2015/10/07
Lester Brown, 42, was still complaining of dizziness and shoulder pain well after he had an unsavory encounter with a Zephyrhills police officer.
Florida cop Tim Claussen’s body-cam recording showed disturbing footage of his interaction with Brown.
On the evening of September 9 Claussen decided to pay the African American man a visit in relation to a shoplifting incident that had taken place earlier in the day.
The officer then asked Brown to step out the door with his Taser aimed towards him. Brown has his hands in the air.
The confused man was not sure why a policeman had even turned up at his doorstep; he continued to tell the cop that he was innocent.
Brown is heard saying, “ I didn’t do anything” several times in the footage.
When Claussen asked the man to step outside he expected to be obeyed instantly.
However, Brown’s delay made him grow even more irate.
So he fired the Taser, which struck the puzzled victim in his abdomen.
As Brown fell to the ground and squirmed in agony, the officer made an unsettling remark.
“You just made it a lot worse on yourself, Mr. Brown,” he is heard saying in the footage.
Police reports suggest that a search that followed did recover the stolen items and Brown was arrested on a misdemeanor charge.
He was then taken to Florida Hospital Zephyrhills and later booked into the Pasco County jail.
The victim’s fall after being tased was so severe that he continued to feel lightheaded even after his arrest.
Police commanders were performing a routine review of body cam footage when they discovered Claussen had used the taser when it was not needed.
The officer was placed on leave before being terminated last week.
Captain Derek Brewer says the department decided to fire him because he used his weapon improperly.
The cop’s supervisor insists that his behavior was not a result of racial discrimination.
Brown’s charges have since been dropped in light of the Tasering incident.
Watch the video below:
