Police: Man deployed Taser on himself while trying to disarm trooper at Nemacolin
A Maryland man accidentally deployed a Taser on himself while he was trying to disarm a trooper at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort, according to state police.
Leonard Joseph Frederick, 49, of Hagerstown is charged with disarming a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct.
State police were called to the Wharton Township resort at about 1:30 a.m. Tuesday for an intoxicated male acting unruly with staff members. Troopers arrived and found Frederick hiding behind a tree, according to court documents.
Police said when they were approaching him “he attempted to walk away from us and subsequently fell on the ground,” Trooper Jacob Roberts wrote in the affidavit filed in his case.
They attempted to arrest him, but Frederick allegedly fought back, even after being hit twice with the stun gun. Roberts attempted to deploy his Taser, but Frederick allegedly grabbed it. During a struggle over the stun gun, one cartridge deployed into the ground near Frederick, and another hit the man in the torso, police said.
After several more minutes of struggling, police were able to subdue Frederick.
He was medically cleared for incarceration at Uniontown Hospital and released to police for his arraignment.
On-call Magisterial District Judge Daniel C. Shimshock set his bond at $50,000. Frederick is lodged in Fayette County Prison.