Conn. cop who tased suspect three times as man begged him to stop charged with cruelty
A Naugatuck police officer has been arrested and charged with assault and cruelty after he deployed a Taser three times on a robbery suspect, launching a criminal investigation into his use of force.
Officer Nicholas Kehoss, a 13-year veteran of the Naugatuck Police Department, turned himself in to Connecticut State Police Troop A in Southbury on Monday on an active arrest warrant, according to state police.
Kehoss is charged with third-degree assault and cruelty to a person, state police said.
The department on Monday released a video that combines body camera and dashboard camera footage from Oct. 14, when 33-year-old Jarrell Day fled from police after an alleged robbery and was apprehended by Kehoss during a chase.
In the video from his body-worn camera, Kehoss can be heard telling Day to get on his stomach in the grass. As he is rolling over, Kehoss uses the Taser a second time while Day cries out and continues to roll over.
“I’m done, I’m done sir, I’m done,” Day said. “I’m sorry, officer.”
Then, Kehoss can be heard telling Day to put his hands behind his back and begins to pull his arms behind him. He then shouts “You’re getting another (expletive) ride,” and deploys the Taser a third time at close range.
“No, no please,” Day begs.
“Put your (expletive) hands behind your back,” Kehoss said.
“They are, please, they are,” Day responded. He can be heard trying to tell Kehoss that his hands are behind his back and Kehoss calls him an idiot and tells him to shut up.
After the third Taser deployment, Day asked the officer to please not use the Taser on him again.
“Then you gotta (expletive) listen, bro. You don’t listen, you get (expletive) zapped,” Kehoss said.
During a press conference on Monday, McAllister said that use of force by Kehoss during the incident raised concerns during a standard use of force review that was conducted after the incident.
“Early on in that process we identified several concerns in that use of force,” he said.
McAllister said the incident was “self-reported” and did not stem from a complaint by Day. The suspect had not filed any complaints and was not injured or treated at a hospital, McAllister said.
According to the warrant, the state police Western District Major Crime Squad met with an assistant chief and captain from Naugatuck police on Oct. 23 to review recordings from the body-worn cameras.
Detectives also interviewed Day, who said “he did not resist and complied with the directions given by Officer Kehoss,” according to the warrant for Kehoss’ arrest.
“Day stated that he was in pain as he fell to the ground,” police said in the warrant, and that “he remembers putting his hands behind his back and then he felt pain in his back while being tasered again.”
Kehoss has no criminal history, according to the warrant. McAllister said Monday that he has a disciplinary record but declined to provide details about that record.
Kehoss has been placed on paid administrative leave and is also under an internal affairs investigation, McAllister said.
Kehoss was released on a $50,000 bond and scheduled to appear at Waterbury Superior Court on Nov. 8, according to state police.
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