MUNCIE, Ind. – A Delaware County jail officer is on administrative leave after video surfaced of him apprehending and threatening a man he believes tried to break into his house.
Video of the Tuesday morning incident at Tillotson and Godman avenues drew attention after it made its way onto social media. The incident happened around 9:30 a.m.
The jail officer, Jerry Shaner, believed a man had broken into his home. He confronted him and ordered him to get on the ground.
“You picked the wrong [expletive] house to try to get into,” Shaner said.
The man protests, but Shaner tells him to turn over or he’s “going to get tased.”
“Keep your [expletive] head down,” Shaner is heard saying on the video. “You move, and your brains are going to be all over the [expletive] pavement, you understand me?”
The video shows Shaner pointing a weapon at the man and threatening him repeatedly as he’s down on the ground. It’s unclear in the video whether Shaner is pointing a firearm or stun gun.
Shaner told a police officer that the man had tried to get into his house and his daughter’s car. There were also allegations that the man was checking car doors in the neighborhood to see if they were locked and had looked through a window on Shaner’s porch.
Muncie police said there’s no evidence the man had committed a crime. Family members said the man suffers from mental illness and was “shaken” after the encounter.
Delaware County Sheriff Ray Dudley said he became aware of the incident Tuesday night. His jail commander contacted him about it, and they placed Shaner on paid administrative leave.
Dudley said an internal investigation into the incident is underway, with the results being shared to the public once the investigation is finished.
Watch the videos below:
on tillotson 9:30 this morning pic.twitter.com/dHyNwAC71G
— lexo☃️ (@bbyygrill) November 7, 2017