A Summit County Sheriff’s Office deputy used a Taser to subdue a man in mid-December in an Old Town parking garage, claiming that the man refused to obey the deputy’s orders as a search was underway for someone who was reported to be armed with a gun.
The Park City Fire District, which sent an ambulance crew to check the man, said his vital signs were normal after he had been stunned with the Taser. The ambulance crew released him into the custody of the law enforcement officers.
Dean Carr, who is the undersheriff, said the Park City Police Department requested help at approximately 11:50 p.m. on Dec. 14 as police officers intervened in what was described as a large fight on the 800 block of Main Street, close to the Town Lift. The police had indicated one of the people involved might have a gun, Carr said.
As the Sheriff’s Office deputy arrived at the underground Town Lift Plaza parking garage, the police had already stopped six suspects and a Park City sergeant asked the deputy to search the garage for additional suspects and a gun, Carr said.
The deputy and a police officer found a man sitting in a car inside the garage, identified themselves as lawmen and demanded he show his hands. Carr said the man, though, pulled a hood over his head and put his hands in a place where they were not visible.
The deputy opened the driver’s door and pulled the man out as he ordered him to show his hands, Carr said, indicating the deputy told the man he would use a Taser on him if he failed to comply.
“He continued to hide his hands. He resisted,” Carr said.
The deputy shot the Taser at the man’s upper torso, with one of the Taser’s two prongs failing to penetrate the man’s clothing, he said. Both need to stick into someone’s body for the Taser to work.
Carr said the man then kicked the deputy in the chest. The deputy used the stun feature attached to the Taser itself on the back of one of the man’s legs, he said. The deputy stunned the man twice before he complied with the orders, according to Carr.
“We were still looking for a gun. We were still looking for additional suspects,” Carr said.
He said the Sheriff’s Office is investigating the deputy’s use of force as well as the use of the Taser. The investigations are standard when force is used. Carr said he expects the investigation will find the deputy acted properly.
Wade Carpenter, the Park City police chief, said the person was ordered to show his hands three times prior to the use of the Taser. He said the man was one of the people involved in the fight. Carpenter said someone involved in the fight showed bullets in a manner insinuating he had a gun. No weapon was found, but one of the people involved had bullets. The person with the bullets was not the man who was Tased, Carpenter said.
Carr identified the man who was Tased as Paul Bradshaw, a 26-year-old from Salt Lake City. Bradshaw faces three charges in Third District Court stemming from the episode. He is charged with assault against a police officer, interfering with an arresting officer and intoxication. Assault against a police officer, a class A misdemeanor, is the most serious of the charges, punishable by one year in jail and a $2,500 fine upon conviction.
Bradshaw spent the night in jail before $2,555 in bail was posted for his release. A court appearance is scheduled Jan. 3.
Carpenter said three other people were arrested at the scene.
Loren Weiss, the attorney representing Bradshaw, said his investigation is in its early stages and he intends on disputing the charges against Bradshaw. Weiss said Bradshaw is a Marine veteran who works at a Main Street restaurant.
“It’s too soon to draw conclusions about the events,” Weiss said.