Taser Tag - Let's Get The Pallbearer - He's Busy, He'll Never See it Coming...

NC undercover officers use Taser on pallbearer

WILMINGTON, N.C.—Five sheriff's deputies will be disciplined after they used a Taser while serving an arrest warrant on a man at his father's funeral, a North Carolina sheriff said Wednesday.
Gladwyn Taft Russ III was serving as a pallbearer at the Saturday service and was loading his father's casket into a hearse when the undercover deputies approached him.

Relatives said two deputies dressed in coats and ties grabbed Russ and kneed him in his back before using a Taser on him. One deputy's gun fell out of its holster.

"Everybody was so scared. We thought it was a drug deal gone bad," said Ronnie Simmons, another pallbearer and Russ' brother-in-law. "We almost dropped the casket."

New Hanover County Sheriff Sid Causey told The Star-News of Wilmington that five of the officers involved would be disciplined, although he wouldn't say what punishment they would face.

"I apologize to anyone that was there," Causey said. "Family, friends, relatives. ... That was a bad decision."

Russ, 42, had failed to surrender after being charged with threatening his ex-wife, who lives in another state. After his father died on Nov. 11, Russ agreed to surrender to authorities after the funeral.

When deputies approached Russ, he "went wild" and spat on the officers, Chief Deputy Ed McMahon said.

Russ was charged with assault on a government official, resisting an officer, disorderly conduct and felony malicious conduct by a prisoner.

I love how they always add a bunch of charges based on the activity after the cops did the stupid shit. I can just hear the conversation at the station house.

"Hey we got us an out of state warrant for Gladdy Rush here, didn't his daddy just die."

"Yeah I saw the obit in the paper this morning, funeral is this afternoon"

"Might be a good place to pick ol' Gladdy up, I'm sure he will be at his daddy's funeral"

"Well we might want to wait until after the church service, don't want a bunch of bad press about arresting him in the church and all."

"I bet if we wait until they're loading the casket into the hearse we can sneak right up on him."

"Yeah, that would work but we better all put some coats and ties so we blend in"