IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A judge has condemned an Iowa police chief for using his city-issued stun gun to shock guests at two parties in 2016, calling it an “immoral activity” that could have caused serious injuries or death.
Judge Nancy Whittenburg recently rejected Armstrong, Iowa police chief Craig Merrill’s arguments that his deployment of the Taser device in an off-duty, social setting against voluntary participants was not a crime. She wrote that he did not have any justification to use the weapon for entertainment purposes, and that he's lucky no one suffered a medical emergency.
Merrill is charged with two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon and other counts as part of a wide-ranging corruption investigation in which Armstrong's former mayor and three others face charges.
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