A Riverside, Ohio, police officer accidentally electrocuted his partner when a taser barb he aimed at a suspect missed its target and struck the officer in the back.
The initial call went out at 1:16 p.m., saying that a man was assaulting a woman. In a police cam video, the two officers can be seen approaching a car containing the subjects of the call.
The officers asked that the man, who was in the passenger seat, provide ID. One officer said in the video, “We need your ID or you can be arrested for failure to identify yourself to a police officer.” The suspect does not comply.
One officer tells the suspect, “ID or no?” while the other adds, “All you have to do is comply, dude.” The female driver can be heard telling the man to “stop.”
When the passenger failed to comply, the officers ordered him to get out of the car. While the lady screamed at them, both officers then pulled the male passenger out of the car. The man tried to wrestle free, so Officer Anderson pulled his taser and fired at the suspect.
One barb struck the suspect, who fell to the ground. However, the other hit Officer Toscani, striking him in the back. Toscani immediately fell to the ground, striking his head. He told his partner, “You got me!”
Anderson saw that his partner had been hit, but had no choice but to continue to discharge the taser until he could secure the suspect. Officer Anderson can be heard telling his partner, “Sorry, Nick,” to which his partner responds, “You’re alright.”
Here is the view from officer Anderson’s body cam.
While this encounter was playing out, other officers rolled up on the scene, helping the downed officer.
