08 Aug 2015
The sheriff of Bradford County in Florida shared a dash cam video on his Facebook page showing an older white man being Tasered after stepping out of his SUV and aggressively approaching an officer complaining about the lights on his police cruiser, WJAX reports.
Sheriff Gordon Smith posted the video explaining “Lawtey Police Officer, Jay Raulerson, was confronted with a dangerous situation during a call to assist a motorist,” and opted to use “a less than lethal tactic to bring the situation under control.”
According to Smith, Raulerson was responding to reports that the unidentified man had pulled into the median and walking around and waving at cars.
The video shows Raulerson pulling behind the silver SUV and, before he can step out of his cruiser, the man can be seen gesticulating at him before we can hear him say “turn the goddam lights off.”
As the man pulls up short of the officer, Raulerson shoots him in the arm with his Taser and the man immediately plummets to the ground.
Raulerson then tells him to put his hands behind his back as he begins to cuff him before asking him “You alright?”
In his police report, Raulerson stated the man jumped “from the driver’s seat, placing his right hand out as if pointing a gun.”
According to Smith the man was taken in for a medical evaluation before being transported for a mental evaluation.