Polk County Deputies Investigated for Excessive Taser Use

Two Polk County deputies are under investigation by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, for excessive taser use. The North Carolina Department of Justice tells News Channel 7 that the investigation was requested by the District Attorney’s office.

It started when Allison Howard stole a tip jar from a Tryon bar in October. Jacqui Dotzler worked at the bar the night Howard took the jar and remembers the way she treated law enforcement, “They put her in the cuffs in the back of the car, and that’s when I watched her kick one of the officers square in the chest…and only after that did the other officers have to tase her.”

Howard says after officers arrested her outside the bar for larceny, Polk County deputies took her to the Sheriff’s Department and shocked her16 times while restrained with handcuffs, “You black out and you just jerk and you shake,” says Howard describing the feeling of an electric shock.

Polk County Sheriff Donald Hill told News Channel 7 that the deputies under investigation no longer work at The Sheriff’s Office.

SBI says the Polk County District Attorney should have its report on the taser abuse claims in about a month, and then the district attorney will decide of the former deputies will face indictments.