A rookie Detroit cop pointed his department-issued Taser stun gun at his 10-year-old nephew and then fired it in an attempt to threaten the boy, according to Wayne County prosecutors.
Caleb Williams, 21, was arraigned Friday in Detroit’s 36th District Court on one count of felonious assault and one count of second-degree child abuse. (Williams is no relation to the college football superstar with the same name, drafted first on Thursday in downtown Detroit by the Chicago Bears.) The officer faces as many as 10 years in prison if convicted.
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According to the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office, Williams was at a home on East Outer Drive in Detroit when, on April 17, he “threatened and frightened his 10-year-old nephew by arcing his department-issued Taser while standing in close proximity to the child.”
A Taser weapon when activated emits a bolt of high-voltage electricity that, if it strikes a person, can temporarily disable the person with painful muscle contractions, according to an online description by Axon Enterprises Inc., the weapon’s Arizona-based manufacturer. Williams reportedly activated his Taser three times next to the child. According to a spokesman with the Detroit Police Department, Williams has been suspended with pay while the case against him proceeds.
Williams was given a $10,000 personal bond, meaning he was released without a requirement that he must pay only if he fails to appear in court. As a condition of his bond, he may not possess any weapons nor have contact with minor children. Williams’ next court date is a probable cause hearing set for 8:45 a.m. on May 3; followed by a preliminary exam scheduled on May 9, also at 8:45 a.m.
His lawyer, Detroit-based attorney Wright Blake, could not be reached on Friday evening.
Contact Bill Laytner: blaitner@freepress.com
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Meant to subdue violent suspects, cop’s Taser may have abused child