompliant and physically fought with one of the cops, Biernat said.
Video recorded by a nearby Chicago Police Department security camera shows what happened next. Watch:
Sangster allegedly grabbed the officer by his neck or collar area while the cop’s partner pointed the laser beam of her Taser toward the men.
Then she sent two electrified metal darts flying toward the men.
One hit Sangster in the leg. The other hit her partner in the butt.
Both men freeze in their tracks for five seconds, riding a little dose of lightning. After the electricity stops flowing, the men instantly snap back into action, brawling until the lightning-riding officer takes Sangster to the ground and backup units arrive.
A source familiar with the ins and outs of being tazed said the men probably did not experience the full effects of the Taser because its electrical circuit was not closed within their bodies.
Sangster later told police that he had the knife in his hand because the gas station clerk approached him with a baseball bat, according to Biernat. Prosecutors charged him with aggravated assault of a peace officer, unlawful use of a knife, resisting police, battery, and assault.
The officer who got zapped is 33 and joined the force in 2016. Information about his partner’s age and experience was not available.
CWBChicago secured the video through a Freedom of Information Act request with the assistance of the Illinois attorney general’s office.
Original reporting that you’ll see nowhere else. CWB’s work is 100% paid for by our subscribers.
