Man Tasered during drug arrest in Byram - GT
Greenwich
violent Thursday when officers were forced to use a stun gun on a New
York man wanted for allegedly selling crack cocaine in town, according
to police.
Two officers were injured as they attempted to subdue the man and take
him into custody, police said.
The confrontation occurred at 5 p.m. Thursday in the area of 107 Mill
St. after police learned Ralph Jones, 28, of 111 Midland Ave., Port
Chester, N.Y., was walking through Byram.
Police had obtained an arrest warrant for Jones on Thursday morning
after he was observed selling crack cocaine in town, according to a
police report.
When police approached Jones in Byram Thursday evening, police said he
became violent and fought with officers, refusing to comply with
commands. The scuffle ended with officers using a Taser on Jones.
"When (Jones) showed up in Greenwich, and the officers identified
themselves, he attempted to run and started to fight with the
officers," said Lt. Daniel Allen, who was the shift supervisor on
Thursday night. "They had to deploy a Taser."
Allen said Jones was treated by medics and transported to Greenwich
Hospital.
"It is normal procedure," Allen said. "When someone is Tased, darts
get embedded in the skin and they have to go to the hospital for the
probes to be taken out."
The injuries to the two officers did not require that they be taken to
the hospital, Allen said.
During the incident, police said there were three narcotics detectives
on scene, along with a supervisor and a marked unit that was there to
assist with the arrest.
After Jones was brought under control by police, they found 1.2 grams
of crack cocaine in his possession, according to the report. Jones was
subsequently charged with possession of narcotics, possession of
narcotics with intent to sell, two counts of interfering with a search
warrant, assault on a police officer and criminal attempt at the sale
of narcotics.
After being discharged from Greenwich Hospital, Jones was processed at
police headquarters and held overnight on a $250,000 bond. Police said
Jones was scheduled to be arraigned in state Superior Court in
Stamford Friday. As of Friday morning, Jones did not have a lawyer.
Jones has no prior convictions in Connecticut, according to court
records. Because a Taser was used, the department will automatically
issue an internal report on the incident, Allen said.
The incident caused a traffic tie-up in Byram on Mill Street and the
cross street of North Water Street as units blocked off a portion of
the scene while awaiting medics, police said.
Jones' arrest comes as part of a department-wide initiative, led by
the narcotics unit, to increase the amount of drug arrests in town,
particularly of known dealers. In the past three months, the narcotics
unit has made numerous undercover arrests, including of a man charged
with dealing marijuana to high school students in town.
In late 2009, Police Chief David Ridberg added personnel to the
narcotics unit and allocated more resources to it. Ridberg has said he
hopes to continue the initiative throughout the year in order to
reduce the prevalence of drugs in the community.