Published: June 11, 2008 09:05 am         

Gifts offer deputies option to deadly force

Shooting death of Graford man results in donations for county to purchase Tasers

By Lacie Morrison
lmorrison@mineralwellsindex.com

PALO PINTO – In response to the shooting death of a Graford man, two families donated $15,000 to the Palo Pinto County Sheriff’s Office for the purchase of Tasers.

“We were all aware of the unfortunate accident that happened on Memorial Day weekend,” said Lance Byrd, referring to the shooting incident that claimed the life of a Graford man.

Twenty-six-year-old Jake King was shot May 26 in an altercation with a group of law enforcement officers at the Palo Pinto County Sheriff’s Office’s substation on Park Road 36 at Possum Kingdom Lake. According to Palo Pinto County Sheriff Ira Mercer, King allegedly charged a deputy with a broken knife after driving a red Chevrolet car into an unmanned and parked sheriff’s department vehicle.

Law enforcement personnel reportedly used pepper spray on King with no effect. Mercer said King brought his hand from behind his back and moved towards a deputy when the deputy opened fire, striking him in the leg, abdomen and finally the shoulder.

King was transported by air ambulance to Palo Pinto General Hospital in Mineral Wells where he later died.

Byrd and his wife, Lauren, own property in Palo Pinto County and lease property at Possum Kingdom Lake. The Byrds and their neighbors at Possum Kingdom Lake, Mike and Debi Patterson, agreed to donate $15,000 to the sheriff’s department for the new equipment.

“A good friend of mine [Byrd] called me up [about the need for Tasers] and asked me to go halves,” said Mike Patterson. “I said ‘count me in.’ I wish all officers everywhere carried them.”

Byrd said, “We just, as lessees and as property owners, we want to take a more active role in our community. It’s our responsibility to do our part. That was our motivation, to support our law enforcement.”

He said he had spoken with Mercer about equipping his staff with Tasers.

Tasers deliver an electrical current through two needle-like probes that are shot at a person to incapacitate them.

Mercer said he had thought about purchasing Tasers in the past and money was calculated for them in his upcoming budget. The sheriff noted Tasers cost between $700 to $800 per weapon and the cartridges containing the probes are approximately $20 each.

“If we’d had the technology at that time [of King’s shooting], we might not have had to use lethal force,” Mercer said. “We really want to thank those guys. They recognized a need …”

He explained that the Palo Pinto County Commissioners will first need to approve the donation and then they can start the process of purchasing the “less-lethal weapon.

“The $15,000 will cover the 17 Tasers and we’ll spend between $1,000 and $1,500 on cartridges.”

In order to carry Tasers, officers must be trained to carry them, firing two cartridges to learn how the probes will hit and everyone must be Tased themselves to experience the sensation. The sheriff said all field personnel – deputies and investigators – as well as himself and the chief deputy will carry Tasers.

“We’re in the process of developing a strict use policy,” Mercer said. “In that instance up there, when the suspect said he had the knife … had we had a taser, we could’ve used that.”

“Officers have to defend themselves,” observed Patterson. “I think we need to give them more choices than deadly force.”

Byrd added, “All we hope to gain is to make it a safer community. We all have to do our part.”

According to a recent comment from a Texas Rangers official, the investigation into King’s death is still ongoing and when completed, will be presented to the district attorney “with anticipation of presentment to a grand jury.”