Officer Charged For Using Taser To Get Urine Sample

from wftv news

ORLANDO, Fla. -- An Orlando police officer has been charged with misdemeanor battery for allegedly using a Taser stun gun on a suspect tied and handcuffed to a hospital bed.

Officer Peter Linnenkamp was charged Monday with using his Taser on 18-year-old Antonio Wheeler two times in early March. The 50,000-volt shocks came after Wheeler, who had been arrested on a drug charge, had been taken to Florida Hospital Orlando and either would not or could not provide a urine sample.

Before the Taser was used, Wheeler aggressively resisted efforts to insert a catheter in order to get a urine sample, officials said.

Linnenkamp wrote in a statement to investigators that he "administered the Taser discharge upon Mr. Wheeler in order to get him to release his penis so that the catheter could be inserted." After Wheeler was shocked in the forearm area two times with the Taser, the report says he "voluntarily provided a urine sample to the medical staff."

Linnenkamp, who remains on restricted duty, was not arrested, but received a summons to appear in court. Attempts to reach Linnenkamp by phone Tuesday at the police department were unsuccessful.

Linnenkamp could still keep his job even if he is found guilty, said Lt. Brian Gilliam of the Orlando police department. Sanctions could include anything from time off to a demotion to termination, he said.

The crime itself carries a sentence of up to one year in jail.

Wheeler's lawyer, Howard Marks, said prosecutors undercharged Linnenkamp.

"We believe this (Linnenkamp's behavior) amounts to nothing less than torture. To me, it should be a felony battery."

About 100 people have died nationally since 1999 after being shocked with a Taser, including recent deaths in Pensacola, Hollywood and Naples. Many of those who died were drug users.

Taser Inc. says its guns are a non-lethal alternative to shooting dangerous suspects.