South Dakota Man Found Guilty of Grabbing Officer’s Taser, Shooting At His Face
A Stanley County jury needed around 15 minutes to find a Pierre man guilty of two counts of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest.
Stanley County Chief Deputy Greg Swanson testified for prosecutors Thursday (June 7) according to KCCR Radio of Pierre. He told jurors that he and Foote had a “cartoon moment” when both realized his Taser was on a couch cushion near where the two struggled as Foote tried to get away from law enforcement looking to arrest Foote on warrant. Swanson said he feared for his safety as Foote took the Taser and pointed at his face, only three to four inches away.
Swanson testified that he pushed the Taser away from his face and that’s when two sets of probes deployed from the device. Swanson received shocks from the energized cables of the Taser, causing him to lose function of his arms. Sheriff Brad Rathbun testified Swanson looked “frazzled” when he arrived on the scene after Swanson failed to acknowledge safety checks over the radio.
Foote's attorney was claiming the incident was an accident, although Stanley County States Attorney Tom Maher argued otherwise.
Following the verdict, lawyers moved into an arraignment hearing on a habitual offender information filed in the case. Foote pled guilty previously to felonies in Davison and Hughes County, including another aggravated assault.
Foote became emotional, requesting tissues to clear tears from his eyes and sniffling after hearing the possibility that Circuit Judge Patricia DeVaney could sent him to prison for the rest of his life. Foote requested he be sentenced immediately, but DeVaney said she wanted to time to consider the sentence and review a pre-sentence investigation. Sentencing is tentatively scheduled for July 17th.
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