An officer who used a stun gun twice on a handcuffed, seated man has resigned from a Louisiana police department one day before a termination hearing.
Nolan Dehon III had been scheduled for a hearing Tuesday before the Port Allen City Council, to consider whether to fire him.
But Dehon resigned from the Port Allen Police Department on Monday, defense attorney Victor Woods told news agencies. Woods did not immediately respond to phone and email messages from The Associated Press.
A two-sentence letter obtained by WAFB-TV said he was resigning immediately because doing so was in the best interest of his family and the Port Allen community.
West Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney Tony Clayton said he was unimpressed, and his office still planned to file criminal charges against Dehon, The Advocate reported.
“If the evidence shows that he’s guilty of what he’s done, then he has to atone for it,” Clayton said.
Dehon has been arrested on felony charges of malfeasance in office and aggravated battery. Conviction on either charge would bar him from any future job in law enforcement.
The police department released another officer’s body camera video in April, showing the arrest of 67year-old Izell Richardson Jr. on March 27.
It shows Dehon using a stun gun on Richardson and then saying, “Scream again.”
Richardson filed a complaint March 29. The Port Allen police and the West Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office investigated the complaint and Duhon was later arrested. He is free on $15,000 bond, the newspaper reported.
