NC undercover officers use Taser on pallbearer

**wild_angel_1980** · November 20th, 2008, 12:23 PM

WILMINGTON, N.C. (AP) -- Five sheriff's deputies will be disciplined after they used a Taser while serving an arrest warrant on a man at his father's funeral, a North Carolina sheriff said Wednesday.

Gladwyn Taft Russ III was serving as a pallbearer at the Saturday service and was loading his father's casket into a hearse when the undercover deputies approached him.

Relatives said two deputies dressed in coats and ties grabbed Russ and kneed him in his back before using a Taser on him. One deputy's gun fell out of its holster.

"Everybody was so scared. We thought it was a drug deal gone bad," said Ronnie Simmons, another pallbearer and Russ' brother-in-law. "We almost dropped the casket."

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories...MPLATE=DEFAULT

**queenpunkr** · November 20th, 2008, 12:32 PM

Are you kidding? Sheesh...

**penelopejo** · November 20th, 2008, 12:51 PM

At a funeral? They couldn't wait until he got in his car? He was loading his father into a hearse for God sakes!! That's just plain disrespectful. I understand they needed to arrest him because of a warrant but not like that.

**sanityslipping** · November 20th, 2008, 01:22 PM

Unless he was under arrest for killing his dad, they could have waited until after the funeral. You know, just stand in the back, keep an eye on him. Everyone deserves to say goodbye, not get kneed in the back while carrying a casket.

**Ladyeridan** · November 20th, 2008, 02:58 PM

This was pretty close to where I live... you should SEE the editorial page today - everyone who wrote in is just appalled at the behavior of the cops - to a person, people are just amazed at the level of classlessness shown here.

**DarkPrincess** · November 20th, 2008, 03:17 PM

Sounds like a lawsuit in the making.

**Just my luck sucks** · November 20th, 2008, 08:11 PM

"Everybody was so scared. We thought it was a drug deal gone bad," said Ronnie Simmons, another pallbearer and Russ' brother-in-law. "We almost dropped the casket."

Wondering what Ronnie knows about Russ?

**Maggie Mae** · November 20th, 2008, 10:10 PM

Originally Posted by Just my luck sucks

Wondering what Ronnie knows about Russ?

Also my first thought: someone goes down at a funeral and their first thought is "drug deal"?

**ThatWasEasy** · November 20th, 2008, 10:22 PM

Nice fuckin coffin.

**wild_angel_1980** · November 21st, 2008, 02:54 PM

Originally Posted by ThatWasEasy

Nice fuckin coffin.

LOL It was either that picture or a picture of a pine box!

**crickett** · November 22nd, 2008, 07:20 AM

At first I was SURPRISED, maybe even SHOCKED, and then...

,

I noticed that it was the Wilmington, NC Police and I was like AMAZED at the amount of restraint these trigger happy assholes were even able to muster