OZARK — The Ozark police chief fired the officer who used a Taser on a 10-year-old girl last month, because the officer failed to have cameras working that could have recorded the incident, he said Monday.
Police Chief Jim Noggle said he fired Dustin Bradshaw by phone Friday after Bradshaw refused to meet with him in person.
Bradshaw, a three-year veteran of the force, was fired for insubordination for not using department-issued video equipment and have it working while on duty, Noggle said.
He reiterated that Bradshaw was not fired for using the Taser on the girl, which he said is allowed under the department’s policies and procedures.
“In the past, he has been told to wear and use his cameras by me on several occasions,” according to the memorandum Noggle sent to Ozark Mayor Vernon Mc-Daniel.
McDaniel said he learned of the firing Monday and approved of it.
“I regret that it became necessary for the chief to take that action,” McDaniel said Monday. “But I believe under the circumstances, it was warranted.”
Ozark officers are required to wear and operate video and audio equipment on their uniforms to record their activities and law enforcement actions. Officers also are required to have the video attachment to the Taser X26 up and running.
A Taser is a hand-held electroshock weapon that can disrupt the voluntary control of muscles, causing them to contract. Tasers are most often used to subdue fleeing, belligerent or dangerous people. The weapon can fire probes that deliver the shock or the device can be touched to the skin.
Noggle’s memo said a police sergeant told Bradshaw on Oct. 29 to place his camera on his Taser and to wear his video equipment and microphone. Officers can be given “deductions” for not following such policies.
“When talking to another employee, officer Bradshaw stated that it is worth a five point deduction just so he would not have to carry the cameras,” a portion of the memo stated.
McDaniel said officers who receive a certain number of deductions for mistakes on the job are subject to suspension.
Efforts to contact Bradshaw and determine whether he had an attorney were unsuccessful Monday.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette requested Bradshaw’s personnel file under provisions of the state Freedom of Information Act. Noggle said the request would have to be reviewed by the city attorney.
Noggle’s memo said he was terminating Bradshaw for the good of the discipline of the Police Department. The memo concluded by saying Bradshaw’s last day of pay was Nov. 27 and that his last paycheck should include 196 hours of vacation time and 10 paid holidays.
Bradshaw can appeal his firing to the City Council, which could overturn the firing with a two-thirds majority vote, Mc-Daniel said.
Bradshaw was suspended with pay for seven days Nov. 18 after he used his Taser on the 10-year-old girl because she was would not obey him or her mother, Kelly King.
Bradshaw was called to King’s home in Ozark on Nov. 11 to respond to a reported domestic dispute. His report stated the girl was violently kicking and screaming and kicked him in the groin when he tried to arrest her.
At that point, he touched the Taser’s terminals to her back, delivering a brief electric shock. He then took her to a youth shelter where she stayed for about a week, an attorney for King said previously.
His report stated that King told him he could use the Taser on her daughter if necessary.
The Arkansas State Police on Monday continued its criminal investigation of the case. State police spokesman Bill Sadler said the investigation would continue until it was concluded or until Prosecuting Attorney David Gibbons requests it be halted.
Gibbons said Monday he will not halt the investigation. He said he asked the state police to determine if Bradshaw committed second-degree battery, which he described as causing physical injury to a person under 12 years old.
Noggle said the FBI started an investigation a week earlier. An agent from Fort Smith arrived in Ozark and announced the bureau was taking over the case. The agent took the Police Department’s file on the case and left, Noggle said.
The FBI would not confirm or deny it was investigating the matter.
Arkansas, Pages 9 on 12/01/2009