Two California officers indicted by a grand jury for tasering handcuffed inmates

April 6, 2010
By JOHN ASBURY, The Press-Enterprise

Two Desert Hot Springs police officers were federally indicted today on charges that they used a Taser on inmates who were handcuffed.

Desert Hot Springs Sgt. Anthony Sclafani, 40, and former Officer David Raymond Henderson, 51, are scheduled to appear in Los Angeles federal court after being indicted by a grand jury, according to the U.S. attorney's office following an FBI investigation

Sclafani is charged with two counts of deprivation of rights under the color of law on charges that he used a x26 Taser to stun suspects twice in February 2005.

In one case, a man was stunned while handcuffed, court documents allege.

In a second incident, a woman was doused with pepper spray and Tasered after being taken into custody, according to court documents.

Henderson is charged with using a Taser on a handcuffed suspect in 2004.

Each charge carries a sentence of up to 10 years in federal prison.