Youngtown court security officer accidentally Tased during struggle with prisoner
YOUNGSTOWN OH Nov 26 2017
A man appearing in municipal court Friday was arrested after he refused orders to speak to a judge, and a fracas developed in which he and a security guard were shocked with a stun weapon.
John Johnson, 29, was in the courtroom of Judge Robert Milich when he refused to stand when his case was called, and he did not answer.
A warrant was issued for him there, but when court personnel discovered Johnson was in the courtroom, Judge Milich asked him to come before the bench so he could talk to him.
Johnson refused, and he also ignored orders from security personnel to get up from his seat. Security then tried to remove him.
But Johnson grabbed a security guard’s stun weapon and it went off, stunning both him and another guard before he was handcuffed.
Johnson was in Judge Milich’s courtroom for a probation-violation hearing on a 2016 conviction for driving under suspension. When that case was completed, he was scheduled to go across the hall to the courtroom of Judge Elizabeth Kobly and enter guilty pleas in a 2017 case involving driving under suspension and possession of drugs.
Johnson was taken to the Mahoning County jail. He faces new charges of contempt of court, resisting arrest and obstructing official business, all misdemeanors.
The court security guard who was shocked with the stun weapon was able to continue working.
Johnson was not only handcuffed, but his legs also were shackled just before he got on an elevator to be taken to a holding cell in the old city jail. He kept telling police and court personnel they had no jurisdiction over him and he did not understand what was happening.
vindy.com
