Sheriff's Deputy Accused of Tazing Three Minors

By Evan Mix

Published on July 24, 2009

A sheriff's deputy in East St. Louis, Illinois is accused of using an electronic stun gun on three underage male inhabitants of a youth shelter. The deputy, David Bowers, also allegedly choked and threatened to sodomize one of the youths, then choked a female child and threw her into a closet. The attack is described in a federal civil-rights lawsuit filed on July 1 as unprovoked.

According to the lawsuit, Bowers and another deputy responded to a call on July 8, 2008 that three teenagers were acting unruly in the shelter. However, the children involved in the suit were not those three.

Deputy Bowers allegedly shocked all three boys repeatedly, including one who cooperated fully with his commands, and continued tazing at least one while he was restrained in handcuffs. He threatened to sodomize one of the boys, who ultimately soiled himself. A girl who pleaded with the deputies to stop was handcuffed, then lifted off the ground and choked against the wall. Bowers allegedly asked, "Do you want to live or die (expletive)?" before throwing her into a closet as she vomited.

Jefferson County Sheriff Roger Mulch, who is also a defendant in the suit, denied the claims. He says the deputies did "nothing out of the ordinary." He described the center as a chronic problem, saying his deputies had responded to more than 100 incidents there so far this year.

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