Christmas Taser Prank Results In Two Chiefs Under Arrest
Last year about this time we covered the case of a Florida firefighter who was charged with arson for setting the pants of another firefighter on fire at a Christmas Party. He was fired for his prank.
This year, some good’ol boys in North Carolina took a slightly different tact and Tasered one of their younger members … NINE TIMES…. Seriously!!!!
Two ranking members of the East Spencer Fire Department are facing assault charges following their use of a police officer’s Taser on an 18 year old volunteer firefighter as a prank at the department Christmas party. East Spencer Fire Chief Shane Cranfield and former chief Allen Carlyle borrowed the device from officer James Lambeth, who was on duty at the time.
An internal investigation showed the device was discharged 18 times in a 3 minute period, and allegedly shocked the victim, John Resino, at least 9 of those times. Officer Lambeth has since resigned and faces criminal charges for allowing the assault to happen.
Resino was never taken to a hospital. The state police and county Sherriff’s office have been asked to investigate.
I generally try to wait on further information before commenting on this type of story, but if this actually happened, it goes in the “You can’t fix STUPID” category for the two chiefs and for the cop.
It’s past time that we stopped thinking that criminal assaults on our newest firefighters are OK, even if we call it “hazing”.
Ben
I agree – its all too easy to pre-judge cases like this based solely on the accusation. But there is a value in examining stories like this because true or not – they help folks realize the potential consequences that follow. Many guys don’t think things through… and when hazing and pranks are part of a department’s culture the boundaries become distorted.