(C) Iowa Capital Dispatch
This story was originally published by Iowa Capital Dispatch and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .



Jailer fired after using Taser on female inmate four times in five minutes [1]

['Clark Kauffman', 'More From Author', '- June']

Date: 2023-06-28

A Des Moines County jailer who was fired for excessive force earlier this year after using a Taser four times on a female inmate is entitled to jobless benefits, a judge has ruled.

Russell Elliott worked for the eastern Iowa county for 24 years before he was fired in February. According to state records, the incident that led to his dismissal occurred after the jail staff learned that a female inmate had a shower curtain in her cell that she wasn’t authorized to have.

County officials would later testify that Elliott, two other officers and the assistant jail administrator entered the inmate’s cell to retrieve the shower curtain. The assistant jail administrator asked Elliott to draw his Taser and use it if needed. After the four entered the cell, the offender, who allegedly had a history of assaulting corrections officers, refused to surrender the shower curtain and then, according to the county, she rushed toward the officers in an aggressive manner.

State records indicate Elliott successfully deployed the Taser, firing probes into the inmate that delivered an electrical shock. The inmate fell to the ground, injuring Elliott’s leg in the process, but continued to resist and refused to put her hands behind her back as instructed.

During the ensuing struggle, Elliott deployed the Taser a second time, which he later testified was done in error, asserting that he had been attempting to use the Taser to “drive stun” the inmate.

A “drive stun” involves holding the Taser against an individual, without firing any probes, to deliver a painful electrical shock that typically doesn’t incapacitate a person. For the past 12 years, U.S. Department of Justice guidelines have advised against using Tasers to “drive stun” individuals.

After the Taser was twice deployed, Elliott used the device two more times to deliberately “drive stun” the inmate – using the Taser a total of four times over the course of five minutes.

According to county officials, Elliott’s actions violated jail policy, which calls for officers to revert to the lowest level of force after each use of the Taser. Elliott acknowledged his use of the Taser and the fact that it violated policy, but later testified that he didn’t follow policy because he feared the inmate might be armed or might injure one of the staff.

In his 24 years with the county, Elliott testified, he had had no prior warnings for the use of excessive force and had never previously used his Taser.

On Feb. 21, Elliott was fired for the use of excessive force. He subsequently applied for unemployment benefits, which led to a hearing before Administrative Law Judge Adrienne Williamson.

In ruling that Elliott was entitled to jobless benefits, Williamson stated that to the extent that Elliott’s “use of force was excessive, it was not a deliberate violation or disregard of standards of behavior employer had a right to expect of him. Nor was it a recurring act of carelessness or negligence. (He) acted in the situation to the best of his ability and with a good faith belief that his use of the Taser was necessary to prevent injury to the officers.”

Other unemployment cases

Other Iowans whose claims for jobless benefits were recently decided include:

— Kathleen Roland, who was fired in May from the Iowa Department of Corrections where she had worked since January as a full-time corrections officer. According to the state, Roland was expected to complete an inventory of tools and equipment at the end of each shift to document, for security reasons, that all of the items were accounted for. Her supervisor’s review of security-camera footage allegedly showed she failed to conduct one such inventory and then falsified records to indicate she had performed the task.

An administrative law judge found that while her conduct “jeopardized the safety of everyone on the premises,” and that she had lied to her employer, the Department of Corrections had asserted she wouldn’t have been fired had she not still been in a probationary period as a new hire. Because of that admission, the judge ruled, Roland was entitled to unemployment benefits.

— Jamie Wilson, who was fired in March from Atlantic Bottling, where he worked as a beverage delivery driver, for allegedly stealing Iowa Lottery tickets from a Kwik Star store in Waterloo. According to police records, a Kwik Star employee told officers she had left a package of lottery tickets in a walk-in cooler at the store and later discovered five tickets, priced at $10 each, were missing from the package.

After reviewing security-camera video, she found that a beverage delivery driver, later identified by police as Wilson, had entered the cooler and handled the tickets. An Iowa Lottery investigator later determined Wilson presented one of the missing tickets for payment at a different Kwik Star store. He was arrested and charged with felony theft of lottery tickets. The case is still pending. Wilson was denied unemployment benefits.

— Tess Winter, who was fired in March from the City of Cedar Rapids where she worked as an events specialist. She was accused of working while in a state of intoxication, first in November 2022, and again in March of this year. She was denied unemployment benefits.

— Amanda Haas, who was fired in March from Council Bluffs Title and Escrow, also known as Great Plains Title LLC. Haas worked for the company as a full-time escrow closer, helping the firm handle real estate transactions that required client funds to be held in escrow.

At some point in 2022 or early 2023, the company allegedly uncovered emails suggesting the office manager, Jennifer Nelson, had been increasing Haas’ compensation based on Haas’ emailed requests for additional money to handle personal expenses, such as weddings and birthdays.

At one point, Haas allegedly requested additional pay, and Nelson allegedly responded by asking, “Like what do you need, so I have an idea.” According to the company, Haas allegedly responded, “Let’s say $300 or $400, somewhere in there,” and Nelson replied by indicating she could add to Haas’ check 10 hours of overtime pay, plus two days of paid time off, for $798 in extra pay.

Nelson was fired and criminally charged with theft, forgery and ongoing criminal conduct. Haas was fired after it was discovered she shared information about the theft with a competitor, placing the company’s reputation at risk. Haas then applied for and collected $4,408 in jobless benefits.

Council Bluffs Title and Escrow challenged that decision and at a recent hearing on the matter, Haas denied wrongdoing and indicated she was helping state auditors with an investigation into the office manager’s conduct. An administrative law judge concluded Haas was not entitled to jobless benefits, but did not have to repay the $4,408 already collected.

Court records indicate Nelson recently pleaded not guilty to all criminal charges. According to police reports, Council Bluffs Title and Escrow lost more than $100,000 due to Nelson’s actions, which reportedly included routing company money directly into her bank accounts and awarding herself more than $67,000 in unearned overtime pay.

Nelson is also accused of making unauthorized purchases with the company’s debit card, including $4,7131 spent at Hy-Vee Foods, $6,673 spent at Sam’s Club, and multiple purchases made at restaurants, Pet Smart, Fareway, Menards and a contact lens distributor.

[END]
---
[1] Url: https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2023/06/28/jailer-fired-after-using-taser-on-female-inmate-four-times-in-five-minutes/

Published and (C) by Iowa Capital Dispatch
Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-ND-NC 4.0.

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/iowacapitaldispatch/