Jacksonville Sheriff’s Officer Working Security Acted Appropriately In Use of Taser
Jacksonville FL May 4 2021
An officer, whose use of a Taser on a woman in a Publix parking lot sparked a lawsuit, acted appropriately, according to an internal review by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
An Internal Affairs report obtained by First Coast News says Jacksonville Sheriff’s Officer Kevin Munger “had the required probable cause” to arrest Tawanda Crowell in February 2020 and that she was “arrested without violence.”
According to a report, Crowell was hit with a stun gun in a car with three children in February 2020 after a store employee suspected her of stealing from the Publix on 103rd Street.
Munger, who was working off duty as store security, followed her to her car and asked to see her receipt. Crowell allegedly refused, accusing Munger of racial profiling. She also declined to provide her ID, but offered to return to the store with Munger to watch the store’s surveillance footage, which she said would prove her point, a report says.
Munger declined to return to the store and eventually used his stun gun on her. A video shows her blouse being ripped off during the takedown. She was arrested, though the State Attorney’s Office later dropped the charges. Crowell did eventually produce the receipt that proved she did not steal any items. She later told police she was afraid to give Munger her receipt for fear he might destroy it.
The suit claims the store failed to properly train Munger and seeks damages in excess of $50,000 for physical and mental trauma. firstcoastnews.com
