Pa. Cop Jolted By His Own Taser During Struggle With DUI Suspect

Steven Stinsky, a Berks County police chief, was jolted by his own Taser while he attempted to arrest a man suspected of driving under the influence.

The Fleetwood police was on patrol Sunday night when he got a report of an erratic driver. He followed the suspect’s vehicle all the way to a trailer court in Upper Macungie Township, Lehigh County, where a number of events took place.

The officer observed that the suspect went inside and started making coffee for himself. The suspect, identified as 65-year-old Terrance DeAngelo, was ordered by Stinsky to come outside for a field sobriety test. After the suspect stepped outside, he refused to submit to the sobriety test so Stinsky informed him of his arrest on suspicion of driving under the influence.

Soon afterwards, a scuffle ensued between the two as Stinsky tried to take him into custdy. Stinsky fired his Taser but it didn’t deploy. When he fired it a second time, he missed the suspect and during the ongoing struggle, the Taser turned back on the cop.

“[He] took hold of my right hand in which I was holding the Taser,” Stinsky said according to the court documents. “As we struggled, he fell to the floor just inside the door, at which point he grabbed the body of the Taser and turned it towards me, which resulted in me receiving a drive stun to my left index finger.”

The suspect continued to grab hold of the Taser as the struggle continued but was not successful.
Eventually, the suspect began to comply and backup arrived.

DeAngelo faced multiple charges Monday including aggravated assault, DUI, resisting arrest, harassment, disarming a law enforcement officer and other offenses.

His bail was set at $100,000 and he was lodged at the Berks County Jail.

News Source: www.PennLive.com