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Ohio cop on leave after video shows woman being hit by stun gun

  • Story Highlights
  • Police say the woman was out of control after being forced from a bar
  • Officer says he shocked her seven times, twice after she had been handcuffed
  • Officer: Woman kicked his cruiser's rear driver side window and broke it
  • Woman pleaded not guilty to charges including felony assault, resisting arrest
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From Janine Brady
CNN
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(CNN) -- An Ohio police officer has been put on paid administrative leave after his own police cruiser's dash camera captured him using a stun gun to subdue a handcuffed woman, an attorney for the city of Warren, Ohio, told CNN on Thursday.

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Warren City, Ohio, police officer Rich Kovach said he used his stun gun seven times on Heidi Gill.

Warren City police are investigating a September 2 incident in which the officer repeatedly used a Taser to control the woman, who police allege was wildly out of control after being forced from a bar.

According to Officer Rich Kovach's own police report, he shocked Heidi Gill, 38, seven times -- twice after she had been handcuffed.

In the report, filed September 4, Kovach describes responding to a "fight/disturbance inside the bar" and finding a belligerent Gill, who began cursing, refused to give her real name, then tried to flee.

The video shows Gill stumbling, with her arms flailing, and screaming while Kovach uses the stun gun on her. Video Watch the police video »

After Gill was handcuffed and placed in a police cruiser, "she started kicking the rear driver side window and broke it," the report said.

The woman then tried to climb into the front seat, at which point Kovach used the Taser device on her for a sixth time, he wrote.

"I deployed a second Taser cartridge into her, and the violent turbulent action stopped immediately" he wrote.

Kovach used the Taser for the seventh and final time while trying to transport Gill from one police cruiser to another.

In the video, the officer can be heard saying, "You're going to walk to that car or you're going to be Tasered again."

Gill fell down, knocked her head on the pavement and lay there unconscious, Kovach wrote in his report. An ambulance then took her to a hospital.

Gill could not be reached for comment Friday. Her attorney issued a statement saying, "Please respect my client's privacy and restrain from contacting her. You will be contacted once this office has had an opportunity to investigate all issues."

The attorney would not comment on Gill's physical condition, her response to the incident or her whereabouts Friday.

After Gill's arrest, she was charged with felony assault, falsification, resisting arrest, criminal damaging and vehicle trespass.

She pleaded not guilty to all charges and posted a $5,000 bond, a deputy clerk at Warren Municipal Court told CNN. She is expected to appear in court October 25.

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According to the Warren City Law Department, the police department adheres to a "use of force policy" concerning Taser devices, and officers are trained on how and when to use them.

The incident comes as University of Florida officials are trying to sort out what caused two campus police officers to use an electronic stun gun to subdue a student Monday. E-mail to a friend E-mail to a friend

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