Deputy gets probation for Tasering man in strip club
samsung1
Ohio
Wearing a brown cowboy hat and brown suede jacket, with his brown-and-white shaggy-haired service dog by his side, a Multnomah County corrections deputy was sentenced to two years probation on Wednesday for Tasering a man in a strip bar.
Steven Douglas Cowles, 45, agreed to take part in an alcohol evaluation program and not drink, or visit bars or taverns, as part of a plea agreement for firing the stun gun off-duty.
"In my 23 years here, I don't believe anybody's done this exact behavior," said Lt. Mary Lindstrand, spokeswoman for the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office.
Cowles initially faced two counts, including harassment. That charge was dismissed, with the deputy pleading no contest to unlawful use of a stun gun in the second degree, a misdemeanor.
The incident took place shortly before 10 p.m. June 26 at Jody's Bar & Grill, 12035 N.E. Glisan St., which is just down the street from the Sheriff's Office.
Cowles, who was drinking, told police that another man was threatening a topless dancer. He said the man did not raise his fist to her, but she seemed scared.
"I've known her a long time," Cowles told police.
The police report said he fired the Taser at the man from a distance of about 5 feet, striking him in the back.
Medical personnel removed the Taser prongs from the man's back, and security personnel from the club had to wrench the weapon away from Cowles. Although he had an official Taser as part of his work at Inverness Jail, the stun gun he used that night was his own.
The bartender working that night, who would only gave her name as Mel, characterized the incident as "extremely weird."
"He was completely out of line," she told The Oregonian in a telephone interview. "Absolutely nothing happened that night for him to react like that. He'd never acted that way here before."
At the brief hearing on Wednesday in Multnomah County Circuit Court, Judge Kenneth Walker asked Cowles whether he had anything to say.
"No, I don't," Cowles responded, tears welling in his eyes.
"He's pretty upset," said his lawyer Philip Lewis, who was privately retained.
"This is not who he is or reflect the kind of values that he's lived his entire life," Lewis said. "This is a man who has gone above and beyond in serving his community, country and family."
Cowles, who has never been married and has no kids, served in the U.S. Navy during the first Gulf War, Lewis said.
"He saw a lot of things in the Navy that were a source of things that cause people problems," Lewis said. "This was one of those things that if you get real drunk, you might do things that aren't in your normal character. He has little recollection and feels really bad about his behavior."
Cowles had been drinking so heavily that night that police took him straight to a detox center to dry out.
It is not clear how long Cowles has had a service dog.
"It's news to me," said Lindstrand of the Sheriff's Office. "I didn't know that he had one."
Corrections employees are not allowed to take animals to work, Lindstrand said.
His lawyer said Cowles suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.
"It's bad enough to where he's been given a dog, and it helps," Lewis said.
The Sheriff's Office will launch an internal affairs investigation of Cowles, who has been on unpaid leave since July 30.
"It will conclude with appropriate discipline," which could mean termination, Lindstrand said.
As for the Multnomah County prosecuting attorney, he was satisfied with the outcome of the case.
"I think that the resolution that we came to was appropriate to address the underlying issues that led to the conduct and hopefully to prevent future activity like this," said Jeff Howes, senior deputy district attorney.
December 30, 2009
http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index…
Steven Douglas Cowles, 45, agreed to take part in an alcohol evaluation program and not drink, or visit bars or taverns, as part of a plea agreement for firing the stun gun off-duty.
"In my 23 years here, I don't believe anybody's done this exact behavior," said Lt. Mary Lindstrand, spokeswoman for the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office.
Cowles initially faced two counts, including harassment. That charge was dismissed, with the deputy pleading no contest to unlawful use of a stun gun in the second degree, a misdemeanor.
The incident took place shortly before 10 p.m. June 26 at Jody's Bar & Grill, 12035 N.E. Glisan St., which is just down the street from the Sheriff's Office.
Cowles, who was drinking, told police that another man was threatening a topless dancer. He said the man did not raise his fist to her, but she seemed scared.
"I've known her a long time," Cowles told police.
The police report said he fired the Taser at the man from a distance of about 5 feet, striking him in the back.
Medical personnel removed the Taser prongs from the man's back, and security personnel from the club had to wrench the weapon away from Cowles. Although he had an official Taser as part of his work at Inverness Jail, the stun gun he used that night was his own.
The bartender working that night, who would only gave her name as Mel, characterized the incident as "extremely weird."
"He was completely out of line," she told The Oregonian in a telephone interview. "Absolutely nothing happened that night for him to react like that. He'd never acted that way here before."
At the brief hearing on Wednesday in Multnomah County Circuit Court, Judge Kenneth Walker asked Cowles whether he had anything to say.
"No, I don't," Cowles responded, tears welling in his eyes.
"He's pretty upset," said his lawyer Philip Lewis, who was privately retained.
"This is not who he is or reflect the kind of values that he's lived his entire life," Lewis said. "This is a man who has gone above and beyond in serving his community, country and family."
Cowles, who has never been married and has no kids, served in the U.S. Navy during the first Gulf War, Lewis said.
"He saw a lot of things in the Navy that were a source of things that cause people problems," Lewis said. "This was one of those things that if you get real drunk, you might do things that aren't in your normal character. He has little recollection and feels really bad about his behavior."
Cowles had been drinking so heavily that night that police took him straight to a detox center to dry out.
It is not clear how long Cowles has had a service dog.
"It's news to me," said Lindstrand of the Sheriff's Office. "I didn't know that he had one."
Corrections employees are not allowed to take animals to work, Lindstrand said.
His lawyer said Cowles suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.
"It's bad enough to where he's been given a dog, and it helps," Lewis said.
The Sheriff's Office will launch an internal affairs investigation of Cowles, who has been on unpaid leave since July 30.
"It will conclude with appropriate discipline," which could mean termination, Lindstrand said.
As for the Multnomah County prosecuting attorney, he was satisfied with the outcome of the case.
"I think that the resolution that we came to was appropriate to address the underlying issues that led to the conduct and hopefully to prevent future activity like this," said Jeff Howes, senior deputy district attorney.
December 30, 2009
http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index…
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Men are their own worst enemies.