The Associated Press
BAYTOWN, Texas (AP) - An internal investigation by the Baytown Police Department has determined an officer did nothing wrong when he used his Taser gun against a woman while arresting her.
This is the third time that Micah Aldred, 28, has been cleared of any wrongdoing in the case, The Baytown Sun reported Sunday.
In January, a Harris County jury acquitted Aldred on charges of using excessive force against Naomi Autin during a dispute at her brother’s home.
After he was acquitted, Aldred was reinstated back into the department following five months of paid leave.
The jury’s decision came after a federal ruling by the U.S. Department of Justice that Aldred did not violate Autin’s civil rights.
She accused him of unnecessarily zapping her with his stun gun three times in July 2003, then throwing her against a pole, which left her with a head gash that required stitches. Autin contends Aldred continued to used his Taser - a pistol-like device that produces an electrical surge - several more times as she lay on the ground.
Aldred said he was trying to stop Autin from bashing a door with a brick when she turned on him.
In a separate incident, a grand jury declined to indict Aldred and three other Baytown officers in the Jan. 20, 2002 death of Luis Torres, a Mexican national who died shortly after being subdued and handcuffed.
The Harris County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled Torres’ death a homicide due to mechanical asphyxia, which means something physically kept him from breathing, and blunt impact trauma.
Currently, there is a civil lawsuit pending against Aldred and other city officials for an undisclosed amount of money to cover Autin’s medical costs.
The lawsuit is one of two pending cases regarding officers’ use of Tasers. Houston attorney D. Matthew Freeman is representing Autin as well as Teresa Constant, who alleges Aldred and officer Bert Dillow used their Tasers on her in 2001 while she was unarmed.