An ER nurse in Tennessee was tasered by police on Thursday night while in the course of looking after his mother. The shocking incident was captured on video by an onlooker at the hospital.
An employee at Erlanger Hospital in Chattanooga, Roger W. Davis was later charged with two counts of assault, one charge of resisting arrest and one charge of disorderly conduct after being tasered and arrested.
But according to the man who shot the video, the officers involved in the incident that night are actually the ones at fault. In comments to ABC affiliate WTVC News Channel 9, Ethan Raymond said:
She [the cop] was way out of line. I just know what I saw was the cop that’s supposed to diffuse it and instead she was the aggressor from what I saw.
Raymond also said, “When they pulled out the taser, that’s when the nurse said he had a heart condition.” After the incident, Davis was medically cleared and then taken to jail.
According to the official arrest report, the 42-year-old nurse allegedly flailed his fists during the hectic incident. As a result, Davis punched an officer in the face and busted his lip, that report claims.
But Raymond said that’s not true.
“It’s the cop who hit him in the face, it’s the other way around. He was trying to leave but the woman kept stopping him, it was almost like she was wanting to pick a fight,” he said.
According to an affidavit obtained by WTVC, Davis’ mother was a patient in the ER on the night in question and Davis subsequently began to disrupt the staff attending to her. The hospital’s vice president and others reportedly asked Davis to leave but he refused and the police were called.
Police said that when they arrived Davis was speaking loudly with his father. They said Officer Sarah Rogers then asked him to quiet down but that he refused. Rogers said that she told Davis that if he continued to be loud, he’d be asked to leave again–by police this time. Davis then allegedly said, “Then do it.”
To which Rogers said she replied, “Okay, leave the building.” Rogers’ affidavit reads, in part:
At this point I placed my hand on his arm to escort him out the door. As I did this, Mr. Davis started swinging his arms in an attempt to keep me from making him leave. Immediately, Officer Woody and I attempted to take Mr. Davis into custody. Mr. Davis continued swinging his arms and fists at one point punching Officer Woody in the face busting his lip.
Officer Woody and myself continued to command Mr. Davis to put his hands behind his back and to quit fighting the police. Mr. Davis made no effort to stop his fighting or comply with any commands given by either one of us.
The hospital later released a statement.
“Erlanger would like to thank our associates, security and the Chattanooga Police Department for containing the situation that occurred on the evening of April 26 and ensuring the safety of our patients, visitors and staff,” the statement said. “Because of their diligence, patient care in the emergency department was in no way impacted as a result of this isolated incident.”
[image via screengrab; video courtesy Ethan Raymond]
Follow Colin Kalmbacher on Twitter: @colinkalmbacher
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