BY JAMES RUSSELL
jrussell@record-eagle.com
TRAVERSE CITY — Grand Traverse sheriff's deputies shot a man with a Taser multiple times during a struggle to subdue him after an alleged domestic assault.
Deputies responded Saturday night to a domestic disturbance at an Acme Township home. Sheriff Tom Bensley said an Acme man, 27, assaulted his father, threw him to the ground and kicked him in the ribs.
The father escaped the residence, and three deputies arrived around 8:30 p.m. at the home. Through a window, the deputies saw the younger man kneeling over his dog and screaming at the animal to be quiet. They rushed inside, and the man moved his hands from the dog's muzzle to its neck and choked it, police said.
Bensley said a deputy attempted to stun the suspect with the Taser, but the man didn't respond to the shock. A deputy shot him again with the Taser, and deputies struggled on the floor to get him under control. At one point, Bensley said the man tried to bite the officer's hand.
"This guy was extremely uncooperative," Bensley said.
Bensley said deputies shot a Taser as many as four times before finally restraining the suspect with handcuffs and plastic ties on his legs. He was arrested for assault and battery, resisting an officer and cruelty to animals, and taken to Grand Traverse County Jail. Charges had not been filed as of Tuesday.
