Man Tasered For Refusing To Lift Hand Off Quran (Florida)

OCALA, Fla. -- Four police officers are under investigation here after a man accused them of using a Taser on him three times when he wouldn't take his hand off a Quran hidden under his shirt, a police spokesman said Friday.

Jeffrey Shields, 49, of Ocala, filed a complaint with the Ocala Police Department alleging an officer used a Taser to force him to hold up his right hand, police spokesman Lou Biondi said. In a complaint filed Tuesday, Shields said he did not want to raise his right hand from under his shirt because he did not want to drop the Quran, but the officers said they could not tell what he was holding, Biondi said.

"The officers didn't have a clue what he had under there, regardless of what he was saying," he said. Officers were dispatched to the scene on Aug. 31 after authorities received tips that a man matching Shields' description was armed with a gun and stashing drugs inside a book, Biondi said. Neither drugs nor a gun was found after the incident.

Shields was shocked with the Taser for 15 seconds before he removed his hand from the book, Biondi said. He filed the complaint against four officers ---- Phil Hazel, Doug Russell, Bernard Smith and Jamie Buchbinder -- though no police records show Russell was on the scene when the Taser was deployed, Biondi said. All four will remain on duty while the incident is reviewed. "It is odd that he waited so long to file a complaint, 19 days or so," Biondi said. "Normally when people feel they've been wronged, it's something that happens almost immediately." A phone number for Shields could not be located.

Biondi said a police dashboard camera did not capture the incident. Shields was initially given a court notice for resisting arrest without violence, Biondi said, but charges were dropped at his Sept. 10 appearance.

A little off topic, but all these recent taser stories have got me wondering why some enterprising engineering student hasn't developed some sort of taser proof apparel.

Light chain mail would work by preventing skin penetration and shorting out the electricity. But, chain mail isn't the lightest, most comfortable thing to wear, and it probably makes a weird clinking sound as you move.

i can't imagine what everyone would be saying if this was a bible! they would be calling for the cop's heads on a platter! the original call had nothing to do with ethnicity so it could just have easily been a bible.

come on. gimme this much at least!

Hey, you didn't capitalize "Bible"! But that's not important right now.

He could have been holding the original signed copy of the Constitution itself inside his shirt - the cops would still be justified in their actions here, IMO.

Captain: What happen ?
Mechanic: Somebody set up us the TAZE.
Operator: We get signal.
Captain: What !
Operator: Main screen turn on.
Captain: It’s you !!
CATS: How are you gentlemen !!
CATS: All your TAZE are belong to us.
CATS: You are on the way to destruction.
Captain: What you say !!
CATS: You have no chance to survive make your time.
CATS: Ha Ha Ha Ha ....
Operator: Captain !! *
Captain: Take off every ‘ZAP’, ‘ZAP’, ‘ZaaaaaaPPPPPtuhhheh !!
Captain: You know what you doing.
Captain: Move ‘ZAP’.
Captain: For great justice.

Welcome to America, Muslim turd! Now learn the rules.

It may well be that this is a home-grown one....our prison system turns them out by the thousands. Having 'familiarity' with the prison system might explain this scum's disrespect for a police officer's commands as well. If he's dumb enough to get thrown into prison to begin with, he's quite likely dumb enough to convert to islam as well as to commit other infractions while he's out.

Breathtakingly stupid people frequently live out their whole lives as breathtakingly stupid people, never learning obvious truths and always blaming others.

I do prehospital emergency medicine, and the vast majority of my 'clientele' are astonishingly stupid people who have injured themselves in amazingly dumb ways. If it weren't for magically stupid people, I would likely be out of work as would about 80% of our police officers. Darwinism is definitely out there, and people like me as well as our police officers prevent Darwinism from working it's magic on the gene pool.

Sorry about that. :-)

Who carries their Koran under their shirt? The cops did the absolute right thing here.

I would only wish to suggest that they should have shot him multiple times and put him down instantly like a rabid dog..

He continued his noncompliance until he was tazed THREE TIMES....more than enough time to activate a detonator if that's what he had. If this had been the case and it was a public area, we could be talking about dozens or scores of fatalities right now instead of a funny story about some idiot muzzie jerkoff who refused a police officer's lawful commands.

I hear ya. Thanks for your good works (even though you may be damaging the pool!). You can of course never know what becomes of those you have saved from their stupidity.

Thank you very much for your kind words. :-)

Hopefully, some straighen out. :O)

I would imagine that some do, but there are a few folks who actually sustain 'legitimate' injuries and illnesses (caused by something other than their own idiocy) and these are the ones that make the job worthwhile, meaningful and fun :-)

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