Austin Police Officer Tazed by Burglary Suspect

AUSTIN, Texas- A burglary suspect grabbed an Austin police sergeants

Taser during a struggle on Saturday morning and shocked him with it,
according to an arrest affidavit.

Justin Scott, 22 , has been charged with a third degree felony of taking
a weapon from an officer, assaulting an officer and resisting arrest. The
affidavit says Scott is being held at the Travis County Jail with bail set
at $10,000. Other officers said this case is an example of the common
threats they experience while on duty.

On Feb. 12, Officer White responded to a call about a suspicious person

who appeared to be burglarizing homes in Windsor Park, a northeast
Austin community.

He arrived in the area to see Scott talking to a person he could not

see, the affidavit states. When Scott noticed White, he began to walk
away. The police report states that when the sergeant questioned
Scott regarding his suspicious behavior, he began to tense up and
show signs of nervousness.

The affidavit states that Scott seemed as if he was going to run away
when asked a question about his past criminal record. White attempted
to detain Scott and handcuff him in order to carry out the investigation
safely, but he resisted and began to struggle.

White pulled out a Taser after warning Scott he would use the weapon
if he kept resisting. The affidavit says Scott reached for the Taser and
grabbed it when it fell out of Whites hand. Scott proceeded to strike
the officer on the arm but White managed to hold Scott in a headlock
until other officers arrived and arrested him.

Statistics released by the FBI in November state that nearly 1 in 10

sworn officers were attacked in 2013, resulting in injuries more than 29
percent of the time.

The FBI reported that only a small percentage of these reported

incidents occurred while officers were trying to arrest somebody.

The statistics are proof positive of the dangers that all officers
willingly face, day in and day out, to protect the rest of us, the FBI
said in a recent Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted report.
[We need to] keep officers safe as they serve and protect our nations
communities.

William Pieper, an officer at the University of Texas Police Department,

says that although he is very aware of the dangers associated with his
work, he does not allow himself to think of them while on duty.

I have seen officers injured or killed from car collisions, assaults, falls
and even a few who were bitten, Pieper said. While we grieve for the
fallen, we cant think of the danger as we perform our jobs as that
would inhibit our effectiveness.

Pieper said he is not surprised by the FBI statistics or the incident with
Scott, describing them as a sad reality that officers regularly face
when on duty.

In a recent article by the Philadelphia CBS affiliate, Police

Commissioner Charles Ramsey also said that there are many dangers
associated with the police force. He said that assault towards police
officers appears to have increased recently due to accusations of
police brutality.

This is a time when people are always looking at police and criticizing,
Ramsey recently told CBS Philly. [Police brutality] is a sober

reminder of the kinds of dangers that police officers face on a regular

basis.