Deputies may be charged in cow taser death

January 23, 2007
Komotv.com

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) - Two Spokane County deputies could be charged with animal cruelty in the death of a calf that was allegedly jolted with 50,000 volts of electricity from a stun gun for more than 4 minutes, a judge has ruled.

Spokane County District Court Judge Sara Derr said there is sufficient evidence to charge sheriff's deputies Damon Simmons and Ballard Bates with second-degree animal cruelty.

The maximum penalty for conviction on the misdemeanor is 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.

"This is a first for citizens of Spokane County," said animal rights attorney Adam Karp, of Bellingham. Actually, Karp said the case may be unique in the state in that it involves defendants who are in law enforcement, a victim that is an animal, and a county prosecutor who did not want to file charges.

Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich on Monday defended his deputies, saying they did not want to shoot an animal that was posing a threat to traffic on Interstate 90.

Karp said he will draft a criminal complaint and submit it to the court for filing within the next week, after review by the county prosecutor's office. Karp may ask for the appointment of a special prosecutor because county Prosecutor Steve Tucker refused to file charges and his deputy, Brian O'Brien, argued Monday against the filing of the citizen's petition. Karp represented Chris Anderlik, of Liberty Lake, who sought to have the court file animal cruelty charges after the prosecutor's office refused to act on her complaint.

"I have nothing vicious against the sheriff's deputies or the police," Anderlik said. "We just think they weren't sufficiently trained about what Tasers can do. I don't think they had any thought of being malicious," she said. "But this animal was tortured mercilessly."

The two deputies used their Taser stun guns to shoot the 6-month-old calf that had escaped from a farm on April 12. It was cornered in a grassy area along the Centennial Trail, a paved bike path that runs between Spokane and Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.

Computer printouts showed Bates' gun was discharged 42 consecutive times at five-second intervals for a total of 210 seconds, Karp said. Simmons' weapon was discharged for 253 continuous seconds, the animal rights attorney said.

Although the animal had run through areas of traffic, it was grazing and not posing an immediate threat when the deputies used their Tasers, he said.

Knezovich on Monday contended the deputies were completely justified. The calf was cornered close to Interstate 90 and the Spokane Valley Mall, in an area with heavy traffic congestion. "They were concerned the cow was going to get loose and cause a severe traffic accident," Knezovich said. "The guys were really doing what they thought was best for the animal and the public," he added. "They really didn't want to shoot the animal."

The deputies used their Tasers in the belief that electronically stunning the animal would give them a chance to hobble its legs until its owner arrived, Knezovich said.