Retired police sergeant gets 6 months in prison for Taser attack on man in mental health crisis
NEW YORK SUBURB, MOUNT VERNON, JUL 10 – Stewart was sentenced for violating civil rights after tasing a handcuffed man seven times during a mental health crisis, the judge said the case sets a clear law enforcement boundary.
- On Wednesday, Mario Stewart, a retired police sergeant from Mount Vernon, was given a sentence of six months in jail followed by six months confined at home after he was found guilty of excessively using a Taser on a man experiencing a health emergency in 2019.
- In January, Stewart admitted to violating the civil rights of a 20-year-old civilian by applying excessive force, which involved deploying a Taser seven times over a span of two minutes.
- Prosecutors stated that the victim, who had traveled from the Bronx and was suffering from an intensifying psychotic episode, was handcuffed and secured when Stewart deployed his taser after the victim clung to part of the restraint bag and refused to release it.
- Stewart's lawyer Kevin Conway stated Stewart believed officers and medical staff faced escalating safety risks if he did not deploy the Taser, and Stewart said, "in my heart, I was not trying to hurt him."
- A federal judge emphasized that the sentence sends a definitive warning to law enforcement officers about respecting clear boundaries, reassuring residents of Mount Vernon that they will be protected from police misconduct.
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NY officer tased man during mental health crisis: court documents
NEW YORK (PIX11) – A New York police officer was sentenced to six months in prison for excessive use of force against a person experiencing a mental health crisis. The United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, announced the sentence on Thursday. More Crime News Mario Stewart, a Brooklyn resident, was a sergeant with the Mount Vernon Police Department. Court documents state that Stewart allegedly tased a vic…

Retired police sergeant gets 6 months in prison for Taser attack on man in mental health crisis
A retired police sergeant in a New York suburb has been sentenced to six months in prison for repeatedly firing a Taser gun at a man suffering a health crisis. U.S.
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